Inspired by Chris Fluit's recent blog post I decided to start a thread of my own. I have a few graphic novels, not as many as some though. I have read a lot of them but for the last year and a half I have attained quite the stack. Sadly I haven't read the majority.
I recently cut my monthly comic list down and have a more manageable stack of weekly comics to read so now I have more time to read my graphic novels. This is the thread I'll post reviews. Feel free to comment. Some of my books may receive threads of their own but I'll mostly be posting thoughts here.
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I look forward to it.
First up:
Joker by Brian Azzarello Lee Bermejo. I know I'm a few years behind on this one. I had heard good things but only recently I decided to pick it up, well by that I mean in March. I just read it this weekend. All I can saw it wow. This was a great read. I could not put it down. It's the story of Johnny Frost an excon who gets the job of picking up the Joker from the asylum. Johnny becomes emersed in the world of the Joker and becomes his personal driver. The art is excellent and really conveys this world.
Batman only shows up at the end. The Joker is the star here. He looks like his Dark Knight version but the personality is a mix of the comics and the movie. It works for the movie. A character I was surprised to see was Killer Croc. He doesn't look quite like I'm used to but he is no less deadly. Then there's Harley Quinn. She has never looked better or been deadlier. She also has no speaking parts that I can remember. This may be the first time I've seen the Joker reciprocate her affections. The Joker gets the point across he's a bad dude. But it starts out like a slow burn of mayhem untill the end.
If you haven't read this one yet, seek it out. You will not be dissapointed.
Going for the Gotham double-header
Batman Ego and Other Tales by mostly Darwyn Cooke. This book collects Cooke's Batman Ego as well as his OGN Selina's Big Score and a few short stories from other comics such as SOLO and Batman Black & White.
First off this is a great book to just look at. Cooke has such a great, fun style. Every page pops with excitment. Also there's also six stories in this collection, so it's a good bang for your buck. Two longer stories and four smaller ones.
While not a bad read by any means, I didn't think this was the best Batman book I have read. The lead story Ego, certaintly had terrific art. The story is about Bruce dealing with an inner demon, namely Batman. The best part was a flashback invloving Christmas time at the Wayne house. However, I didn't think Cooke's style really fit the heaviness of this story. While it looked fantasitc and was probably his best work represented in this collection, the story overall fell flat to me.
Next was a short story, Here Be Monsters, from Batman Black & White. This story was written by Paul Grist and drawn by Cooke. Cooke's style translate well to black and white. The story itself was average. Batman is chasing a two-face type woman through gotham as well as battle some inner demons.
Then we get the highlight of the book, Selina's Big Score by Cooke. This is the best part of the collection. This is the tale of Catwoman planning a major heist with the help of some former partners. It's a typical heist story but a fun one. I was emersed with this part and couldn't put it down. I'm a sucker for a good crime/heist story. Cooke's talent as a writer really shines in this tale. The best part was the different narrations by the characters. If DC ever wanted to make another Catwoman movie this would be the story to model it after, Anne Hathaway would even fit in.
Next is the Monument written by Cooke and drawn by Bill Wray. This is about a monument constructed in Batman's honor and the chaos it creates. The style and layout of the story reminded me of the Dark Knight Returns but more humorous.
Then it's Date Knight by Cooke and Tim Sale from Solo. Sale is a terrific Batman artist. His art for this story creates a great atmosphere. This is probably the most whimsical story of the lot. However, it didn't hit me right. It felt like a Bugs Bunny cartoon with Selina in the role of Bugs and Batman in the role of Elmer Fudd.
Finally, Deja Vu by Cooke. It's a very dark story with Batman responding to a scenerio very similar to the one that caused him to be Batman. Here Cooke's art style works with darker material. It may have been the darker coloring or shading that benefitted the story. The cool part was that it features two characters from Selina's big score.
All in all this was an entertaining read but not highly recommended. If you're a Batman fan you can find better stories. I think Selina's Big Score is also available by itself, you'd be better off just getting that one. The rest of the stories are merely ok but not the best representation of Batman, imho. If you are a big Darwyn Cooke fan then this is the book for you because the art is great, that is if you don't already have these stories in another format since they all have been featured elsewhere.
I read another tonight. I'm finally inspired to start reading these books. So get ready for a deluge of posts for the next few days, followed by months of dormancy until I'm inspired again. :)
Uncanny X-force volume 1: The Apocalypse Solution by Rick Remender- I now get the hype of Rick Remenber. What I read before didn't work for me. This is a fun fast paced adventure. The story gets right to the point. We get a very good mix of characters. Wolverine who's the best at what he does. Fantomex the mutant master of misdirection. Angel the pretty rich boy wrestling with some nasty inner demons. Pysloke the deadly telepathic ninja. Deadpool the merc with a mouth. It's a rag tag bunch to say the least. Their first mission? Destroy Apocalypse who has taken a new form.
