Category: graphic novel reviews

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Batman in the Fifties

This is a review of Batman in the Fifties. I will be honest here and say that I did not expect to enjoy this graphic novel, which was purchased in a buying frenzy a few years back. DC’s Silver Age might have laid the foundations for decades to come, but it also produced a lot of dreck. When you come down to it, Batman is a crime comic and the character doesn’t do well in science fiction stories. I can prove this, having read two volumes of The World’s Finest – which features Batman & Superman teaming up against aliens, crackpot inventors with salad colanders on their heads, and traveling back in time to become the Three Musketeers.

Imagine my shock when I found myself liking the stories in this volume. This is a curated collection, which means all the content has been hand-picked. My favorite story features The Bat Ape, with Ace the Bat Hound coming in a close second. The Bat Ape lives in a circus. When his trainer is framed for stealing the box office take for the day, the Bat Ape springs into action. He follows the Dynamic Duo to the Bat-Cave, where he dons a Batman outfit and aids Batman & Robin in corralling the real criminals! Ace the Bat Hound follows the same formula.

We also meet Batwoman, aka heiress Kathy Kane, who doesn’t quite mesh with the Dynamic Duo, but paved the way for Batgirl’s arrival in the 1960’s. We witness the origins of Mr. Freeze and the mighty Killer Moth, and learn more about the Joker’s origins (he was the Red Hood). Kudos to the creative team, Bill Finger and Bob Kane, who spent well over a decade working on the same comic, and still managed to make it entertaining.

Recommended for Batman fans!

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Superior Foes of Spider-Man Volume 1: Getting the Band Back Together

This is a review of Superior Foes of Spider-Man Vol. 1: Getting the Band Back Together. There’s a scene in this graphic novel where a kid tells Speed Demon, who used to call himself the Whizzer, that he’s stupid. Speed Demon tells the kid she might have a point, and then steals her dog.

Yes, that’s right. The Superior Foes of Spider-Man are villains. I won’t say super-villains, because there’s nothing super about them. They’re all too stupid. Boomerang, who throws boomerangs and has jets on his ankles, is stupid. Speed Demon, aka Whizzer, is stupid. Overdrive, the ultimate getaway driver, and the Beetle, the only girl in the group, are stupid. The Shocker differs from the others in that he’s really stupid.

The plot is too complex to explain. It involves the long-lost head of crime-boss Silvermane and a portrait of Dr. Doom. The plot doesn’t matter, though. The fun of this graphic novel lies in watching the characters double-and-triple cross each other. It’s a funny comic. Boomerang goes to a support group for super-villains. Speed Demon asks if objects get lighter when you move faster. Collective IQs fall fifty points when the Shocker enters a room.

This graphic novel reminds me more of a Dortmunder caper than a superhero comic. For those who don’t know, Dortmunder was the unluckiest criminal mastermind in the universe. Once he stole the same jewel five times. Recommended for people who like crime in their superhero comics.

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Justice League of America: The Marriage of the Atom and Jean Loring

This is a review of Justice League of America: The Wedding of the Atom and Jean Loring. The JLA is a simple concept – seven of the most popular characters in the DC Universe team up – that should be a license to print money. This volume isn’t flying off anyone’s shelf, unfortunately. Most of the stories are written by Gerry Conway, who is a prolific writer. If you read superhero comics in the 1970’s and 1980’s, you’ve read him. I speak as a fan of his work when I say he’s done better work elsewhere.

The first four issues feature Jean Loring, aka the Atom’s fiancée, being abducted by aliens. This leads to her having a nervous breakdown, which is realistic. Jean randomly teleports throughout the universe, bringing natural disasters in her wake, which isn’t realistic but whatever. This storyline first appeared in the Secret Society of Super Villains, and each issue features the Atom teaming up with random heroines/heroes in his search.

