Comic Quickies A Mixed Bag of Greatness

Rocketeer Adventures #1: This amazing ode to Dave Stevens' Rocketeer is a glorious comic that should be owned by all.  This issue features stories and pin-ups from some of the biggest and most talented artists and writers in the field.

First off there's the beautiful cover by Alex Ross, plus a story written and drawn by John Cassaday, a Mike Mignola pin-up, a story by Mike Allred, and another story written by Kurt Busiek...along with many others.  Along with the field of wonderful talent comes a few great Rocketeer stories.  It was cool to see each creator's unique take on this classic character.

Despite the bevvy of talent I was most taken by the art of Michael Kaluta, a guy who was an unknown to me prior to this comic.  His artwork on the Dear Betty story was nothing short of amazing and his Robo-Squid and Samurai Gorilla were wonderful additions to a couple of sweet black and white panels.  One of the most entertaining and high quality comics I've read this year. I highly recommend picking this up, along with the other three Rocketeer Adventures issues that are forthcoming.

Strange Adventures #1: First things first, I'd like to point out how awesome that Paul Pope cover is.  As much as I like looking at it, the actual copy of the comic I own is not nearly as pretty to look at due to a GIANT Green Lantern movie banner that runs across the top cover.  Thanks DC.  Why the fuck would I want to look at Ryan Reynold's face when I'm reading a Vertigo title?  Keep your lame DC hero movie ads on your lame DC titles please. Ok, moving on...

Strange Adventures is a collection of sci-fi themed short comic stories.  I openly admit that I pretty much only picked this up based on the fact that I knew there'd be a Jeff Lemire story in it.  His entry Ultra the Multi-Alien  was pretty wonderful.  Like all great Lemire stories it was tinged with a heavy dose of tragedy.  In the span of eight pages the guy nearly had me in tears.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Lauren Beukes had a story in here also.  All the Pretty Ponies was pretty damn good, and I'd love to see her idea get fleshed out in greater length.  Of all the stories, the Lemire, and Beukes tales stood out as the best, and I was pretty underwhelmed by the Brian Azarello and Eduardo Risso story Spaceman which gives readers a first look at their new series.  I don't think I'll be diving into that one anytime soon.

 The Strange Case of Mr. Hyde #2: The plot thickens in a big way here in this second issue as we see Detective Adye team up with Dr. Jekyll in hopes of putting Jack the Ripper in cuffs.  There's some incredibly tense and nerve wracking moments as the two work together and get into and out of trouble.

I was happy to see Dr. Jekyll get some more page time, as he struck me as a very interesting character in the first issue.  Jekyll more or less stole the show in this issue, and looks to be a major player in the next two issues.

Somehow Cole Haddon, the writer, manages to pack plenty of story into one issue.  I definitely feel like I'm getting my money's worth.  The art of M.S. Corley is also quite good again, and I'm definitely looking forward to the next issue.

The Intrepids #'s 3 and 4: I know I'm way behind on my comic reading/reviewing when I lapse and have to double up on one of my favorite comics.

I'll try to put this simply: The Intrepids is one of the most entertaining and fun comics out there.  I'm pretty amazed by how many awesome/crazy ideas Kurtis J. Wiebe has managed to pack into this series so far, and I get the sense that the best is yet to come.  Scott Kowalchuk's artwork continues to be some of the most unique and visually interesting art in the business.  I truly believe he's the perfect guy to draw Wiebe's mad science imaginings.

As this story progresses, I find myself getting further invested in the characters.  Most of the character development attention is given to Crystal, the team leader.  My only gripe with the series is that I wish there was more attention given to Doyle, Rose, and Chester, the other team members.  Still, even though they don't get as much character development, those characters still have unique and interesting qualities that make them stand out and add more depth to the story.

With only two issues left, I'm starting to feel pretty depressed that The Intrepids is coming to a close.  I know I've gushed about this series before, but I highly recommend it, as I think its an accessible and high quality story for just about anyone out there. 

Green Wake #2: Kurtis J. Wiebe's other comic effort is the dark mystery story Green Wake.  This comic takes a definite slow-burn approach that fits the plot well, and I personally really enjoy.  In this day and age of instant gratification this drawn out style of story telling may be a turn off for some readers, but I think it makes the mystery element of this comic more intriguing.

Though things move slow, and important information is kept obscured, hidden and slowly revealed, there is some important reveals and clues in this issue.  That being said, there's a plenty of further mysteries and questions that result from those little nuggets that are revealed.

Green Wake is another example of great story telling and art in the comics medium.  Each issue so far has demanded my full attention and I've had to force myself to take my time with Rossmo's art which can take some adjusting to.  I'm looking forward to the next installment which hits stores today.

 Who is Jake Ellis? #4: Rounding out this mixed bag of comic awesomeness is the latest WiJE?.  I've discussed the hallmarks of this series before but I'll reiterate: if you like fast paced espionage action and a story that is paced perfectly with a clean no-frills, no-waste plot this is your comic. 