The strong part of this story is that Remender has made Apocalypse interesting again. I like Apocalypse as a character but whenever he shows up the story is usually the same. This time there's no turning an X-man into a Horseman, he's got those already. And we only see the Apocalypse we know in dreams and flashbacks, he's a got a new form that of a child. A confused child that hasn't quite accepted his position in life yet.
It's a strong start to a popular series. Does the series hold strong after this? I know we've got a few fans out there. While I enjoyed this volume I've got so many other things to read I'm not quite motivated to seek out the next chapter. Maybe in the future...
How much is this one retailing for, and when did it come out? I know the guy who wrote the one-shot Harley Quinn story and so I'm intrigued to see how this one plays out. Is is widely available?
Jason Marconnet said:
The hardcover is $19.99, it might be available in trade paperback now. The hardcover is listed on Amazon around $10 used. It was released in 2008. You can find it at comic shops and even stores like Barnes & Noble. You might want to check the library as well. It was pretty popular when released and well received by critics.
Elephantmen volume 1: Wounded Animals by Richard Starkings & Moritat. This series is set in the future and deals with genetically created animal/men hybrids. Well they just look like giant walking talking animals. The first volume looks at a few of these "Elephantmen" and how society perceives them. The elephantmen were created in Africa by the Mappo corporation by doing some pretty nasty testing on the women of the content. The elephantmen were breeded to be killing machines but after the corporation was raided the elephantmen were "tamed" so to speak and interegrated into everyday life. The story flashes back to the time when they were created so there's not a lot we know yet of their backstory.
The concept and characters are interesting. The highlight is the art. The scenery of the future and the character designs are very gripping. This story is very reminicent of Blad Runner. The thing is the story doesn't really come together until the end and even then we don't get a complete story.
The series from what I can tell from this first volume were one-and-done stories. Actually each issue features 2 one-and-done stories. It's jarring at first because some stories are flashbacks others aren't. It's about halfway in that we start to get to know what's really going on here or at least we think we do. The chapters play out more like it would be better suited to a weekly television series rather than a weekly comic.
So did I like it? Well I did. Sort of. I think the pacing was a bit jarring and it took a while for me to dig it. I'm not rushing out to get the other volumes though. While I really like the art I think if the story had started with aa quick flash back and then gave us a plot upfront I may have liked it better. This was more to cure my curiosity. I have seen Elephantmen comics for a while now and had yet to try them. I liked the look of it and felt it had a Blad Runner feel. However, I have not heard much about the series. I don't know if I've heard anyone on this board talk about. I also haven't seen it on any of the review sites I frequent and rarely talked about on sites like CBR. Yet there's several graphic novels out for this and seems to have a small following.
In the end it's an interesting concept with good art. I didn't like it as much as I had hoped. There wasn't anything that grabbed me emotionally that would keep me reading further volumes. The characters hadn't been quite developed, though they have distinct personalities we weren't given long enough time to grow an attachment. The story hops from character to character so it's not until the end we see what their relationship with eachother are. The thing that was interesting but just mentioned in passing was that the world mostly fears the Elephantmen because they don't know what they are capabable of, they were after all created for the intent of war by an evil corporation. But the Elephantmen and the world knows that while there are thousands of these creatures they age like humans, so in 40 to 50 years they will all be gone or at least most of them because the corporation that created them isn't around to make more. From what I gathered all of the elephantmen are men and are not able to reproduce. Also it should be noted that while they are referred to as Elephantmen there's a variety of species such as Elephants, hippos, rhinos, crocodiles, zebras, worthogs, and camels.
So if you are intrigued it's worth finding a used copy or see if your library has it. The book itself is pretty thick for a paper back. It's loaded with extras such as sketches, creator notes and articles on sci-fi and pulp comics. It also collects 8 issues which from what I can tell each issue contained 2 stories. It's only $20 so it's a good value. It's acutally thicker than Watchmen.
Ah, Moritat on the art huh? I wonder if that is where DC discovered him. I was always interested in the book, but I never actually bit the bullet to buy it. If I see it on the cheap I'll probably pick it up, just to give it a shot.
Joe the Barbarian by Grant Morisson and Sean Murphy
Since there was already a Joe the Barbarian thread I posted my thoughts there.
Thanks for the reviews Jason. I think I'm going to track down a copy of Joker, and also the Batman Ego and Other Tales. Even though you were lukewarm on the stories other than Selina's Big Score, I'm intrigued.
I had always thought the Elephantmen series looked interesting, but like you, I had heard little buzz about it, so I was wary. I think I'll check if the library can get it.
Sorry to say, I don't have any interest in Uncanny X-Force. Just not my cuppa.
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