After the Atom rescues his fiancée, we turn to the Justice League of America where writer Steve Englehart does a storyline featuring Star-Tsar, who may or may not be disgraced JLA mascot Snapper Carr. Snapper is like a former child celebrity gone to seed – rightly or wrongly, he blames the JLA. We also have a two-issue team-up between the JLA, the JSA (the JLA from Earth One), and the Legion of Super Heroes (far future teen heroes). If you don’t get what I’m saying, don’t worry about it. I am familiar with comics, and I had problems understanding the plot and keeping track of all the characters.

Writer Gerry Conway takes up writing duties soon afterwards, and does serviceable work. There’s no meta story to speak of, but the volume does culminate in the marriage of The Atom and Jean Loring. In between, we get a few classic JLA villains (T.O. Morrow, Doctor Destiny, etc.), Green Arrow annoying everyone, and Red Tornado – who is a robot – moping about what it means to be human. The issues are mostly a slog to read, although the writing gets better. Part of it might be the fact that the stories are 30 + pages and thus do not sync with me personally.

To me, the main point of these issues – because let’s be honest, sometimes comics are obscure for a reason – is to give us Jean Loring’s backstory for Brad Meltzer’s Identity Crisis miniseries (out in 2004!), in which she plays a role. Say what you will about Mr. Meltzer as a comic book writer, but nobody can accuse him of not doing his homework!

Recommended for JLA fans only.

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Moon Knight Epic Collection: Shadows of the Moon

This is a review of Moon Knight Epic Collection : Shadows of the Moon. You can read my review of the first volume, here. Moon Knight resembles Batman, down to the millionaire alter-ego and the Batarang (Moonarang?), except he dresses in white and the symptoms of his mental illness are more in-your-face.

The moon has four cycles, and Moon Knight has four personalities. I will refer to Moon Knight as Marc Spector, because he is the original. But I do like the ambivalence – mysticism or mental illness? Even though this is an early 80’s comic series, and thus about as subtle as a sledgehammer, writer Doug Moench is surprisingly coy on that topic. The bulk of the art is done by Bill Sienkiewicz, who has a distinctive style that’s not always to my personal tastes. Most of the stories are one or two-parters.

The most interesting storyline in this volume features Moon Knight archenemy the Bushmaster, who destroys the statue of moon-god Khonshu (Spector is a follower of Khonshu). It’s a psychological attack, which scores a direct hit. Spector is devastated, and the only thing that allows him to function again is the fact that Marlene (his partner) made a copy of the statue, which is what the Bushmaster destroyed. Or maybe the Bushmaster destroyed the original, and this statue is the copy? Spector doesn’t want to know.

There’s more! We meet an assassin who dresses up as an enormous rat, and counts rodents as his best (only?) friends. And then we have Morpheus, who took an experimental drug that makes him unable to dream. This drug was administered by Marlene’s heretofore unknown brother. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the creators made him up for this storyline. Morpheus’ inability to dream lets him tap into primal dark energy, as often happens, and the ability to manipulate people’s dreams.

The penultimate storyline resembles a James Bond movie, including doomsday weapons, assassins, bizarre gadgets and deathtraps. It involves the Mossad, a plot to set Manhattan afire, and a super-terrorist named Arsenal & his bikini-clad bodyguards. Arsenal is an anarchist dedicated to the destruction of all governments. He kills a friend of Spector’s, which gets Moon Knight involved. Marlene goes undercover, becomes a member of Arsenal’s guard, and gets into a no-holds brawl with his two other bodyguards. All of them wear bikinis, because reasons.

A decent series that helped pave the way to more adult-oriented superhero comics, but might be an acquired taste.

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Hitman Volume Two: 10,000 Bullets

This is a review of Hitman Volume Two: 10,000 Bullets. You can read my review of the first volume, here. There’s a scene in this volume where Natt the Hat – Tommy Monaghan’s hitman friend from Detroit – stomps on a ninja’s crotch to get information. This isn’t unusual. The hero displaying his manhood by beating the crap out of a guy who can’t fight back is a staple of action movies, especially buddy cop movies. The person getting beaten up is always a bad guy, which in action movie logic makes it okay. The problem is, what if the person doing the beating is also a bad guy?

