Moving this topic from the old Vertigo group, here are the first groups of reviews from the beginning of the year. I've started posting my reviews in my blog, so I'll add links here. Feel free to comment either here or on my blog!
Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni, 2010)
Scott Pilgrim Vol. 6: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour
So we come to the big finale for the series. I must say the first half is rather aimless; we see Scott reverted to full slacker mode, not doing much beyond lying on the couch playing video games. When he finally meets Gideon Graves, his response is to go up North to visit Kim at her parent’s house. He doesn’t see why he even needs to fight Gideon--since they’re both now ex-boyfriends--but the story doesn’t really come into focus until the fight starts. The fight is pretty epic. It includes an interlude that takes place in Ramona’s mind, and in the end it takes both Scott and Ramona to defeat him. Overall, though, I was disappointed by the final Scott Pilgrim. I expected the final evil ex-boyfriend to be defeated and Scott and Ramona to wind up back together, and I got that. There's some kind of closure for the other characters as well, so it did its job wrapping up the series. But you'd think the final arc would have the kind of dramatic structure most of the other volumes had, where there was a clear buildup towards a conclusion, usually accompanied by significant changes in the characters. The final battle did involve quite a bit of self-discovery for Scott and Ramona, so they both wind up at least a bit older and wiser. But only a bit, then the story literally fades out. The short scene showing Scott and Kim playing "I'm A Believer" felt like it was put there for the movie.
Matthew Sturges/Luca Rossi/Werther Dell-Edera/Jose Marzan, Jr. (Vertigo, 2010)
House of Mystery Vol. 4: The Beauty of Decay
As the story opens most of the gang from the House are stuck in the City in the Space Between, where Fig brought them when the House was under attack in the previous collection. They're running out of food, and the ghosts that had seemed harmless are starting to do very dangerous things. The first issue has one of the better short stories in the series so far: "The Hounds of Titus Roan," written by Bill Willingham and drawn by Richard Corben. It's reminiscent of the Poe adaptations that Corben did, although the story appears to be original. Perhaps the title was a nod to Mervyn Peake's novel Titus Groan, but a similar setting looks like the only thing the stories have in common (I haven't read the novel, so I'm relying on a summary). Ceorel (from the Conception) and Cain appear in the city, using a pool of blood as their portal. Another notable short story is in the third issue: "The Tale of Brutus the Bold," written by Matthew Sturges and drawn by Jeff Lemire. It's a heroic epic about a cockroach. As the arc concludes, it really is a game-changer. We get a short story telling how Cain lost the House (kind of: it's not really explained). Fig makes a deal with the Conception (details to be revealed later) which sends Harry back to the world as a real person, and Cain regains mastery of the House. In the end the House has become unstuck and relocated to some new place, with neighbors. So there will certainly be a change in the story dynamic, with one of the central mysteries solved, Cain in charge of the House again, plus the inevitable new characters from the new neighborhood. Issue five also includes another notable short story, one of the longer ones: "Spellbound" by Matthew Sturges and Michael Wm. Kaluta. It features a librarian, a disgraced college professor, and some enchanted books. The first House of Mystery Halloween Annual completes the collection. It's an interesting group of stories featuring several magical Vertigo characters: Merv Pumpkinhead (from the Dreaming); John Constantine; the new I, Zombie series; and Madame Xanadu. They're all tied together by a magical mask. The Hellblazer story is actually a continuation of recent events in the series, making it a bit more than a free standing anthology piece.
Ed Brubaker/Sean Phillips (Icon, 2010)
Criminal Vol. 5: The Sinners
Tracy Lawless is back, still working for Sebastian Hyde. He's losing his taste for being a hit man, so Hyde offers him another job. Lawless is to investigate a series of recent murders of mob-connected people, people who should have been untouchable. The first two issues quickly start to reveal what is going on, but only to the reader. So the fun is in watching Tracy get to the bottom of it, and how he resolves it in a way that will satisfy his debt of honor to Hyde. As usual Brubaker takes some surprising twists before it's through. Tracey gets through it OK: he seems to think the Army is the best place for him, and it's easy to agree. Amazing bit of knot-tying at the climax. Tracey manages to use the C.I.D. investigator to his advantage, as well as the teenage hit squad. And there's a beautiful twist right at the end, full of noir poetic justice. Terrific stuff! I read these in single issue form, lured by the inclusion of the articles and interviews on noir in the back, which are not reprinted in the trades. While not a big noir fan, I still found them interesting. There’s no explanation given, but it’s worth noting that the back matter shrinks by half starting with the 3rd issue (same 24 pages of story, same cover price). Makes me a bit more inclined to wait for the trade next time.
