Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 9/19

Nightwing #0
Story: Tom DeFalco & Kyle Higgins
Art: Eddy Barrows

Dick Grayson's origin in one of the most iconic in comics. It's almost as well known as the origins of Batman, Superman, or Spider-Man. So there's really only so much you can do with it in a retelling or revamp without getting fans up in arms or losing the purity of the origin. Fortunately, it seems the creative team on Nightwing #0 understood this when they started the issue. All the familiar elements are here: the circus, his parents' fall from the trapeze, Dick learning at Batman's side. And some little details are changed into things that are more organic to a modern retelling. But the center of the story is here. More important than any of this is the choice to have Dick narrate the story himself. We see just how clever Dick is when he deduces Batman's identity. But more important, we see just how different Dick is from Bruce. In a scene with Alfred, Dick talks about how he's not as angry as he once was, and how he's not remembering the night of his parents' death as clearly as he's remembering their life, and Alfred points out that this is a healthy progression. And this is where there difference between Bruce and Dick really lies: Bruce's most vivid memory of his parents will always be in that alley, and this issue does a really good job of showing how Dick can never become that. The end, featuring the first appearance of the New 52 Lady Shiva, ties nicely into the next arc on the series without being forced, and I'm glad to see a favorite character of mine pop back up. Nightwing #0 is a great introduction to the character, and feels like one of the best of the Zero Month issues. If you only know Dick Grayson from other media, this is an excellent time to check out his comic adventures.

Roger Langridge's Snarked! #12
Story & Art: Roger Langridge

And another great series comes to its end. I feel like I've been writing a lot of reviews for the final issues of series I really enjoy lately. Snarked wraps up this issue very nicely, tying the whole series together beautifully. Wilberforce J. Walrus, our protagonist, has gone on a wild journey, across land and sea, and with this issue, he acts bravely, something the self-described coward would not have done at the beginning of the series. His time playing guide and guardian to the royal children Scarlett and Rusty, along with his carpenter pal McDunk, has changed the Walrus in ways he would never have expected. Scarlett as well proves her valor and her intellect, making it clear she is the right girl for the job of ruling. The ending to a series can be a bittersweet thing, but the sweet far outweighs the bitter here, with the Walrus, for all his self examination and change, still being the rogue he was at the beginning, even is his heart is a little bigger for it. Langridge shows his master's hand at finding the perfect balance of humor and sentimentality in the conclusion of the story, and I can only hope the Walrus and the Carpenter make their ways onto the page again sometime.

The Unwritten #41
Story: Mike Carey
Art: Peter Gross

In between each arc of The Unwritten, Mike Carey gives a little breather and gives readers a one off issue that fleshes out minor characters, or fills in a gap in the narrative. This issue, told by Richie Savoy, main character Tom Taylor's vampire partner in crime, tells exactly what happened after Tom's climactic battle with Pullman, gives us some insight into Richie's current state of mind and a little more information on the predicament the world is in. In the Villa Diodati, Richie brings the wounded Tom to only find the ghosts of the people who have died along Tom's road to his battle with the Cabal, and Richie tries to nurse Tom back to health. He begins to experience more of his vampirism, and by the end of the issue comes to a starling realization about his own fate and about the world surrounding Tom Taylor. This issue does a great job in answering some of the questions readers have had since the end of the first act of The Unwritten, explaining why Richie sought out Madame Rausch in the last arc, and setting up exactly what Tom is going to have to do to put the world right again by the end of the series. Richie is the character who usually provides comic relief in the series, and who has spent much of the series getting turned into a vampire and getting smacked around, but has become something of a badass as he's become more confident in his vampire abilities. This issue has Richie come into his own and his power, and leaves the reader's with questions about just how close Richie might be to Count Ambrosio, the vampire who turned him and the archnemesis of Tommy Taylor (the book within a book character). The Unwritten has done a great job of getting its wheels back under it after the end of what would seem to have been the driving force of the series, and I can only wonder what else Carey has in store for us.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 5/30

Angel & Faith #10
Writer: Christos Gage
Art: Chris Samnee

OK, I'm going to say it, just in case: SPOILERS if you haven't read all the way through Buffy Season 8 yet. I know it's a year+ old at this point, but I figured it better to say it up front.

