Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 9/7

A+A: The Adventures of Archer and Armstrong #7
Story: Rafer Roberts
Art: Mike Norton, David Lafuente, Brian Reber, & Allen Passalaqua

I find that there are a lot more comics that are just plane fun now then there were back in the 90s when I started reading comics, and I'm glad for it. But there are few comics that are not only fun, but completely embraces the mad absurdity of comics than A+A, the current series that stars one of Valiant's classic odd couples, Archer and Armstrong. On a quest to find Armstrong's long forgotten wife (he got drunk and forgot he got married), the mismatched pair of Archer, the young man trained to be an assassin and can summon up any physical skill, and Armstrong, the drunken immortal, have instead stumbled across a Russian circus where everyone who performs bears and odd resemblance to Armstrong. That was last issue, but this issue, now that the scientists who created the circus are attacking, we get an entire issue of crazy escapades. Archer and Armstrong fight Soviet scientists, Archer and Armstrong meet the members of the freak show, the failed experiments, learn exactly what the nature of the circus people who resemble Armstrong are (and it is neither his illegitimate descendants or clones, as Archer theorized), perform in the circus in disguise, fight clowns, and meet the scientists behind the project, one of whom is a talking bear. It's a delightfully off kilter story, but while it is utterly bizarre, it is grounded in the reactions and the well established characters of the leads. Archer is curious an wants to get answers, and his recent time with his new girlfriend, Valiant's breakout heroine Faith, has him trying to solve problems by talking rather than punching, which doesn't sit well with the more bull in a china shop style of his partner. The issue is simply a delight to read. And if all that doesn't sound like enough story, well Archer's step-sister, Mary-Maria, is dealing with a coup within the order of assassin nuns she's the head of. And in a back-up, Davey the Mackerel, an anthropomorphic fish man who escaped the confines of Armstrong's bottomless bag (and shout out to all my fellow D&D players who look at it and think of Bags of Holding), is dealing with his time as the assistant and guide to a dark god who escaped the bag without his powers and who used to work making bags, satchels, and purses. The dynamic there is just killer; picture Doctor Doom, down to the ranting, if he made purses. I know that this review contained a little more plot than I usually put in a review, but the issue is so packed with stuff that I felt like calling that out; Valiant does a great job of making their comics dense with story, and A+A is one of the titles that really takes a bit of time to read in the best possible way.

Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #1
Story: Dave Justus & Matthew Sturges
Art: Travis Moore & Michael Wiggam

Vertigo has a long history of spin-offs from its best known titles. Some, like The Dreaming, are mostly forgotten. Some, like Lucifer, have spawned spin-offs of their own. Everafter is the first spin-off from Fables since that series, a personal favorite, wrapped up at issue 150, and is a good start to this series. At the end of Fables, magic came to the Mundane world, meaning Earth as we know it, and now things there are all sorts of screwy, and the Fables are trying to help keep things straight. Two plotlines run through this first issue, introducing, or reintroducing in some cases, the characters I assume will be the principal cast. One plot features Connor Wolf, one of the cubs of Bigby Wolf and Snow White, two of the principles of the original series, being recruited into the covert ops organization of Fables that polices magic in the now not-so-Mundy world. Connor was one of the least developed of the cubs in the original series, so there's a lot of wiggle room the creators have to work with on his personality. He's a great entry character, because he's dashing but headstrong, and looking to find his place in the world. You get an idea of what this operation is, who the key players are, and what they're doing through Conner's eyes. The second, more action oriented plot, features three of the agents on a mission in St. Louis. Bo Peep and Peter Piper, former thieves and assassins who starred in the Fables novel Peter and Max, and Hansel, the former Adversary's chief Witchfinder, are hunting down something that is causing a terrifying outbreak of monsters. The art from Travis Moore is spectacular, showing all sorts of great creatures, and the character action is exciting and clear. It's not unexpected that Hansel, someone who hunts and kills witches for a living, is not exactly the most pleasant of characters, and doesn't get along with the husband and wife team of Bo Peep and Peter, but as they near the goal, Hansel's motives are more clear and not unexpected. Dave Justus and Matthew Sturges have a history with Fables, having co-written the adaptation of the video game Fables: The Wolf Among Us, and Sturges co-wrote the original Fables spin-off, Jack of Fables, and they show a deft hand with both the characters we already know and the new ones. It's really exciting and interesting first issue, and even if you don't have any knowledge of Fables, you should be able to pick it up.

