Comic Quickies: Recent Great Reads

Comeback #1: I've been waiting for there to be an Ed Brisson penned comic ever since I picked up his three issues of Murder Book at last year's Emerald City Comic Con.  Those three issues showed me a writer with a knack for telling compelling stories and I've been eagerly awaiting Comeback.

In Comeback, time travel has been developed, but is illegal.  However, the technology is used very discreetly by the ultra-rich who enlist the help of a secret company, Reconnect, to go back in time and save a loved on from death. For a hefty fee Reconnect will collect the loved one, stage their death, and bring them to safety.

Mark and Seth are two of the agents who do the collecting and time traveling.  However, on the mission that plays out in the opening pages, something goes terribly wrong, and the person they are meant to be saving dies during the time travel.  If that's not bad enough, Seth is starting to look a bit worn down by their job, which isn't good considering that in the wake of their most recent mission, they've been given another tough job.

The art, which is handled by Michael Walsh, is definitely easy on the eyes.  His art reminded me a lot of Tonci Zonjic from Who is Jake Ellis? fame and Where is Jake Ellis? (which I'll cover here shortly).  Anyway, Walsh's art is another strong aspect of this title.

This one gets positive marks for being a story about time travel, with a healthy dose of crime mixed in...a combo that I couldn't resist.  This opening issue is definitely a stage setter, but I like how things are looking.  I just hope that this doesn't wind up being one of those "Just one more job, then I'm out" kind of stories. For now, I'm feeling it.

Where is Jake Ellis? #1: The five issue series (Who is Jake Ellis?) which proceeded Where is Jake Ellis? was one of my top reads from last year.  High octane espionage action anyone?  However, since then, I've admittedly become a little bit lukewarm on writer Nathan Edmondson.  The stuff he's written since then hasn't impressed me nearly as much.  In fact, I almost didn't pick this issue up.

I did though, and I'm glad because it appears that Edmondson is in his groove when it comes to writing stuff with "Jake Ellis" in the title. If you haven't read the previous Jake Ellis material, I urge you to do so, not only because it is awesome, but because nothing in this new story arc will make any sense if you don't.

That being said, it will still be a shit ton of fun because Edmondson has distilled his comic down to pure, unrelenting action.  His agent, Jon Moore, is on the run from mysterious spooks who want him dead.  It's that simple.  Moore uses his considerable spy/survival skills to narrowly avoid death in awesome and exciting ways.  The kicker is, in the past he's had a voice inside his head (Jake Ellis) who has helped him survive, and now that voice has mysteriously gone silent, and Moore's head is on the chopping block.

Tonci Zonjic's art is stylish and cool, and very inviting.  He captures action and emotion with equal skill.  He and Edmondson are a great pair for this title, and I'm definitely excited to see what they have in store for us.

Batwoman #14:  All hail the best superhero title on the shelves.

(I actually have zero proof that the above statement is true, given that this is the only superhero title I read...but it is really fucking awesome so there!)

So why is Batwoman so awesome?  It's awesome for a lot reasons: Kate Kane is a really cool character, Batwoman battles stuff straight outta myth and urban legend, and there's a whole bunch of stressful and distracting stuff in her life such as relationships, family, and job stress, that make Kate seem like a real person. And now this comic is even more awesome because Wonder Woman has been added into the mix. Okay, sure, Wondy's been on the scene for at least two issues now, but I'm loving the Wonder Woman/Batwoman team up.

On top of a fun team up, and a cool story that has spanned the entire length of the series so far, this comic has J.H. Williams III on art knocking that shit out of the park with each issue he works on.  I love looking at Williams' art.  He has the most creative panel layouts, and he always experiments with interesting ways for the art and story to interact.  I was really taken with how he chose to show how Pegasus received his grievous injuries in this issue.

After dropping all the other DCnU titles I was reading, Batwoman continues to go strong, despite putting a lot of Kate Kane's personal issues on the back-burner for the moment.  I will say, I like this title a lot more when JHW III is doing the art, but Batwoman is good stuff.