Mike Carey/Peter Gross (Vertigo, 2010)
The Unwritten Vol. 2: Inside Man
When we last saw Tom Taylor, he was getting arrested for the massacre of a group of writers at the Villa Diodati, the last place his famous father was seen alive. As the story opens, he is being transferred to a French prison awaiting trial. The title arc certainly adds a lot to the mix. Tom Taylor apparently can actually do magic; Elizabeth Hexam seems to be well named, as there is a lot to her that we still haven't seen; and the new character, journalist Richie Savoy, should add a useful non-magical perspective to the story. Not to mention the appearance of the real Count Ambrosio, who possesses the body of the prison warden. I did think that the "Interlude" issue was the first misstep in the series so far. The concept of showing the children's perspective on events since Tom came to the prison is interesting, but the issue doesn't advance the story much. In fact there are several scenes which are literally repeated from earlier issues. It's a bit like those compilation episodes on series TV where the characters are recalling earlier events, so the bulk of the episode is a rerun. The "Jud Suss" arc was an effective two-parter, which took us to a new place: a frozen bit of Stuttgart in 1940. Looks like the map brought them there, and it's a very desirable object. Tom finds a way out, to London three months after the prison break. I'm betting the map will drive the story for awhile. The final single issue, "Eliza Mae Herford's Willowbank Tales," tells the story of another adventurer who tried to steal the map. It has a lot of fun with the children's picture book genre by making the trapped rabbit character a foul mouthed malcontent who is constantly confusing the "real" characters with his bad attitude and escape attempts.
Mike Mignola/Joshua Dysart/Gabriel Bá/Fábio Moon (Dark Horse, 2010)
B.P.R.D. Vol. 13: 1947
This is another prequel story, illustrated by the brothers Bá & Moon, who make their debut on the series. The BPRD squad that Professor Bruttenholm sends to Europe gets in over their heads very quickly. Baron Konig (the vampire from the 1946 miniseries) has been slaughtering people. Bruttenholm thinks that an infamous party hosted by Konig in 1771 might provide clues, so he sends the team to investigate the French mansion where it took place. One team member visits the site at night, where he finds the mansion intact, and joins an enchanted company as they are transported to a secret site for an annual ritual invoking the goddess Hecate. When the rest of the team comes to the mansion the next morning, they find a burned-out ruin. But their investigations disturb a crowd of angry undead, and only one of the team escapes alive. The story ends with a partial win for the BPRD team. Acting on a tip from a mysterious old woman, Agent Stegner and his armed force find the missing Agent Anders with the Brezina sisters in their Austrian estate. Anders sees the sisters as alive and beautiful, the estate as sumptuous, much like the night scene at the French estate when he first encountered the supernatural. Stegner and his men see a decrepit place with two ugly vampires, and they stake the sisters. The Professor calls on an exorcist named Ota to free Anders from the semi-conscious state he was left in. Ota is not able to exorcise the sisters, but finds a way to trap them inside Anders, who then appears fully recovered. But his demonic guests are a time bomb with could go off at any time: more on this in a later series, perhaps. The last couple issues also feature regular appearances by the young Hellboy, who is in Bruttenholm's care. Hellboy provides a bit of comic relief, playing baseball and eating pancakes. I enjoyed the art very much, and the sketches and commentary in the back provide some insight on how the brothers divided the art chores. One thing I realized while reading this collection: the original miniseries covers appear, but they are reproduced in monotone. It's a cool design element for the book, but I wish they had also included a full color cover gallery. Can't get too much Mignola!
Scott Snyder/Rafael Albuquerque/Stephen King (Vertigo, 2010)
American Vampire, Vol. 1
Few Vertigo series have received the attention given to American Vampire Vol. 1 (just noticed it doesn't have a subtitle, which is unusual). Publishing Stephen King’s first comic book scripting (the other graphic novels based on his work have all been adapted from his books by others) really gets people’s attention. King is only involved in the backup stories in the first five issues of the series, which tell the origin story of vampire Skinner Sweet. On the whole I enjoyed Snyder's 1925 Hollywood story more than King's 1880 origin backup story, but together they laid the groundwork for the series. Snyder's Afterward promises to continue to explore the origin story, but the book has dropped the main story plus backup format, at least for now. American Vampire definitely grew on me as it went, although it's still far from being my favorite current Vertigo title. This may be a case of my expectations being too high; lots of people seem to really love the book. It is a genuinely original take on vampires--unusual any time, but especially with the current upsurge in the genre--so I'll be following it with interest for that reason alone. These opening issues do a good job setting up lots of potential story lines. The revelation of Abi's daughter Felicia on the final page is especially intriguing. Rafael Albuquerque's art is a good fit, generally, but I wish he didn't overdo the gore. The American vampires look really feral, which I guess is part of the point, but it also seems a bit over the top. The script and uncolored art pages in the back of the collection really show the different illustration techniques employed for the two stories. There's a much sharper distinction between the crisp inks used for Pearl's story and the ink wash used for Skinner's story when they are seen uncolored.
