The One Where He Explains The Idea
If you're a creative person -- and I'm not saying I am, particularly, certainly not like a Tim Burton or a Lindsey Buckingham or even a d. emerson eddy -- but if you're a creative person, I want to tell you that the ideas you have when you are trying to go to sleep are usually the ones worth doing. The ones where, you're lying there in bed, and you want to be sleeping, drooling on your pillow obliviously for the next 8 or 10 hours, but no, the idea won't go away. It actually grabs your collar and drags your ass out of bed to work on it. Unless you're naked. In which case, just, ewww.
Anyway, in this Breakdowns column by Chris Allen -- some of you will remember Breakdowns started here at Comic Book Galaxy and is just about the greatest thing to happen on any given Thursday -- anyway, in that there column, Chris linked to this weblog entry of mine in which I reviewed "seven floppies." For the purposes of your discussion, floppies are just any comic that has staples and is, you know, floppy. You could actually think of that column as the nascent "F is for...FLOPPY." Which is funny, because Chris Allen and I have been arguing over how you pronounce that word for weeks now. He says NASS-ent and I say NAY-sent, and the dictionary says, of course, both. What the hell good is that?
Anyway, that particular weblog entry, the "seven floppies" one, convinced me that there's life left in the floppy medium. Titles like Sleeper by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, just about anything by Alan Moore, Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar or Steve Niles -- or Brubaker, come to think of it -- titles by any of these guys prove that you can still do good things in the floppy format.
Not that every floppy we look at here will be Moore/Brubaker/Niles level stuff. Far from it. Nothing gives me more of an opportunity to get my hate on more than reviewing monthly floppies, believe me. But if I thought ALL floppies were worthless garbage deserving nothing more than heaps of snarling disdain, man, I'd just write something called The Ten Best and be done with it.
You either know what a wonderful title Astro City is or you don't; either way, you will love this issue. "Pastoral" is the story of Cammie, a teenager from Astro City who is "Packed off to the boonies...for the whole summer" by her family. She's a city girl and more than a little outraged at this turn of events, but she finds things aren't as dull out in the sticks as she had assumed.
One of the best single issues I've read all year -- or ever, this is a full-blown character piece. Using e-mail narration, Busiek gets inside Cammie's character in a way that is rare for superhero comics and is a true credit to Busiek's writing skills. He paints her as jaded but still capable of wonder -- a true teenager experiencing an extraordinary world where it's entirely possible that superheroes will swoop down from the sky even in the unlikliest of places.
In addition to the superheroics (which play a minor role in either the plot or the theme, and to the story's benefit), Cammie's experiences in Caplinville are fully revealed to us, from a night at the fair (not at all what she expects) to a quiet interlude in a barn with some newborn kittens. Not once does the story fall back on false sentiment as it shows a new and different corner of the world of Astro City.
The new hero we meet this issue should by all rights be corny and silly, but Busiek's script and Anderson's skillful and energetic artwork make him believable, sympathetic and even a bit tragic. His origin is surprisingly topical, and he's a worthy addition to the roster of charcters that Astro City has introduced us to over the years.
The family Cammie is sent to live with are a farm family, and Busiek and Anderson manage to give a thorough sense of their lives in the course of the story. She spends a lot of time with two sisters, and one of the joys of the story is the way that she gets to know this family and eventually some of its secrets.
The ending wasn't entirely a surprise, but the clues are there throughout the story so I don't think it's meant to be. "Pastoral" sells itself not on shocking revelations but on its honest, entertaining and humane depiction of rural life and the universal themes that so naturally emerge from it. This is a wonderful standalone issue that can be read and understood by anyone at all, and I am strongly considering picking up a few to give to non-comics reading friends. This is a very powerful argument for comics, in the guise of one unassuming little superhero funnybook -- it's also one of the two or three very best issues of Astro City ever. Grade: 5/5
Stan Lee's illusion of change theory seems to be Jeph Loeb's guide for this entire "Hush" storyline, as every issue has a lot seeming to happen but at the end of every issue you wonder if we're really moved forward at all. This issue delivers lots of vacuous-but-highly-readable superhero tension and appearances by President Lex Luthor, Ra's al Ghul and his daughter Talia, and a serious clue as to who the (still!) unrevealed villain of the piece is.