JH Williams III has got The Sword Covered

The Sword, a band that I've been enjoying for a few years, just got a whole lot cooler by choosing one of my favorite comic artists to handle all the design and album artwork for their new album, Apocryphon.  That's right, JH Williams III, of Batwoman fame did all the art for the band's fourth studio album, which hits stores October 22nd.

In the past, The Sword has featured songs like Winters Wolves, and To Take the Black which are inspired by GRRM and his A Song of Ice and Fire series. They also have a sci-fi space odyssey concept album, so the guys are clearly into nerd culture.  Now they go and get JH Williams III to design all the art for their new album.  Yeah, I think I could hang out with these guys.

Williams' art is beautiful, so check it out.

Back Cover

Inner Cover

CD Package Art

Graphic Novel Review: Batman-Snow

Snow is a Batman story set during the dawn of Batman's career, and the Caped Crusader is feeling a little bit overwhelmed with the task of safeguarding Gotham City.  To help aid his war on crime, Batman puts together a team of specialists to help him.  These clandestine allies, recruited for their skills in electronic gadgetry, research, crime scene investigation, recon, and tactics, are supposed to help Batman do his job more efficiently, but will they be enough when Batman squares off against his first super-powered villain?

Snow is not only a retelling of Batman's early days, but also gives a new look at the origin of Mr. Freeze.  This story thread follows a brilliant scientist, Dr. Fries, who has been developing a new cryo-technology.  However, his beloved wife is terminally ill, and his attempts to save her using his new, and unproven technology goes tragically wrong.  This might sound like origin story ground that has been covered over and over, but the writing team of Dan Curtis Johnson and J.H. Williams III infuse this origin tale with a soft touch that makes it feel all too real and altogether heart-wrenchingly tragic.  I felt legitimately sad when all the pieces of this origin story came together.  The way they depict Fries' mental unraveling is quite impressive as well.

Overall, I found the story to be one of the best, if not the very best Batman story I've ever read.  A big reason is that the character of Batman is still very human and easy to relate to.

Nowadays, writers like to have Batman as this incredibly hardcore, intense, ultra organized, high-tech, crime fighting bad ass.  That's all well and good, and fun to read, but the Batman in Snow is still very much a still-learning-the ropes crime fighter who is learning how to best go about his business on the fly.  He isn't great buds with Jim Gordon yet, the D.A. doesn't fully trust him, and his whole operation has a very homespun feel to it.

This is a Batman that takes an occasional whoopin', the occasional fall, and the occasional gunshot wound from low-life criminals.  All this comes together to make this version of Batman a lot of fun to read, because he isn't gonna be perfect and he is gonna make mistakes...plus, perfect is boring anyway.

In addition to what is some really great writing is the wonderful artwork of Seth Fisher.  Sadly, Seth Fisher is no longer with us, but his amazing talent lives on in this work and some other DC projects.  Fisher's art style is not what you typically see on superhero books, let alone a Bat-title, but his art here is nothing short of fantastic.  His style is hard to put a finger on but I'd say his stuff reminds me a bit of Frank Quitely but there's other influences mixed in there that I can't totally put my finger on.  I could see how some fans might not like his Batman character design, who is not exactly rippling with muscles or rocking facial features that appear chiseled out of granite, but that all serves to make the character seem more human.

I really enjoyed how Fisher chose to depict the story in such a way that can only be achieved via the comics medium.  Take the above picture, which depicts a cut-away, top down view of Batman's highly cluttered, and disorganized home/batcave. A picture is truly worth a thousand words here as you can tell just from this how Batman is still in the early stages of his crime fighting career, and running a low-tech, "home-brew" style operation.  Not to mention, the cut-away allows the reader to see so much more than you could get in any other story telling medium, allow while being details the reader takes in peripherally and tacitly.  There are many other moments too where Fisher shows the story in such a way that can only be achieved in comics.