Because Natt the Hat is a bad guy, just like Tommy Monaghan is a bad guy. This isn’t an insult. They kill people for a living, and they know the score. Garth Ennis (the writer) makes them likable. He gives Monaghan an imaginary code, i.e. don’t kill the good guys. Except Tommy is the person who determines who’s a good guy. None of that changes the fact that normal people view him with revulsion, fear, and hatred.

To wit: after getting shot, Tommy and Natt hole up in his girlfriend Wendy’s apartment. Wendy doesn’t know Tommy’s a hired killer, and is shocked when he shows up on her doorway half-dead. She lets him bleed on her couch until he’s well enough to leave, and then tells him to get out. She isn’t nice about it, either. And just like that Wendy is Tommy’s ex-girlfriend.

Natt the Hat – who serves as a sort of a Hitman Everyman – asks Tommy what he was thinking. Because he knows that a girl like Wendy is way out of Monaghan’s league. Natt knows it, the reader knows it. The only person who doesn’t is Tommy, who has an adolescent streak a mile long when it comes to women. AWWW SHUCKS LOOK AT ME I’M DATING A GURL!!!!!!!!!

Natt might not be able to read minds, but he can read people better than Tommy (who can read minds). When Tommy introduces Natt as his new best friend at Noonan’s (dive bar), his old best friend Pat gets upset. Natt sees this, but Tommy doesn’t. Tommy didn’t even mean anything bad by it – maybe. When Hacken (another hitman) punches Pat and calls him a coward, Monaghan breaks it up but later tells Natt that he thinks Hacken is right. It’s a lack of respect, which pays off big time. When Pat is later tortured for information, Tommy’s words are what keeps him from blabbing. Monaghan’s reaction to all this is to go on a killing spree, but the self-hatred isn’t hard to see.

Anyway, I liked this graphic novel a lot. Be warned: this is a very violent comic (there’s a 20+ page shootout that’s awesome), but it is comic book violence and thus not realistic. Still: if violence upsets you, you might not want to read this. There are also a few slurs that people used in the 1990’s that are (rightfully) taboo today.   

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Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Volume Three

This is a review of Marvel Masterworks Avengers Volume Three. If you read my reviews of the first two volumes, here and here, you will see that the Avengers got off to a rocky start and found its legs only after the powers-that-be revamped the team, getting rid of the heavy hitters in favor of Captain America and three ex-criminals. The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are former members of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil, and Hawkeye has tangled with Iron Man.

These stories have a formula: the Avengers bicker. The source of the tension is almost always Hawkeye, who has a king-sized chip on his shoulder. Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch are mutants, Homo Superior, and possess wondrous powers. Captain America has his shield and the super soldier serum. Hawkeye is an ex-carny with a quiver full of trick arrows, so it’s natural that he might overcompensate.

Anyway, after bickering one of the Avengers quits or stalks off. The rest go on a mission, which goes badly until they are rejoined by the wayward Avenger. Rinse and repeat. The other thing that helps this book is that most of the stories are now two-parters, which adds a little depth.

This graphic novel doesn’t have great writing, or great art. What it does have is attitude and lots of action. My favorite storyline: the Avengers bicker. Hawkeye stalks off to hit the nightclubs and go dancing. The Avengers – alerted by guest star the Wasp – fight underwater warlord Attuma, who is a cross between the Sub-Mariner and Conan the Barbarian. Attuma wants to flood the surface world with his tidal wave machine.

The Avengers get their heads handed to them. Hawkeye returns to Avengers HQ, but can’t recall the password to access their comm-link system. Maybe he’s hungover? In case you haven’t figured it out, Hawkeye is an idiot. But it works.