Whoever is manipulating Batman, Catwoman and everyone else in this story (pretty much, if you're on-panel, sooner or later we find out, yep, you're being manipulated!) has had use for a Lazarus Pit, the method by which Ra's al Ghul has defied death many, many times. Between this nugget and the promotional suggestion that Batman will ultimately face "The one person he cannot fight," I think we're down to wondering if we're going to see the return of Jason Todd to the DC Universe by the time this is all over.
Watching the History Channel's documentary on superheroes the other day, my 9-year-old daughter was shocked to discover that there was a time when the world was so mean that people would call a 1-900 number to call in and vote to kill Robin. The world is a mmuch meaner place now than it was then, so I'd imagine that this might be the perfect GOTCHA! moment for this mindless, gaudy but fairly entertaining Sooperhero Saga.
Lee's art looks particularly pretty this month, and although I don't care for his take on Catwoman at all compared to the masterful work in her own title, Lee's handling of Ra's and Talia is very striking and pays respect to the O'Neil/Adams era that saw the first introduction of these characters.
Lee and Loeb's take on Batman isn't revolutionary, or even as good as Loeb's numerous works with artist Tim Sale. It is bright and shiny, though, and a good guilty pleasure for anyone with sentimental memories of Batman and a couple-three bucks burning a hole in their pocket. Grade: 4/5
Not the first ABC spinoff of an Alan Moore title (this time Tom Strong), but very possibly the most promising. Peter Hogan scripts over a plot by himself and Alan Moore (you may have heard of Moore, the best writer to ever work in comics?).
Said plot is intriguing -- Terra Obscura (an alternate Earth, literally "Hidden Earth," in latin) is home to some iconic heroes, some of whom are still active and some of whom -- like the lead character Carol Carter, who has lost her powers -- have retired. Carter decides to visit some old friends and fellow heroes in Invertica City (where everywhere is downtown). One of those friends is the now-dead Bob Benton, "The Terror," who despite his death is now running Invertica City and keeping it crime-free.
The Terror is a key player in the plot, as a shadowy group of criminals plans to destroy him. Carol Carter gets caught up in the action when they make their move, and we get a sense of Bob Benton's crimefighting style that is as chilling in its way as some of Moore's better moments in Watchmen. In fact, The Terror's current state reminds me more than a little of, say, The Comedian if he'd gotten the powers of Dr. Manhattan. There, now, if you've read Watchmen, you understand why I liked this first issue so much.
Hogan's script lacks the poetry of Moore's writing, but it's a cut above other non-Moore writing we've seen in the ABC line previously. In other words, if you've tended not to enjoy some of the non-Moore stories in, say, Tom Strong's Terrific Tales, I assure you Terra Obscura is handled more capably -- with a feel, surprisingly, much like Joe Casey's excellent Wildcats, full of post-ironic superhero intrigue.
Paquette and Story's artwork is terrific, with a lot of information in the backgrounds and nicely defined individual characters. The style at work is a bit of a synthesis of the heroic stylings of Tom Strong and the layered, highly-detailed Top 10.
I don't think I've obscured very well the fact that some ABC work not done by Moore has disappointed me -- frankly, in my eyes, following Alan Moore on his own characters is basically setting yourself up to fail by definition (no offense intended at all, and I am sure any creators who've done so know exactly what I am saying). But despite that prejudice going in, I greatly enjoyed Terra Obscura and am excitedly anticipating the rest of the series. With the ABC Universe winding down to an end, series like Terra Obscura are a poignant reminder of how much potential is in the concept, even when Alan Moore doesn't directly participate in the scripting. Grade: 4.5/5.
In addition to the above-reviewed Astro City, another great character piece this week is Catwoman #20. One of the best single issues of this series, it's 22 pages focusing mainly on Holly learning to defend herself, a necessary skill if she's going to be Selina Kyle's best friend.
There's a guest-appearance from an unexpected tutor -- a refreshing cameo that could have gone the way of cliche by turning over the role to Slam Bradley or Batman, but Brubaker and Stewart invoke another DC stalwart to great effect, and work an amusing (and revealing) thread about how most men are attracted to Selina.