Not one to sit on his laurels, Fisher is also capable of delivering some great action and motion art.  He can deliver a great cinematic feel to these moments and create that larger-than-life feel, yet never making things seem too over the top or cheesy.

This is personal thing that I'm a fan of and maybe of no interest to other folks, but I love it when artists draw in their own sound effects and make them part of the art. It's sorta a thing that has gone away in this age of photoshop, as most sound effects are added in during the final stages of comic production, but not so here.  Fisher does his own, and they are a great blend of spot on perfect for the moment, and down-right silly.  I was a fan.

As I said earlier, this is probably the best Batman story I've ever read.  This one has that much sought after combo of great writing and great art that combine to work extremely well together.  The story you get is quite good, and even provides some touching and tragic moments.  Not your standard superhero fare, just a story that is about 100 notches above the standard.  So, yeah, highly recommended, and one of the best graphic novels I've read so far this year.

Grade: A+

Comic Quickies: War and Tights

Peter Panzerfaust #1: This one here is my surprise of the week.  Why? Because even though it is written by Kurtis Wiebe, (who is pretty much the shiz in creator owned comics lately) I hadn't planned on picking this one up.  However, when I made my weekly pilgrimage to the comic shop I decided to give this bad boy the flip check and it really caught my attention.

First off, the art here is pretty cool.  It's got this loose energetic feel to it that fits very well with the narrative. What you have here is a hefty helping of WWII action and mayhem with a bit of a re-imagining of the Peter Pan story.

Yeah, the concept sounded a little iffy to me too, (I mean Peter Pan isn't exactly the coolest guy in school) but so far things are looking pretty good.  I'm not sure yet if Peter is all that magical, or if his feats just seem magical through the eyes of the other orphan boys in his crew. So far the guy is an enigma.  All in all this was a pretty solid first issue, and I'm definitely looking forward to learning more about the characters and seeing what else Peter Panzerfaust has to offer.

The Activity #3: I'm on a bit of an espionage/war kick right now (which you'll see manifest itself around here in the from of reviews prolly in March) and it all stems from  this comic.  I wasn't totally sold on the first issue of The Activity but over the past couple of months, this comic has slowly grown on me, and now I'm pretty much smitten.

Nathan Edmondson has taken a very realistic, non-glorified approach to espionage in this title and the results are pretty great.  While his previous effort Who is Jake Ellis was an adventure-romp, this one is much more gritty, and character driven.

So far, each issue has been more or less a stand alone, and has centered around a mission where the team goes in and gets the job done in an incredibly professional manner. However, in this third issue, the shit hit the fan on their latest mission, and what we get is the aftermath rehash and finger pointing session with bits of the actual mission mixed in.  It is a pretty cool way to tell a story, and Edmondson pulled it off quite well.  This guy is pretty impressive.  Looking forward to seeing more of this title.

Batwoman #6: This title is still the best thing to come out of the DCnU, even with an artist switcheroo for the second story arc.  Taking over the artistic duties for the next five issues is Amy Reeder.  I was disappointed to hear that she and J.H. Williams III would be trading art duties for the story arcs on this title, but it turns out Reeder is a pretty solid fill in, despite the monstrously huge shoes she has to fill.

This issue takes a unique story telling approach as it delivers the story through six different POV characters.  This was a little bit confusing at first, but once I got the gist of what was going on, I actually thought it was a creative idea and it worked out pretty well.

Like I said earlier, Reeder's art is pretty great.  Sure, her art is a step down from J.H. Williams III, but just about anyone would be a step down.  Anyway, Reeder still delivered on series art specialties like changing art styles depending on the story, and delivered six or seven double page spreads too.  Her art felt a little more cartoony than I'd like for this title, but some of the pages here are quite impressive.  Out of all the DCnU titles I've tried, this is the only one I can say I love.

Action Comics #6: The last time I talked about comics, I mentioned that it looked like Action Comics was about to take a turn towards more epicness, and that Grant Morrison needed to bring the thunder to this title...Well, be careful what you wish for!