In the meantime, Attuma decides to defeat the Avengers a second time, just to show how tough he is. Quicksilver gets flushed out of the torpedo bay but is rescued by a returning Hawkeye, who has managed to recall the password, and together the reunited Avengers destroy Attuma’s tidal wave machine. Etc., etc., etc.

It’s not rocket science, but it’s fun.

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The Flash Silver Age Volume Two

This is a review of The Flash Silver Age Vol. 2. I’m not going to mention that I have a special place in my heart for the Flash, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned that in every Flash review I’ve ever written. Instead, I’ll talk about how DC’s Silver Age comics aren’t to my tastes – most of the ones I’ve read are written in a style I have trouble connecting with. True, comics of that day were written for kids, but many of them are just glorified science fiction tales with eye-rolling pseudoscience.

Luckily, this volume isn’t like that. True, the stories are formulaic and the ‘science’ is dopey, but that’s fine. The author usually manages to give them an interesting twist: witness Charm School Gorilla Grodd. Grodd is an evil super-intelligent, super-powered gorilla who wants to conquer the world. In this volume, the Great Ape uses his mental powers to make himself irresistible to everyone, including the Flash. We have the Elongated Man, whose stretching powers derive from drinking soda pop. And then there’s Kid Flash, the bowtie wearing teen who emulates his idol, the head square himself, Barry Allen (who is the Flash).

In this volume we meet Digger Harkness, aka Captain Boomerang. Digger covers for his crimes by getting a couple of geriatric criminals to pose as his dear old mother and father. Later, he creates a boomerang that can time travel – not bad for a guy who probably dropped out of school in the fifth grade – and unwittingly causes an alien invasion, as one does. Instead of shooting The Flash in the head, Captain Boomerang enjoys tying the Scarlet Speedster to enormous boomerangs which he blasts into outer space.

This volume also has Bill “Beefy” Lawson. Beefy is all his nickname implies. We meet him at a class reunion; unfortunately it’s only a single issue. DC really missed out by not giving good ole’ Beefy his own series – he could use the moves he learned on the football gridiron to take down evildoers. I’m firmly convinced the creators of Married With Children read this particular issue, because Beefy is a perfect stand-in for Al Bundy.

There are a number of team-ups in this volume. Flash teams with Kid Flash, the Elongated Man, Green Lantern, and Jay Garrick, the Flash of Earth 2. I am unsure if the writer came up with the alternate earth gimmick, but it’s sure turned out to be a cash cow for the comics industry.

Recommended!

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Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four Volume Three

Version 1.0.0

This is a review of Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four Volume Three. After reading Jack Kirby’s Kamandi, this volume felt like a letdown. Mr. Kirby’s art looks rushed in places here, there’s no meta story, and the issues have a ‘villain of the month’ quality. We have a single science fiction tale about a young godling, but the rest is mostly battles with the team’s growing rogue’s gallery – Doctor Doom, The Mole Man, The Red Ghost and his Super Apes, etc, etc., etc.

The highlight of this volume is the Thing’s battle with the Hulk. The not-so-jolly-green-giant invades Manhattan, because reasons. Most of the Fantastic Four is either sick or injured by the Hulk, so it falls to the Thing to fight the jade giant. And fight him he does, in a great battle sequence that lasts nearly an entire issue and ends with the Thing getting knocked on his ass. Never fear, the rest of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers join the fray in the next issue. It’s a great two-parter.

Other developments worth mentioning: the creators give Sue Storm the ability to cast invisible force fields, which gives them more to do with her character. Prince Namor arrives to propose to Sue, except his idea of proposing involves kidnapping and imprisoning her in an enormous bubble until she agrees to marry him. Reed Richards, feeling his manhood threatened, rushes to fight the Sub-Mariner, which is interesting because he’s usually written as a pretty mild guy. Afterwards, Sue puts Namor in the Friend Zone – actually he should be in the Don’t-Come-Within-Two-Hundred-Feet of my House Zone, but whatever.

This volume is a slight step back from the first two books, but the Hulk two-parter is a classic and worth the price of admission. Recommended.