[posted on Captain Comics message board 11/3/2010]
Replies
Moving Pictures
The Immonens have a long history with mainstream comics (especially Stuart, who I remember for his run as a Superman artist). Kathryn does not draw as far as I know, so I’m guessing that Stuart is responsible for the black and white art here, along with plotting. This is a historical slice of life story which is very much in tune with the rest of the Top Shelf catalog. It’s set during the Second World War in occupied France, where the French are attempting to inventory and hide art works, while the Germans are attempting to uncover the riches they have captured. Curator Ila Gardner is a minor museum curator helping to preserve the art, while officer Rolf Hauptman of the German Military Art Commission is charged with finding and cataloging it. The story focuses on their official relationship--a power struggle created by their professional obligations--and the private relationship that must take place behind the scenes. Both of them keep a considerable emotional distance, even in their intimate relationship, so it’s hard to get emotionally involved as a reader. There is a kind of emotional closure at the end, but things are otherwise unresolved.
Darwyn Cooke (IDW, 2010)
Richard Stark’s Parker: The Outfit (Book Two)
As the story opens, Parker is in Miami Beach, narrowly escaping an attempt on his life. He had earlier undergone cosmetic surgery to change his face in order to steer clear of the New York syndicate who wanted him dead after the events of the previous book, The Hunter. Now he realizes that he will have to take on the syndicate if he can ever hope to be left alone. First he makes a deal with the man who will take over after he takes out Bronson, the man who is after his head. Then he initiates a series of robberies targeting Syndicate operations, brilliantly laid out in Book Three. By the time Parker comes for Bronson the organization is in disarray, and Bronson’s bodyguards are not expecting a direct attack. Parker’s plan to slip in and out is foiled by an unexpected change of plans, which provides for an exciting shoot out. After one final reminder to the new syndicate head--leave Parker alone or suffer the same fate as your predecessor--Parker is free again. He plans to head back to Miami, where there may be some unresolved business for the next book. According to the final note, that won’t be until 2012. I can hardly wait.
Joe Hill/Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW, 2010)
Locke & Key Volume 3: Crown of Shadows
The third installment begins with Dodge using the Ghost Key to make contact with Sam Lesser’s ghost. He wants Sam to help him locate the Black Key, but Sam attempts to kill Dodge’s human body instead. Dodge barely escapes, leaving the Echo Key behind in his rush to avoid detection.
Then we see a new key in action, the Shadow Key, which opens the way to the Crown of Shadows of the title. Dodge attacks the Locke children (their mother Nina is out of town) with an army of living shadows. Things come to a head when Tyler uses the Giant Key (another new one) to become a giant, defeating the giant Shadow. Big giant battle here, with more splash pages than I’ve seen in the series before. When Nina returns she discovers the use of the Mending Key, which miraculously restores broken objects...but not the thing she most wants restored. Nina’s descent into deep depression and alcohol abuse is a significant subplot in this volume, to the extent that she becomes a pathetic, rather unsympathetic character. In the final panel Tyler finds the Black Key (the Omega Key) in an unlikely place, setting up what will no doubt be a significant plot point in the fourth volume. And that’s only the main story: there is also an adventure Kinsey has with her new school friends, and the beginning of a relationship between Nina and a police detective. This series keeps getting better as it goes.
Chris Roberson/Shawn McManus (Vertigo, 2010)
Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love
Cinderella was revealed as a master spy back in the March of the Wooden Soldiers story arc in Fables (although she is still seen as a socialite playgirl by everyday Fables). In this miniseries her job is to find out who is secretly smuggling powerful magical artifacts into the Mundy world, since the revelation of even one of them could mean the end of Fabletown’s anonymity. The trail takes her to Dubai, where she joins forces with Aladdin, a fellow secret agent from the fabled Baghdad. The pair uncover the Fables who are trading the magical artifacts for Mundy weapons. The source world is a Homeland place called Ultima Thule, so Cindy and Aladdin head there with a weapons delivery as their cover. The revelation of the person behind the magic is a surprise I don’t want to spoil for anyone who hasn’t read the series, but it’s a good one. In addition to the main story there are a series of flashbacks showing some of Cinderella’s past missions, and a running gag story about Crispin, the man left behind to manage Cinderella’s Fabletown shoe store. He has a bright idea to sell elven magic shoes, which doesn’t work out as planned (think “Sorcerer’s Apprentice”). A very fun story which is easily the equal of the main series Fables: there has already been another miniseries announced.