This latest issue definitely got more epic, and Morrison definitely brought some extra thunder to the story, but I'm not so sure the results are positive.

This was a strange and confusing issue, despite having some very familiar Superman plot moments.  What goes down is that Superman punches some shit, gets poisoned by kryptonite, almost dies, then at the last minute doesn't die.  However, why these things are happening is anyone's guess.  Oh, and from what I can gather, all this shit is occurring sometime in the future, but some of the people involved are from even further in the future and already know how shit will turn out.  Uh huh.  Part of me thinks that I'm missing something, part of me thinks I'm over-thinking things too much.  Maybe the next issue will clear things up.  I'm putting my faith in you Grant Morrison.

Welcome to the DCnU Issue #3 Edition (Part 2)

Batwoman #3:  Well Batwoman, you're still the one.  This is hands down my favorite title from the new DC stuff, and overall, one of my favorite titles on my pull list.  The reasons why are pretty simple, strong writing and absolutely beautiful art make this a must read.

I've said all that before though, so in an attempt to say something new and original I'll add that I'm really falling in love with the Batwoman/Kate Kane character.  I like that she is on the one hand highly skilled, and good at ass kicking, but on the other hand, a bit head strong and prone to getting in over her head.  Her alter-ego, Kate Kane is no less interesting, and I find that the story around her personal life is quite engaging.  The writers handle her sexuality in a mature way that is nice to read. Tack on an interesting sub-plot with her side kick and you have comic gold.

The Shade #2:  Not technically a "New 52!" title,(though he is "Marked for Death!"), but it's a DC title, and it's new, so I'm lumping it in with these ones.

I'm sad to say this, but no matter how badly I want to like this title, I can't bring myself to get into it.

The first two issues haven't done me any favors.  The first one was ok, but this one didn't do a damn thing for me, and didn't capture my interest at all.  The writing is a bit on the cheesy side, and while there are lots of great artists lined up for this title, that factor isn't enough to keep me around.  If I want I can always flip through the new issues and oogle the art, but I wont be carrying on with The Shade any longer.      A theme that will be recurrent with this edition of Welcome to the DCnU.

Animal Man #3:  Another case of the dropped title here.

I was on the fence with this one for the past two months, and I figured the ol' baseball adage, "three strikes and yer out" worked well here.  Jeff Lemire's writing has been decent so far, but in my opinion, certain plot points seemed to happen or come together a bit too easily.

The writing isn't my biggest concern though, as I haven't been a fan of Travel Foreman's art since issue one.  I'll hand it to him, the man does have his occasional moments of really great, wonderful looking art, but the spaces between those moments are not that good at all.  I think I've called it flat, lacking in detail and sterilized looking in the past, and I think that pretty much sums it up.  There isn't nearly enough here to keep me interested, so I won't be reading this title anymore.

 Detective Comics #3:  Forming the final head on this three-headed beast of dropped titles is the latest installment of Detective Comics.  Once again Tony Daniel underwhelms the reader with his steady knack for telling a Batman story the reader feels like he/she has read a million times before.

Not only does the story seem dull and well worn, but Daniel's approach to Batman has a paint by numbers feel to it that is equally lame.  It's as if the man has a check list that he makes sure he works through for each issue.  Gadgets, fisticuffs, bat-cave, goofy detecting, and on the list goes on.  But I wont.

I like to think I'm an easy man to please.  Just give me some strong writing, and solid art, with compelling characters and I'm happy.  Detective Comics fails on all levels.


And with that major downer of a Welcome to the DCnU installment I conclude this series of posts.  From now on, if they are good enough or noteworthy enough, I'll pepper some of these titles in with my Comic Quickies posts.  There are some VERY awesome titles hitting the shelves in the next few months that I'm really excited about, so expect some good comic reading tips coming your way soon!