Kill or be Killed #2
Story: Ed Brubaker
Art: Sean Phillips and Elizabeth Breitweiser

I was on vacation when the first issue of Kill or be Killed was released, and so I didn't write it up, which I regret, because it was one of the best debuts in recent memory, but I will try to make up for that with a glowing recommendation of issue two. This isn't surprising, since the team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have been pretty much flawless in everything they have ever done together. Kill or be Killed exists in a the gritty world of a Brubaker and Phillips comic, a place that exists almost entirely in shades of moral grey to black, and explores the idea of vigilantism and how it effects people in a real world setting. This issue follows our lead, Dylan, on his first kill. If you didn't read the first issue and don't know the set up, Dylan survived what should have been a lethal fall only to be visited by a demon that says he is living on borrowed time and must commit an evil soul to Hell each month to keep on living. While I think we're supposed to take on faith that the demon is real, there's enough ambiguity to leave us questioning whether this is real or not, especially as the demon doesn't appear in this second issue; it's just Dylan systematically looking for a gun and a person who deserves to die. The issue is narrated by Dylan and is the usual tremendous character work that Brubaker does; it's hard not to sympathize with Dylan as you see that he doesn't want to die himself, and after all, he's only killing bad people. And Brubaker gives us the worst of the worst here, as Dylan tracks down the elder brother of a childhood friend of his that Dylan only realized too late was molesting his friend, who eventually died from drugs and depression. This is a person (and I use that term loosely) that no one would have sympathy for, and you feel yourself cheering for Dylan when he puts him down. But should you really? Is it right? These are the questions I think Brubaker wants us to contemplate. I'm just scratching the surface of the issue, a comic that explores Dylan's childhood and his father's life, and continues to lay out his present. Sean Phllips is at the top of his game, not just in the sequences in the past and present, but in a beautiful slash that shows the art that Dylan's father made for *ahem* gentlemen's pulp magazines. It's the kind of piece, painted by Phillips himself, that might be a little too good for those trashy porno mags, a really beautiful piece of art, which is just right for the art of a man who felt his dreams being crushed by doing art for a place that is beneath him. You don't buy a comic by Brubaker and Phillips for a happy trip; you read it to be entertained, certainly, but it will also make you think, be challenged, and to watch the idea of genres be broken, as nothing is off limits. Kill or be Killed is another gem in Image Comics crown, and in the constantly evolving and breathtaking work of these two amazing creators.


And after that more bleak review, something lighter and more fun from Dan Grote...

Jughead #9

Story by Ryan Q. North

Art by Derek Charm

Let’s be clear: Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson’s run on Jughead was a ton of fun and used some of the sillier aspects of Archie history (Jughead’s Time Police, anyone?) to its advantage. They will be missed on this book.

But Forsythe Pendleton Jones III has been passed on to the best possible hands.

Writer Ryan Q. North (Henderson’s partner on Marvel’s Unbeatable Squirrel Girl) and artist Derek Charm roll fast and heavy with the comedy in Jughead’s solo series, right from the opening splash page featuring a sculpture of our hero composed of burgers, hot dogs and pizza, which he made to win an art contest.

Zdarsky’s Jughead was canonically asexual, but North has him questioning that identity after a girl takes the form of his favorite thing: a burger. Pop’s Diner has employed a mascot who stands outside and hands out coupons and menu advice to passing prospective customers, her costume changing based on the day’s special (that’s a hefty budget to be pouring into wardrobe, Pop Tate).

Jughead discovers he has feelings for this walking, talking all-beef Patty, and so he turns to his friends for advice on love, all of which is naturally terrible (Reggie: “Love is possession. It’s seeing something really cool that someone else has, and knowing if you had it, you’d be just as great as they are, and then they’d be worse, because they wouldn’t have it anymore.”).

Except for Betty’s. Betty’s advice about how to approach a woman is mandatory reading for every teen and adult male alive and takes into account things like consent and how to properly compliment someone while acknowledging that romance is complicated. Be like Betty. Don’t be like Reggie.

If we lived in an age where covers and solicitation text didn’t instantly spoil endings, it’d be spoiling things to say Jughead’s burger babe turns out to be none other than Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but c’est la vie. It will be fun to watch them interact more next issue.

And kudos to North for giving us even more comedy between the panels. Additional narration boxes accompany the bottom of half the pages in the book, rightly pointing out that Zdarsky was ripping off the reader by not providing the same, touting the importance of self-care and poking fun at Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hours theory.

A new creative team on a book can often be a cause for concern, but at least for me, “Jughead” retains its Most Favored Comic status.