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Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth Volume One

This is a review of Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth Volume One. Jack Kirby (the creator of Kamandi) wrote a lot of material for DC. Thus far I’ve read The Demon and OMAC, but this graphic novel blows them out of the water. Kamandi is a riff on the original Planet of the Apes movie that came out in the late 1960’s, but Mr. Kirby runs with it. In Kamandi, there are super-intelligent lions, tigers, cheetahs, groundhogs, bats, etc. Humans are now on the low end of the totem pole, and are treated like animals or even exotic pets. Some enterprising animals have even taught humans how to talk!

Kamandi, who owns a single pair of blue cargo shorts, lives in a bunker (Command 1 – get it?) with his grandfather. One day he leaves the shelter to see how earth fares after being ravaged by an unnamed natural disaster. He finds out that things are much, much worse than he thought. Thus begins a bizarre road trip.

This is not superhero comic. Kamandi has no special powers, and gets the crap kicked out of him on a regular basis. Indeed, there’s a scene where he goes berserk because he realizes that he’s stuck in this world with no way out. He’s rescued by one of his friends – Kamandi makes lots of friends, both animal and human, but the friendships never last long. He’s always wandering away, being captured by rampaging gorillas, or falling out of the hot-air balloon he’s using to escape.

This graphic novel moves quickly, has a rotating cast, and in many ways reads like a war comic. It’s really a post-apocalyptic comic. Substitute zombies for the different animals, and you’ll see what I mean. My favorite storyline in this volume is when a group of conservationist lions put Kamandi and his female companion, Flower, into their version of a nature preserve. Unfortunately, there are cougar poachers who want a piece of him. This issue is the best single comic I’ve read in years.

Highly recommended!

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Rom: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Volume One (Part Two)

 This is part two of my review of Rom: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Volume One. You can read my review of the first part here. I have most of the original issues of Rom stored in an attic somewhere, but one of the advantages of aging gracefully is the fact that I don’t recall what I ate for breakfast two days ago.

The upshot: I don’t remember most of this series, although I do recall enjoying it. First off, this is a horror comic disguised as a superhero comic. Rom has a meta-story that lasts 70+ issues, albeit with a number of side stories. Unlike superhero comics, it has a beginning and a definite end. The monsters, the sense of paranoia that permeates this book, and the weird conspiracy theories remind me of The X-Files, but unlike the X-Files Rom hasn’t jumped the shark…yet.

The other reason this is a horror comic is the body count. The creators (Mantlo & Buscema) use a cast of mostly new characters. There are cameos by Marvel heroes – in this volume we get the Torpedo, the X-Men, Power Man & Iron Fist, Nova, and the Fantastic Four – but they make sense in the context of the larger storyline, which is earth’s invasion by the Dire Wraiths. Bottom line: many of the characters are new, and the creative team has no qualms about killing them. This can be unsettling, because cast changes in superhero comics tend to remain static. In practical terms, this means that nobody is safe.

The highlights of this volume are Rom’s battle with Hybrid, the offspring of a human mother and a Dire Wraith father. Hybrid – who is also a mutant, and whose character design is totally grotesque – wastes no time killing his parents. His battle with Rom is interrupted by the arrival of the X-Men, searching for the new mutant. A number of misunderstandings ensue, which leads to the X-Men attacking Rom.

The second highlight is Rom’s return to his home planet of Galador, which leads to an encounter with Galactus, who wants to eat the planet. Rom strikes a deal with the planet-eater and leads Galactus to the Dark Nebula (the Dire Wraiths’ home planet), but who will consume who?

Mention should also be made of the arrival of The Torpedo, the Grade Z hero Rom chooses to protect his adopted home town of Clairton, WV from the Wraiths. So far, his record is 0-1, as Clairton is overwhelmed by a mystical fog in Rom’s absence. The Torpedo seems like a nice guy, and he does his best, but sometimes that’s not enough…

Highly recommended!