Welcome to the DCnU Issue #2 Edition

Welcome to the DCnU second issue recap of all the DC comics I tend to read.  If you've been keeping up, you'll know that I liked some of the new DC titles I picked up last month, while some others left me sitting on the fence.  So how'd those titles fare the second time around?  Let's see....

Action Comics #2:  I wanna say that I'm really glad they toned down Superman's powers a bit for this comic.  He's still a strong dude, but Morrison has done a good job making Supes seem like he isn't an unstoppable force.  I also like the way they're handling Lex Luthor.  The guy is faced off against Superman, but for believable reasons: with the safety of humanity in mind...the guy's not wrong, he's just an asshole.

I think I'm officially not a fan of Rags Morales.  Superman is supposed to be a young man in this, but there are times he looks more like an middle aged going on towards old man.  (Just look at that cover)  Also Lois looks like a frumpy, worn out cougar on casual Friday in this issue.  Morales' character designs look totally different from one page to the next.  Not impressed.

Inconsistent art aside, this is a fun take on Superman, and Morrison makes the Man of Steel fun to read.  I'm definitely on board for the first full arc, and probably Morrison's entire run.

Animal Man #2:  A lot of people are totally in love with Animal Man.  I am not one of those people.  I was firmly on the fence after the first issue, and not a lot has changed after the second.

I stuck around for this second issue on the strength of the three page dream sequence at the end of issue one, and like that issue, a few cool things happened that got me excited, which helped balance out the other not so cool parts. For example: Animal Man's eyes bleeding a crazy map-tattoo onto his chest. Animal Man's daughter turning a neighbor's hand into a chicken leg.  However, I realize I can't just keep reading this issue for the one or two pages of thrills it provides each issue.  The whole issue needs to be worth reading not just a few pages.

A big hang-up I have with this title is that I don't like Travel Foreman's art.  He can draw some creepy and cool beasties, but most everything else looks flat and generic, or too clean and sanitized.  Because this is written by Jeff Lemire, I'll give it one more issue, but it needs to improve drastically.

Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #2:  Does Frankenstein bitch-slap a deranged and creepy old church lady who's been sacrificing children to monsters from another dimension? Hells to the yes.  Does Frankenstein do some underwater sword wielding against some crazy creatures?  Mmm hmm.  Does Frank and his crew travel to a planet completely covered in monsters?  Yes!

Unlike Lemire's Animal Man, which focuses on characters and their interactions, Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. is all about the balls to the walls action and monster slaying.  Yeah, there's some character development in there, but it's not the focus of the comic, nor am I inclined to care.

I do get the sense that the light/popcorn feel might not be able to hold my interest over time, but for now, it's pretty enjoyable, and this one scores high marks for sheer escapism.  My one gripe: Frank rocks some really dorky platform combat boots...what the hell is up with that?

Detective Comics #2:  I think Batman is supposed to be flying in the bat-plane or something on that cover, but I'm not so sure...he could be on the bat-toilet.

I wasn't instantly in love with this title after the first issue, but a shocker ending made  me interested enough to read more.  I wish I could say otherwise, but this issue felt like more of the same.  More bat-toys, a fight, and lo and behold, another shock-tastic ending.

Tony S. Daniel, who does both the writing and the art, seems to be relying on the cheap thrills approach with Detective Comics, and I'm not sure how much more I can take.  It doesn't seem like a sustainable form of story telling.  I can only take so many big shockers before they achieve mundane status, and lose their ability to make an impact.  I'm considering dropping this one from my pull-list.

Batwoman #2:  Batwoman is easily the best title coming out of the DCnU, and for my money, is one of the best buys on the shelf these days.  J.H. Williams III is probably the best artist in the game right now, and Batwoman is an amazing looking book, not to mention a compelling read.

Kate Kane/Batwoman is a really interesting character to read about both in and out of the bat-suit.  Her budding love interest with Detective Sawyer adds an interesting dynamic to the whole deal too.