Now that that's out of the way... I have thoroughly been enjoying Angel & Faith, even more than it's parent title, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9. Not to slight Buffy; it's a very good comic too. But Angel & Faith has been a very strong title, with Christos Gage at the top of his game, and Rebekah Isaacs turning in some excellent art. This issue stands out for a couple reasons though. First is guest artist Chris Samnee. Samnee is one a small group of artists whose work I will follow anywhere (the others being Darwyn Cooke, Amanda Conner, Guy Davis, and Michael Lark). I'm mostly a story and character guy, but there's something in Samnee's art that has really grabbed me and made me want to watch him grow in the craft. This issue spotlights his talent, shifting into a couple time periods, showing some really well-designed creatures, and mixing in some great character moments. The main story is great. It introduces us to former Buffy mainstay Rupert Giles's two aunts, who happen to be powerful witches who have used their power to keep them young for years. They have made various demonic deals along the way to help that, and now the demon's have come to collect, and the aunts have arrived at Angel and Faith's London flat hoping for help. This leads to some great combat and some amusing situations. But the scene that gets me is a flashback to Giles as a young boy in his first confrontation with the supernatural. Angel & Faith has shown various scenes flashing back to Giles's past since so much of the series is about Angel seeking redemption for his murder of Giles at the end of Season 8, but this shows something we've never really seen: an innocent Giles before the supernatural really invaded his life. As someone to whom Giles meant a lot (he was my favorite of the original Buffy characters, and one of my favorite Whedon characters of all time), this glimpse of his past was worth the price of admission.

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Transformation of J.H. O'Donnell
Writers: Mike Mignola & Scott Allie
Art: Max Fiumara

Hellboy's back! Well, in flashback anyway. This story is the origin of Prof. J.H. O'Donnell, the crazy researcher who pops up occasionally in the background of various B.P.R.D. comics, rambling insanely and occasionally giving out some key piece of information. It's one of those excellent Mignola creepy one shots, with an old house full of mystical books, scary fly monsters, a flaming beast, and little bits of background on the history of modern magicians. There are some great moments, especially one in which the agent telling the story of what happened to O'Donnell and Hellboy basically says, "Oh, and so Hellboy fought a monster and burned the house down," as if it's what's to be expected, which, if you've ever read a Hellboy comic, it pretty much is. Max Fiumara, best known for Joe Kelly's awesome dragon-fighting-ring-in-the-great-depression comic Four Eyes, comes on board for this one shot, and he deserves his place among the artists of the Mignolaverse, with a style that's just off kilter enough to really make a shiver run up your spine as Prof. O'Donnell walks down the secret steps and sees what's waiting for him. The ending is bitterweet, as most stories set around Hellboy are, and even more so since Hell on Earth began. It fits the world Mignola has crafted well. If you like Hellboy and haven't tried the spinoffs yet, or haven't in a while, give this one shot a try. You won't be disappointed.

Roger Langridge's Snarked #8
Story & Art: Roger Langridge

I feel like I'm going to be reviewing Snarked every month until I feel like the book is getting the attention it deserves. Having discovered Roger Langridge during his incredible run on The Muppet Show Comic Book (which will be returning for one final arc as a mini-series from Marvel next month), I followed him to his creator-owned Snarked, a mish-mash of various characters form the works of Lewis Carroll. The Walrus (Wilberforce J. Walrus)  and the Carpenter (Clyde McDunk) and a young Red Queen and her baby brother (Scarlett and Rusty respectively) are our leads, and they run across characters from The Hunting of the Snark and The Jabberwocky, along with a couple from Wonderland, although that name, and that of Carroll's most famous protagonist, are never mentioned. This issue wraps up the second arc, where our heroes continue to sail with the Bellman and his crew towards Snark Island to find the missing Red King, but the Gryphon, who has been hunting them since they escaped the kingdom, has finally caught up to them, with the frumious Bandersnatch in tow. Snarked is worth reading to watch a cartoonist at the height of his craft. It moves effortlessly from high adventure, to comedy, to some truly touching little character bits; the book never rests on just being a humor or kids comic, but does so much more. And Langridge, being the main creative force as both writer and artist, really uses his art to set up all the things he'll be playing with later in the issue through hints, and never skimps on the details. The action really pops in this issue, as the Bandersnatch attacks the ship, and the solution to the issue's events play well off of the established character traits of the leads, Queen Scarlett's imperious nature and the Walrus's constant scheming, but this arc has shown both characters, especially the seemingly cowardly and conniving Walrus, grow. I'm a sucker for comics playing with literary convention and character (The Sandman, Kill Shakespeare,  the first couple League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volumes come to mind), and Snarked is a worthy addition to those ranks.