A Survey of Everything Fables

I've been thinking about how I'm going to tackle today's post since I saw the tentative release schedule for this coming Wednesday's books, and the pressure has mounted as the day to write it got closer. You see, this coming Wednesday, the final issue/trade of the long running Vertigo series Fables is released. Counting as both issue 150 and volume 22 in trade, this is a square bound, 150 page issue. That's a lot of comic. I probably should have broken this up over a few weeks, doing a series about Fables, because there's a ton of material to cover. Not only are there 149 previous issues, but various spin-offs, including other ongoing series, some mini-series, original graphic novels, specials, a novel, and a video game. So I've decided, instead of a deep dive, to do a survey of each part of the Fables story, and after the final issue has come out, after I've had some time to digest, probably in the winter begin a great Fables re-read. But that's for later. For now, here's a glance at the various aspects of the Fables universe.

Fables

We'll start with the beginning and end (well, mostly end, but more on that later). Created by writer Bill Willingham, Fables is the story of a community of fairy tale characters who are living in the mundane (or "mundy") world to escape the Adversary, a conqueror who took over their Homelands. Fabletown in a block in alphabet city in New York City where the human and shapechanging Fables live, and the Farm is a farm in upstate New York where the Fables who can't pass for human live, at least at the beginning of the series.

The cast of the series is a massive one, but the three principles, all met in the opening arc, are Snow White, the deputy mayor of Fabletown, her sister, the irresponsible Rose Red, and Bigby Wolf, the reformed and lycanthropic Big Bad Wolf, who serves as Fabletown's sheriff. While other characters are important, including the philandering Prince Charming, the steadfast Boy Blue, the tragic Flycatcher, and the witch Frau Totenkinder, to name but a few, it's the relationship between Snow and Rose and their family that drives much of the emotional action of the series. The joy of creator controlled comics is that the characters are dynamic. Rose especially changes over the course of the series, but both Snow and Bigby grow and change, and there are some changes that occur to the world around them that are joyful, some that are heartbreaking, but they all have lasting ramifications.

The plots on volumes of Fables vary wildly. Willingham writes stories that are murder mysteries, that are political thrillers, that are capers, that are war stories, and that are horror stories. You never know what to expect next, and that's exciting. And the war with the Adversary, expected to be the overall thrust of the series, ends halfway through, leaving a completely different comic in its wake. I won't reveal the identity of the Adversary here, but it's a clever reveal that when you read it makes such perfect sense. And the villains after the Adversary are different and chilling.

The principal artist on Fables is Mark Buckingham, who debuted with the second arc of the series, and drew well over half the series. Even if he didn't create the looks for some of the characters, he defined them, creating a lush tapestry of interesting characters. Other famous artists have come along to draw stories, including Gene Ha, Linda Medley, Bryan Talbot, and Lan Medina.

The Last Castle

The first spin-off of Fables was the prestige format one-shot, "The Last Castle". The first major story set in the Homelands, it's the story of the last stand against the Adversary's forces before the last gate to the mundane world was shut. Narrated by Boy Blue, who was there at the battle, it is a stirring story of valor and battle, and cleverly lays seeds for stories to come months and years later. Penciled by Craig Hamilton and inked by P. Craig Russel, it's one of my favorite Fables stories, and gorgeous to look at.

Jack of Fables

The first ongoing spin-off of Fables, Jack of Fables was co-written by Willingham and Matthew Sturges and focuses on Jack Horner, the Jack of all tales. Jack is another character who appeared in the first issue of Fables, but when his own conniving leads to his exile from Fabletown, Jack goes off on a series of adventures, getting into trouble mostly due to his con man's instincts and his over-arching libido. Along the way, Jack encounters the Literals, personifications of literary tropes, who will become important later, as well as many lost Fables, and his own illegitimate son, Jack Frost. Generally of a lighter tone, it includes the introduction of a miniaturized Babe the Blue Ox, Paul Bunyan's sidekick, whose completely out of touch with reality insanity made her a fan favorite. I admit that Jack himself is somewhat odious, and he can be hard to take, so at times it's a book to read for the characters surrounding Jack.

1,001 Nights of Snowfall

An original graphic novel, 1,001 Nights of Snowfall is an anthology, drawn by a different artist for each short story, framed by the text story of Snow White in the Scheherazade role as she must appease a Fable sultan who is holding her hostage by telling stories. The stories vary in tone, from the comedic like "The Christmas Pies," a tale of the trickster Reynard the Fox, to the absolutely heartbreaking, the Eisner winner for Best Short Story "A Frog's Eye View," the backstory of Flycatcher, the Frog Prince. We also get the details of how the various series leads made their way to the Mundy world. Like the series proper in miniature, the artists included are among comics' best, including Charles Vess, Brian Bolland, John Bolton, Mark Buckingham, and internals from series cover artist James Jean. Along wit the best short story Eisner, the book also won Best Anthology for its year.