On top of a budding love story, there's some strange wraith-like creature abducting Gotham's children, and a D.E.O. spook pulling rank all over town trying to figure out and unmask Batwoman.  Batwoman is great stuff, I highly recommend this very accessible series.

Batman #2:  Batman is the better of the two Batman titles, but it still has a major weakness.  The art.  I didn't like it in issue one, and I like it even less in issue two.  I wrote in my review of issue one that I hoped to grow accustomed to, and one day like Capulo's art, but I think I kinda hate it.  Not only is it fifteen years or so out of date, but it just doesn't work on multiple levels.

The first thing that drives me nuts are his action sequences, which are poorly planned out and confusing to figure out what the hell is going on. There was a really poorly executed action sequence where Batman jumped the bat-cycle onto an oncoming train (no ramp needed) in physics defying fashion that was just plain cheesy, but it gets much worse.

The other aspect of Capullo's art that drives me nuts are his character designs.  Simply put, the people look ridiculous.  Why is Bruce Wayne's head a fucking cinder block?  There's another confusing action scene where Bruce Wayne battles some assassin in an owl-combat suit.  Bruce tries kicking and punching the guy, both of which are easily blocked by the assassin, yet somehow, Bruce is then able to run up, and put the guy in a head-lock no problem.  There's then three increasing close up panels of Bruce trying to choke the guy out, then comes the worst panel of the entire comic:

Bruce Wayne has had some nutty work done to his face...or Capullo simply does not know how to draw lips.  Lips don't square off like that nor do they meet the teeth at a right angle.  What did the guy do, bust out a ruler to draw that panel?  That will not do.  By the way Bruce, those are some smooth-ass teeth you got there buddy.

What makes this story even more tragic is that Scott Snyder is a great Batman writer.  I really like the story that he's got going on with this first arc, too bad I can't stand the art.  Please get a new artist.  Soon.

All Star Western #2:  Last but not least comes the western that really isn't a western.  When we last left Jonah Hex he was investigating the plot of From Hell (Review coming on Halloween!). Now he's caught up in a brutal shoot-out at Amadeus Arkham's casa with minions of Gotham's own elite secret society.  When the gunsmoke and dust clears Hex is still standing, and in his no bullshit fashion, discovers the whereabouts of the bad-guys hang out.  With Arkham in tow, he heads off to deal out some more six-shooter justice.

Thankfully, it turns out this opening story arc isn't a total rehashing of the From Hell plot, Gotham's secret society is actually following the teachings of the "Crime Bible" a dark faith based on the story of Cain and Abel.

So basically this opening story arc is setting up to be Jonah Hex versus rich religious nut-jobs.

Amen to that.

Comic Quickies: Welcome to the DCnU part 2.

Batwoman #1: After reading Batwoman: Elegy, I had the feeling that Batwoman would be one of, if not the only, sure-fire hits for me in the DCnU.  It is hard to go wrong with J.H. Williams III on art, and his writing efforts, teamed up with co-writer W. Haden Blackman are pretty solid here too.

This comic begins by setting up a creepy new supernatural villain who is stealing children in Gotham City.  Given Batwoman's past, this seems like a great villain for her to square off against.  This issue also sets a few other interesting balls rolling for the series.  Detective Sawyer, the officer who is investigating the missing children, looks to be a little love-interest in the making for Kate Kane.  In other action, Batwoman also appears to be training herself a side-kick.  This prospective hero is none other than Kate's cousin, Bette Kane, who was formerly Flamebird in the Teen Titans.  This section of the issue was slightly confusing for me, as my knowledge of any DC heroes not Superman, Wonder Woman or Batman is terrible, and I felt like I was missing something.

The best part of this comic came when Kate has a confrontation with her estranged father.  This sequence, told over a double page spread, displays three important things:  JH3's ability to visually tell a story better than any other, the writing team's ability to script and deliver some tense, yet succinct writing, and an amazing montage recap of what went down in the Elegy story.

All told, this was a very strong issue, and for my money, the best of the DCnU relaunch comics so far.

Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1: Jeff Lemire is writing two comics for the relaunch. While Animal Man is a serious story with some family drama, and horror elements, Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. is balls out action.

This one starts out with a little walk-through of S.H.A.D.E.'s new HQ, which is a three inch indestructible ball, which is currently hovering 2,000 miles above NYC.  In order to visit said three inch ball one must get shrunk, then teleported aboard this mite-sized base...and that crazy kind of shit is exactly why I think this is going to be an awesome comic.

That's just the beginning of the zaniness too.

From the looks of things, S.H.A.D.E. is run by none other than...Father Time, who is using the body of a uniformed school-girl to act as his host.  Then, there's a small town in rural Washington that is overrun by a host of ugly-ass monsters.  S.H.A.D.E. has sent in their best agent, the four-armed, gun toting Bride of Frankenstein.  Her efforts aren't enough to contain such a massive threat, so Frank, and his newly assembled team of monsters are sent in to do some damage.  The team includes a werewolf, vampire (neither are sparkly), a mummy and the creature from the black lagoon.

So far, this is pretty much exactly what I want this comic to be: classic monsters fighting monsters, with a lot of weirdness and tons of action.  Lemire's writing is decent, and the art, by Alberto Ponticelli is pretty great too.  There were a couple times his work looked a little sloppy, but most of the time it looked solid.  He seems to excel at drawing lots and lots of monsters.

From the looks of things, Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. is shaping up to be pretty nutty, yet entertaining as hell at the same time.  Looking forward to what comes next.

Meanwhile (Graphic Novel):  Up last is a non DC title.  Conceived, written, and illustrated by Jason Shiga, Meanwhile is a choose your own adventure style graphic novel with over 3,500 different possibilities and it all begins with one simple (or is it?) decision: chocolate or vanilla.  Depending on your choice of ice cream, you are launched into a story filled with mad scientists, insane inventions and the fate of the world in the palm of your hands.

Meanwhile is a pretty unique piece of comic creation.  Instead of reading the panels left to right, you have to follow these colored tubes that lead you up, down and all over the page.  When it comes time to make a decision, you follow the tubes to tabs, and flip to that page, and carry on.  A careful read of the text, and a sharp eye for detail is brilliantly rewarded as there are a few hidden codes throughout the comic that will aid you in your quest.  Some of these codes were easier to unlock than others.

Aside from code breaking, and decision making, there's also a coin-toss scene that felt about as realistic and chancy as a real coin-toss, as well as some cool inventions (time travel anyone?) that, when you have to choose which invention to investigate, makes for some tough decisions...As tempting as the doomsday device was, I ultimately chose time travel as my initial adventure.

I spent a good chunk of a day trying to max out as many story possibilities as I could, and I think I came pretty damn close.  By the time I felt like I'd covered most of the options, I did what any good choose your own adventure reader does, and cheated.  After flipping though each and every page of the book I found only two pages I hadn't been to; One was an easter egg for cheaters like me, and could only be found by, well, cheating, and another that I still haven't been able to work my way to yet.  Still, there is a lot of material here, and Meanwhile is a pretty amazing feat of choose your own adventure style story telling.

I consider Meanwhile a must have for any fan of this style of story, and a must read for anyone who loves to have fun.  Hopefully Shiga will dip back into this style of comic again in the future.  Great stuff.

Grade: A

Review: Batwoman: Elegy

I first came across Batwoman: Elegy about a year ago when I saw a photo roundup of Read Comics in Public Day.  Someone in one of photos was holding a copy of this very comic, and the cover totally caught my eye. Yes, I judge books by their cover.  That's why they put a fucking cover on the damn things, so it'll catch your eye.  Anyway...the cover to Batwoman got my attention; There was something about the stylized layout that screamed for a closer inspection.