Robert Kirkman/Charlie Adlard/Cliff Rathburn (Image, 2010)
The Walking Dead Vol. 13: Too Far Gone
The group has finally found what looks like a safe place: a walled community with something close to a normal life. They’re not completely comfortable with the community’s rules, especially the one forcing them to surrender their guns. But they begin to adapt to their new roles: Rick and Michonne are police officers; Abraham becomes the supervisor of the construction crew; and Glenn returns to his role as forager outside the gates. Over the course of this collection Rick confronts a man who has been abusing his family, which ends badly. And Glenn’s scavenging efforts attract the attention of another band of survivors, leading to an armed confrontation at the city gates. That confrontation is unresolved at the end...and a massive group of zombies is on the move, attracted by the noise of gunfire. It’s not hard to see where the story is going next.
Ian Rankin/Werther Dell’Edera (Vertigo, 2009)
Dark Entries
This is the Hellblazer entry in the Vertigo Crime line (the front cover carries the description “A John Constantine Novel”). I was going to split my reading of it over two days, but it was going so fast I decided to just go through it in one sitting. Which is a testament to its readability, if not value for money. I don't see it as a crime story, really, but it is a mystery, so I guess that qualifies. The setup is a TV reality show called “Haunted Mansion,” in which a group of contestants must survive what were supposed to be ghostly events controlled by the producers. But the house seems to be actually haunted: unplanned things are happening. So Constantine is called in as a consultant, and he agrees to join the cast. The setting is a bit unusual, but it's very much a Hellblazer story: it makes use of Constantine's character and history in a way that wouldn't work as well if he wasn't the protagonist. I thought the first half was great, showing how Constantine got roped into the situation and how he worked out what was happening. Once we start seeing actual demons my suspension of disbelief got pretty severely challenged, but the story kept up a good head of steam right through to the end. I last saw Dell’Edera’s work when he was illustrating Vertigo’s Loveless series. His drawing style is similar here. It seems a bit sketchier to me, but that may just be the effect of it being in B&W.
Bryan Talbot (Dark Horse, 2010)
Grandville Mon Amour
This sequel to Talbot’s graphic novel Grandville is again labeled "A Detective-Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard Scientific-Romance Thriller" on the cover, which describes it as well as anything. Set in the same alternate history steampunk universe (populated by talking animals) as the first book, the story picks up right where the first left off. LeBrock is broken up over his inability to save his friend Sarah in the previous adventure. But the prison escape of his nemesis Mad Dog Mastock gets him back into the game. Mastock begins murdering French prostitutes, and as LeBrock and his sidekick Detective Ratzi investigate, they uncover a connection between the victims. Following the evidence leads them to high places...which in the end wind up even higher. An exciting, fast-paced adventure, this is every bit as good as the first one.
John Layman/Rob Guillory
Chew Vol. 2: International Flavor
I wasn't too keen on this series after buying the first collection, but thought I'd see where it went from there. Agent Chu is still with the FDA, where he is reunited with his old partner. They still hate each other, but they manage to solve a crime, largely due to the partner's cybernetic implants and willingness to bend the rules. Tony tastes a strange new unknown plant (in keeping with the illegal chicken angle, of course it tastes like chicken). He follows it to an island nation where his brother the famous chef is about to open a new restaurant, runs afoul of an agent from the Department of Agriculture, and his old boss Mason Savoy makes an appearance. All in the first two issues! Can't accuse the series of padding, at least. Layman keeps things hurtling forward, while also bringing back characters from the first arc. We don't see any more of Mason Savoy, although he's mentioned by some bad guys. But we finally see the other known Cibopath on screen: turns out he's the Russian who was referred to as "The Vampire" in the first arc, and he's a nasty piece of work indeed. Food writer Amelia Mintz also reappears, and Tony finally has a scheduled a date with her as the arc ends. And there's at least one seed surviving from the alien plant, so I expect that story to continue later on in the series. Since I was reading the Omnivore Edition (which contains the first two story arcs, ten issues total), I should mention the extras. There's a translation for the Russian dialog in Issue #4 (which was also in the first paperback collection), the original pitch for the series (written before the artist was known), and several pages of Guillory's art (including a Chew page done in the Vertigo style, since that was where it was originally pitched before coming to Image). I like the fact that the back cover blurbs include this one from Newsarama.com: "Far from bad, but I can't say it blew me out of the water, either." That's about how I feel about it, but I enjoyed seeing where it went after the first collection.
[posted on Captain Comics message board 2/2/2011]
Continuing on my blog (Mr. Vertigo Reviews 1):
http://mrvertigocomics.wordpress.com/2011/07/10/mr-vertigo-reviews-...
Mr. Vertigo Reviews 2:
http://mrvertigocomics.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/mr-vertigo-reviews-...