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.

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.

2011 Graphic Novels of the Year

This past year was another big year for me in terms of reading graphic novels. Though I didn't reach the lofty 50 title mark like I did in 2010, by the time this gets published I'll be up around 40 graphic novels on the year...not too shabby if you ask me.  Overall, I think I definitely read better stuff this year than in years past, so quality wins out over quantity this year.  Picking out the Top 5 and a couple runners up was pretty damn difficult.  No sense in keeping you waiting here they are:

TOP 5 GRAPHIC NOVELS of the YEAR:

#5. Axe Cop: This one gets on the list due to sheer hilarity of the content.  If you haven't heard of Axe Cop let me give you the scoop: the comic is written by a five year old and drawn by his 30 year old brother...and that's what makes this so incredibly awesome.  When a five year old writes a comic you better be ready for some crazy shit to go down, and believe me, it does.

With free reign and creative control over the title, writer Malachai Nicolle fills Axe Cop up with all the wonders of his vividly wild imagination.  Be prepared for uncanny plot resolutions, an incredibly strange and diverse cast of characters, and plenty of little dude humor.

When it comes to Axe Cop I can give you one solid guarantee: you will laugh out loud.  Easily the funniest thing I read all year.

#4. Batwoman: Elegy: Let's see, does Batwoman: Elegy feature some mind blowing art and deft writing?  Yes indeed it does.  But wait there's more!  This awesome graphic novel also features a creepy villain named Alice who quotes Lewis Carroll and wants to cover Gotham in a toxic death cloud, shapeshifters, and all the fun, costumed hi-jinx you'd expect from a Bat-Title...and that's not even the best part.

Now don't get me wrong all that stuff I just mentioned is great, and pretty much essential for my own personal tastes, but the true quality in Batwoman: Elegy is found outside of the costumed parameters.  The true grit, if you will, is found when Batwoman is Kate Kane, dealing with all the troblems (troubles and problems) of her personal life.  If you don't believe me, read it.  You'll thank me.

Hey, have I mentioned that J.H. Williams III, who handles the art on this title, is fucking awesome?  Well, he is.

#3. Essex County:  If you are a steady reader of the blog, then you know I am sorta a big fan of Jeff Lemire's works of comics.  So, it should come as little surprise that there's something of his on the Top 5 graphic novels list too.

Simply put, Essex County is a wonderful tale of simple rural farm folk in Canada.  That might sound kinda boring, but this is a wonderful exploration of human emotion pared down to it's raw center.  The characters, their lives, their mistakes and regrets all come vividly to the forefront of this amazing comic. It's one of those titles that locks itself in your memory, and just as easily as you can recall the events of the story you can also easily recall the feelings, emotions and struggles you were going through in your own life while you were reading it.

At least that's what happened with me.

#2. (Tie) Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft, Locke & Key: Head Games: Yeah, I'm not totally a fan of ties, but, um get used to it...

I couldn't mention one Locke & Key title and not mention the other one I read.

Allow me to point out a couple of things that may or may not be obvious: 1) Joe Hill can flat out write.  2) That fact is not limited to just novels.  2011 will definitely go down as the year I discovered the awesomeness that is Joe Hill.  I read four things by him this year, and if not for a small measure of personal restraint, I could have easily read more.  So far, I haven't met a piece of Joe Hill writing I don't love.

I'm trying really hard to restrain myself from repeatedly using words like "awesome", "sweet", "the bomb", "amazing", "outstanding" and so on, but Locke & Key is all those things and more.  I will emphasize a couple points: From what I've read so far, I'd say Locke & Key is shaping up to be the modern horror classic.  Aaaaaannnddd: Joe Hill is the bomb!  Shit! There I go....Seriously, despite all signs pointing to the fact that I'm nuts, check out my reviews for Welcome to Lovecraft and Head Games.  Or don't and miss out on something incredible.  The ball is in your court.

#1. (Tie) Planetary Volumes 1-4: It's only fitting that these four titles go down as the number one graphic novel of the year, because I read 'em all together, and really, it would be lame if four of the top 5 spots were taken up by Planetary books.

I know I said it in my review, but Planetary is the best comics story I've read...ever, and it'll be pretty damn tough to top.

This one has all the hallmarks of greatness: great writing, fantastic art, and a story that is aimed at a reader who can balance a check book, or something equally adult, time consuming and frustrating.  I really think this is a set of graphic novels that can be read and enjoyed by anyone who loves a great story, and for fans of the fantastic and or science fictional, this is it, your gateway into comics.

As great and amazing as the other titles on this list, they don't come close to Planetary.  Seriously, this is the comics medium at its absolute best.


Runners Up:


It was the War in the Trenches: A harrowing and intense look at World War I from the perspective of French trench "grunts".  Simultaneously incredible, beautiful, depressing, bleak, and tragic.

Stumptown: A tale of crime, back-stabs and double crosses in the Pacific Northwest.  Expertly written and beautifully illustrated.

There you go, another round of the year's best in the can.  It's gonna be a tough year to follow, good luck 2012. In my expert scouring of the comics medium did I miss anything?  What were your faves?

2011 Comics of the Year

TOP 5 COMIC SERIES of the YEAR:


In a year where I was still finding my feet in the comics medium, discovering what I like, and don't like, the battle for the Top 5 Comic Series of the Year had some stiff competition.  Last year I only featured two titles in what was a tie for my top comic, but this year I read way more titles, and it wouldn't be fair to only cover one title, so this year I'm giving you seven!  Damn, I'm nice.  With last year's co-winners Sweet Tooth and Chew still cranking out issues on a monthly basis, will any fresh contenders be able to unseat the champs? (I'll give you a hint, one of them slipped completely out of the rankings all together...) What am I waiting for?  Let's find out!