During my next trip to the comic shop, I tracked down a copy and gave it the ol' flip-check.  And my mind was blown.  The art was, as they say, off the chain.  A couple people noticed my bulging eyes, and slack jaw and acknowledged my awe.  Yes, they assured me, Batwoman: Elegy was a sweet fuckin' comic. Not just the art, but the writing as well.

Unfortunately, at the time, the book was only available in hardcover, and out of my price range, so I filed it away in that part of my brain that can unfalteringly  remember band line-ups, 90's baseball team rosters, and titles of books I want to read, but mysteriously cant remember shit I try to memorize for a mid-term or final. When the book finally came out in softcover earlier this year, I picked up a copy and waited for the right moment to give my eyes a glorious treat.

That moment came a bit sooner than I expected with the big shuffle and relaunch at DC.  A Batwoman series had been planned and delayed for some time, I'd even picked up and read the #0 issue to whet my appetite.  When the relaunch was announced, I knew it was time to give Elegy read so I'd be all caught up when the new issues started hitting shelves.

My recent read of Stumptown gave me high hopes that writer Greg Rucka would be able to deliver the goods with an interesting and engaging Batwoman story.  Boy did he ever.

The story is equally about Kate Kane, the woman behind the mask as it is about Batwoman and her battle against a psycho named Alice who quotes Lewis Carrol and aspires to unleashing a toxic death-cloud over Gotham city.  While all the crime fighting business is taking place, Rucka intertwines the story with scenes that depict Kane's past in the military, her complex family situation and childhood, and her struggles relating to her sexual identity.  All these elements work together to create a character who is intensely real, highly engaging, and downright fun to read about.

I was incredibly impressed with the writing effort here.  I got the feeling that Rucka had really set out to make Batwoman/Kate Kane a believable and realistic character, and I feel like he pretty much nailed it.  There were a few plot elements related to the Alice versus Batwoman story line that felt like they were dropped into the story without any supporting information, but this was minor and didn't really take much away from the reading experience.

As great as Rucka's writing was, and it was quite good, the art of Batwoman: Elegy, handled by J.H. Williams III, was astounding.  Simply put, Williams is one of the very best artists in the business and Batwoman is (in my opinion) his crowning achievement thus far.

Not only does JHW3 display his talent in Batwoman: Elegy, he also displays his versatility. He uses different styles of art to depict various aspects of Kate Kane's life.  When she is Batwoman, he uses an almost photo-realistic art approach, a more vintage style for her military days, a cartoonish style for her childhood, and a clean, crisp art style for her current day, out of costume scenes.

While each style is well done, impressive, and displays Williams' talent, my favorite art sequences were the Batwoman ones.  I loved how Williams used non-standard panels to break up the page and used a much more stylized iconic approach to portray the action.  This made the fight scenes seem much more realistic, as they captured the chaos of the fight, yet displayed Batwoman's prowess and skill, and made it all look fancy to boot.  Williams' ability to create beautiful, dynamic art that makes the action leap off the page is an amazing skill and a quality that only makes me love this comic more.

If judged solely on art, Batwoman: Elegy would receive high marks, but Rucka's writing is equally great.  The character development work he put in makes Kate Kane one of the more interesting characters I've read in any form of writing lately, and she especially stands out as a female comic character that isn't just about gigantic breasts and skimpy clothing.  It's sad that she stands out for that reason, but you can either lament that fact, or enjoy the fact that Batwoman/Kate Kane is a shining beacon in the industry of how good comics can be.

For the relaunch, Batwoman will be co-written by J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman, and JHW3 will handle the art as well.  The #0 issue which hit shelves early in the year was handled by the same team, and I enjoyed it, so I feel like the title is in capable hands.  The writing will probably suffer a bit, but the seeds that Rucka planted should continue to bear fruit down the road.

I can easily recommend Batwoman: Elegy, and in fact, have already loaned my copy out and successfully recommended to other folks around the interwebs.  A great lead character, great writing and great art make this one a slam dunk/homerun/hole in one.  If you have even the slightest interest in reading an awesome comic, give this one a shot.

Grade: A+