I really try to avoid gushing like a depraved fanboy around here, but shit, Who is Jake Ellis? is really fucking good.  The writer, Nathan Edmondson does a great job telling the story, but I also appreciate how he'll let Toni Zonjic's art take over at times and do the heavy lifting.  These two guys seem to work really well together, and it shows in how flawless the connection between the art and story is in each issue.

There's a great twist/plot reveal at the end that'll probably have me pulling my hair out until the next issue lands in my pull box.  Really great stuff, and so worth checking out if you haven't done so already.

Comic Quickies With a Side of Victorian Murder

Captain Swing #3: It has been a long-ass time since Warren Ellis got around to delivering us an issue of Captain Swing, but the third issue was totally worth the wait.

This issue pretty much does it all.  Ellis, the crafty bastard that he is, manages to give a tour of Cindery Island, the electric pirate hideout, develop Captain Swing's character a bit more, develop Gravel's character, and add in a whole grip of action and fiery story-telling.  To top it all off, he threw in a couple of awesome twists that set things up for the fourth and final issue of this mini-series to be very interesting.  I'll be looking forward to it when it finally comes out. 

The art of Captain Swing continues to be pretty great.  Raulo Caceres can draw people, places, and weird electrical steam-punky technology with equal skill.  I feel like sometimes the artists Ellis works with can be a bit over the top and over do it on the art front, but Caceres seems like the perfect fit for this title.  An all around awesome issue that made me very excited to read the final installment.

Infinite Vacation #2:  Add this title to the list of comics I'm on the fence about.

This issue started out pretty slow, and then got bad, then at the end managed to be totally awesome and draw me back in.

My problem is that there is almost too much text in this comic.  There's a whole lot of explaining to do with this concept and to add in a murder mystery on top of the already complex idea leads to a lot of word bubbles that basically serve the purpose of filling you in as to what the hell is going on.  I feel like a big chunk of the story is a veiled info-dump, and though it is somewhat covered up by being part of the story, it is still a big of a turn off for me.

Also, the artwork is extremely hot and cold.  I'm not even remotely exaggerating when I say that the art quality varies from panel to panel.  There can a panel on a page that looks pedestrian at best, then one later on the page that is absolutely gorgeous and does crazy stuff with negative space.

Each issue so far has also had a span of pages that are photographs of actual people with word bubble.  This switch has thrown me for a loop each time, and I'm not a fan of it.  

Interestingly enough, the last few pages of the comic were so damn good that they managed to  re-invigorate my interest in the series.  My hope is that we're beyond the info-dumps and it will be pure story from here on out.  Hopefully the art quality will solidify, and I'll be treated to more pastelly-trippy unique artwork.

The Mission #3: This third issue of The Mission begins with Paul and his wife in couples therapy.  It's pretty clear to see that his new life as Killer For God has totally screwed up his family and marital life.  The nice thing about Paul is that he's a fighter, and when his next meeting with Gabe, the so-called angel, happens, Paul decides to do a little bit of detective work.  However, tailing Gabe leads to a dead-end, and dusting his coffee cup for fingerprints turns out to be a total waste of time. 

It seems pretty obvious that Paul is losing his mind, and that Gabe, and all the other stuff related to "The Mission" are a figment of his imagination.  Just as Paul begins to come to grips with his new-found insanity, he receives a glimmer of hope in the form of an old-fashioned ass-whoopin'.

Even though this issue wasn't as action packed as the previous issue, it delivers some good psychological-dilemma layers that add to the story.  I'm not completely sure Paul is nuts, but at the same time, there's a good chance he is. 

The art of The Mission continues to be pretty underwhelming, but the writing is pretty solid and I'm enjoying the story.

The Strange Case of Mr. Hyde:  I've saved the best for last this time around.  So far 2011 has been a great year for new comics, and The Strange Case of Mr. Hyde is looking to be another great one.

This one begins with a little bit of back story regarding the infamous Dr. Jekyll, then jumps ahead five years to "present" day where an unnatural killer is slashing up whores in the streets of London.  Inspector Thomas Adye is on the case and his investigation of the most recent murder leads to the discovery that the killer is not only capable of preforming feats of uncanny strength, but can also ran faster and jump much higher than the average man.  The last killer with such unnatural abilities was Dr. Jekyll's alter-ego, the beastly Mr. Hyde.  In need of some help with the case, Inspector Adye reluctantly seeks the aid of the one man who might be able to help him, but also might be insane.

I don't want to spoil too much of the first issue, but there is an amazing scene of back and forth banter that is not only expertly written but also drawn fantastically.  The writer, Cole Haddon, packed a lot of story into this first issue, and most pages are packed with panels.  Even though there are a lot of panels, I never felt like the text and the art were fighting for space.  The artist M.S. Corley does a fine job, and I enjoyed his artwork throughout the issue.  The groundwork is laid for what looks to be an entertaining Jack the Ripper story with some Dr. Jekyll mixed in.  I'm very much looking forward to the next issue.