#5.  Rocketeer Adventures:  This title was an absolute blast.  Basically, a bunch of the industry's best writers and artists got together and cranked out a bunch of short comics and gorgeous pin-up tributes to Dave Steven's Rocketeer.

Each issue of this four issue mini featured some of the best comics creators in the business. The first issue was pretty astounding, but with each issue, there seemed to be a theme of each creator trying to out-do the others.  The result is some absolutely wonderful comics that offer a wide variety of Rocketeer action.  High caliber writing and art is pretty much standard across the board in this Top 5 list, but Rocketeer Adventures offers more variety and plenty of bang for your buck.

Probably my favorite comics moment of the year came when I discovered Geoff Darrow's lovely double-page spread pin-up.  Jaw Droppingly awesome.

#4. Batwoman: In case you've been living under a giant rock all year long, you know by now that DC relaunched all it's titles and started all their shit over at #1.  This provided me with the opportunity to jump onto a bunch of their titles that looked worthy my attention.  Out of the 52 titles they released, I deemed 7 of them worthy of my time and money.  Of those 7, only one gets the glory of being a Battle Hymns Top 5 comic of 2011. That title is, of course, Batwoman.

Batwoman doesn't spend her time battling classic villains like her compatriot Batman, but she seems to have carved out her niche in Gotham's caped and cowled crime fighting community: the supernatural.  In her most recent adventures she finds herself up against a ghostly child stealing wraith; with lots of personal and professional distractions going on amid all the action.  The writing is solid, Kate Kane's sexuality is maturely handled, and issue after issue, this seems to get better and better.  Oh, and the art?  J.H. Williams III is at the top of his game.  Absolutely beautiful work.

#3. The Sixth Gun: I love westerns, and I love fantasy so it should come as no surprise that I love The Sixth Gun, because those two elements have never been so wonderfully intertwined.

Sometimes I feel like the creators, Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt had me in mind when they came up with this concept, because it is very much geared to my tastes. I've been loving this title since issue #1 and have gladly been hooked for the whole journey so far.

The most recent story arc, Crossroads has been extremely entertaining and full of tense, shocking moments.  This comic is pretty much guaranteed to deliver engaging characters, fun western-style action like train hijackings, and crazy supernatural moments like re-animated evil spirits each and every month.  The art seems to just be getting better each go-around too, so there you go.  All around awesomeness.

#2. The Intrepids: The Top 5 list would be sadly incomplete if I failed to mention the awesomeness that is The Intrepids.

Mad science, a tech-ed up teen team battling crazy creations like cyber bears, battle baboons, and robo-squids are all involved in this crazy fun, crazy awesome 5 issue mini series.

Series creators Kurtis Wiebe and Scott Kowalchuk definitely delivered the goods here.  The writing by Wiebe is fantastic, and he delivers action, drama, tension and jokes with equal aplomb.  Kowalchuk's art is some of my favorite from the year.  He draws mad-science creations extremely well, and makes them look incredible...oh, and the rest of his art is great too, but those mad science creations...*sigh*

What astounded me the most about The Intrepids is that the story delivered on multiple fronts, and even packed in some emotional moments, and still managed to be the most fun comic to read on the shelves.

If you still haven't checked this title out, do so immediately.


#1. Sweet Tooth:  You're still the one Sweet Tooth.

Impressively, despite some stiff competition, Sweet Tooth manages to find itself at the top of the heap once again, and really, it was an easy decision to put it at number one once again.  The reason is simple: Sweet Tooth gets better with each issue.  Not only that, but writer/artist, Jeff Lemire continues to explore new ways of telling the story, and by doing so, stretches the boundaries of the comics medium.

Not only is this my favorite on going comic, but it is steadily creeping up the list and becoming one of my favorite all time stories, period.

For as much as I think, discuss, and gush on and on about this series, I still have almost no idea how this will all turn out.  So much of the bigger picture is still shrouded in mystery, but Lemire has done an excellent job off hiding his cards and slowly revealing them one at a time.  I can't wait to see what the next year of Sweet Tooth will bring.

Runners Up:


Who is Jake Ellis?: Wonderful action packed espionage thriller.  Great writing, satisfying ending to the series, and really cool art.

Blue Estate: A seedy Hollywood crime story with plenty of ins and outs.  Crafty, twisty crime writing at it's finest.


BEST SINGLE ISSUE of the YEAR:

Who is Jake Ellis? #1: In a year where I read more comics than I ever have in my entire life, one issue stands out from the crowd, and that is Who is Jake Ellis? #1. When I read it, I felt like I was reading something completely new and unique, which is very rare these days.  Both the writing and the art had a very fresh feel to them.

This issue pretty much did everything perfect.  The writing by Nathan Edmondson was captivating, it introduced the primary characters, set up the plot, and delivered some great action and chase scenes.  The art by Tonci Zonjic has an incredible vibe and personality that gave the series a signature style that is one of a kind.

This issue pretty much stormed the gates... and the whole damn castle fell with the following issues.  In a year bulging with "#1" issues, this one easily takes the cake.

Runner Up: The Intrepids #1: I've got two words for you: Cyber Bear.

Welp, there you go, my favorite comics from the year.  Are there titles I completely overlooked?  What were your favorite comics from the year?