The story delves deep into the heart and spirit of Holly, a character who's been kicking around since Batman: Year One, but who has never been more fully drawn or more appealing than she is here. Brubaker has invested her with a life and interests outside those required by the plot, and readers have been rewarded by the ways in which those elements have intersected. Stewart makes her damn cute, too -- and her relatinship with her girlfriend Karon is believable and adds greatly to the interaction of the book's cast.
Stewart has really proven himself up to the somewhat thankless task of following through on the artistic promise delivered in the early issues of the series drawn by Darwyn Cooke. The pop-noir look is delightful, confident and imaginative, and Brubaker's scripting is human and great fun every month. This is the best DC Universe title, really the only one you have to read. If you've been missing it up until now, this great single-issue story (which also serves as the first chapter of a new arc, but trust me, you can read this and be satisfied you got a complete tale worth reading) is a great place to see what I've been talking about for almost two years now. Grade: 4.5/5.
As every review you've ever read about an anthology title has told you, it's always a mixed bag. You never know if you're going to get a book packed with exciting talent telling outstanding stories, or a collection of crap no one could find any other use for. All too often it's the latter.
Hellboy Weird Tales is a bit of an exception, given that the talent is indeed mostly top-notch every issue, and Hellboy and his colleagues seem to bring out the best in the guest creators that have chosen to play in Mike Mignola's sandbox.
This issue has a set of truly extraordinary tales, probably the best of which is "Family Story" by Sara Ryan and Steve Lieber, the creative team who also brought us Me and Edith Head. "Family Story" has the twisted, naff perspective of one of those 1970s Charlton horror tales. Hellboy investigates the supernatural strangeness that is disrupting the family life of a mother and father and their son. The implications of the story are unusually blunt and disturbing as Hellboy finds out where the parents are going when they are entranced in the night.
"Family Story" also has one of the best punchlines in Hellboy history, a final caption truly worthy of Mignola himself. It'll leave you with a nervous chuckle for the rest of the day.
The story that leads off the issue is "Still Born," a minor masterpoiece by Alex Maleev and Matt Hollingsworth. It stands mainly as an artistic tour-de-force that may surprise even readers of Maleev's excellent work on Daredevil.
The issue's other major story is "Down Time" by Bob Fingerman of Beg the Question fame. If you're a Fingerman fan you'll be pleased by his inclusion, but Hellboy purists should beware -- it's definitely more Fingerman than Hellboy.
John Cassaday's Lobster Johnson faux-Sunday comic strip continues in this issue as well. It's visually interesting, but I'm not sure it's much more that an added-value bonus, at least in single installments.
Overall a terrific issue, with Maleev and Hollinsworth and Ryan and Lieber's contributions more than worth the cover price. Grade: 4.5/5
I was first introduced to the film Donnie Darko by my longtime friend (and original technical advisor on Comic Book Galaxy) Brian Florence. He and a friend of his brought over a fairly low-res VHS copy one night a few weeks ago, and thought it would be something I would A) Enjoy and B) Be able to explain to them a little better. At the very least, the fact that I learned what deus ex machina means from comic books came in handy.
It's a complex, layered film that you can peel apart and look at from different angles much in the same way as Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. In fact, I'd say to date, Donnie Darko is about as close as that landmark comics series has come to being translated to film.
To say too much about the true nature of the plot would be to spoil the experience for you, but I can't recommend enough that you buy or rent the DVD (I was able to get it for less than $15.00 at Borders) and watch this wonderous film reveal its secrets. Imagine Twin Peaks by way of American Beauty and Ghost World and you've almost got it, but this is a unique film that will linger with you long, long after you're done watching it the first time. And it most certainly will appeal to you if you've found over time that you share a common belief with me about what makes for good storytelling.
As long as I'm busy recommending stuff, I just wanted to throw that out there. The movie was actually released in September of 2001, which is why it's more or less been relegated to the dustbin of history. But it's a brilliant film that I just want to watch over and over again and live inside of and understand and explore...and I would be seriously derelict in my duties here if I didn't tell you about it, too. Check it out.