Cinderella

Established early on that Cinderella was Fabletown's chief secret agent, writer Chris Roberson write two mini-series of spy action and adventure featuring Cinderella. "From Fabletown with Love" and "Fables are Forever" expand on Cinderella as a character, giving the reader a view of her as one of the fullest and most fun characters in the Fables mythos. A third mini-series was planned, but when Roberson parted ways with DC it was postponed and rolled into... well we'll get to that in a bit.

The Literals/ The Great Fables Crossover

The culmination of the first half of Jack of Fables, and a brief detour from the main Fables story, was the "Great Fables Crossover" which included a three issue mini-series entitled The Literals, for those beings who are personifications of creativity. Bigby and Snow rush to stop Kevin Thorn, the Literal representation of storytelling itself, from wiping them from existence. The Fables parts of the crossover are only tangentially related to the crossover, mostly putting Jack back with the Fables cast, and while a fun story the literals don't impact the overall Fables story all that much. But it's fun, and has Bigby turned into a monkey, so that's good.

Peter & Max

A long form prose novel by Willingham, Peter & Max takes two fables, Peter Piper and the Pied Piper of Hamlin, and creates a narrative about two brothers are war. Peter was given his family's magical flute, passing over his older brother, Max, who gets his own magical flute and a family conflict begins. Taking place in both the Homelands and the modern Mundy world, Willingham crafts the rivalry well, as well as the love story between Peter and Little Bo Peep. As Fables nears its conclusion, it's interesting to see this story of warring siblings as a precursor to the events of the last few volumes of the main series.

Werewolves of the Heartland

As Bigby Wolf goes in search of a new place for the Fables to live, he encounters a town of werewolves that have a connection to his past. Craig Hamilton returns to draw the story, and while it has not proven to be anything than a diversion until now, there are seeds that I hope bear fruit in the final issue. Plus, well, werewolves.

Fairest

The second ongoing Fables spinoff, Fairest was a book focused on the various female characters of the Fables universe. An anthology series with different writers and artists for each arc, Bill Willingham wrote the opening arc, a gloriously illustrated tale of the Snow Queen and Sleeping Beauty drawn by Phil Jiminez, but further arcs included tales of Beauty, Rapunzel, the final Cinderella arc (now written by Marc Andreyko), and others. The final Fables original graphic novel, Fairest in all the Land, which I reviewed in detail when it first came out, is also a spinoff from this title.

The Unwritten Fables

Another crossover of sorts, this was the final arc of the first volume of Mike Carey and Peter Gross's story about the power of stories, The Unwritten. When that series' protagonist, Tom Taylor, is thrown into a world he has never been in before, he finds himself in a a dark version of the world of Fables. It's sort of like the episode of Star Trek set in the mirror universe, although nobody here has a hip goatee that usually doesn't. While not directly effecting the main plot of Fables, it's cool to see what might have been

The Wolf Among Us

Telltale Games has recently been releasing popular episodic video games with a storytelling/rpg bent, not typical open world rpgs or fighting games, but stories where your decisions absolutely effect the progress of the story, and one of these games is The Wolf Among Us. Set before the events of the first issue, this video game is considered part of Fables canon, and tells the story of Bigby, the player character, investigating the death of some Fable working girls. It features many popular Fables characters, and is a very enjoyable game. If you're not a video game person, though, there is a tie-in comic, which is being released as DC digital first, and now in print. Written by Matthew Sturges and Dave Justus, this series not only lays out the canonical sequence of events in the game, but also fills in some gaps with additional scenes and extended flashbacks to Bigby's time after first coming to the Mundane world.

Aside from all these fiction pieces, there are also two impressive Fables reference books. Fables Covers: The Art of James Jean contains all the covers by original series cover artist James Jean, along with sketches and information about his creative process. The Fables Encyclopedia contains entries on all the major and minor characters of Fables, both within the series and in their historical context, as well as liner notes by Willingham and Buckingham about the development of the characters.

Pretty much everything I've discussed here is readily available either in trade or hardcover. All 21 volumes of Fables are in print, as are all the volumes of Fairest, and the first volume of The Wolf Among Us. Jack of Fables might be a little trickier to track down, but by no means impossible. And if you like your hardcovers, deluxe editions collecting somewhere between one and two trades, as well as things like the original graphic novels, are currently being produced. It's a lot of material, true, but it's one of the most well developed long form graphic novels series out there, and will really be worth your time. Once you start, you'll be spellbound, and now it's all out there for the getting.

Looking Forward: Comics, Books, and TV To Be Excited For In 2015

Welcome back to The Matt Signal! As I did in previous years, instead of looking back and doing a "Best of the Last Year," I'm going to do a, "Things that I Really Want to See for This Year." It looks like there's a lot of great comics coming out next year, so, without further ado, here we go!


Glen Weldon's The Caped Crusade: The Rise of Batman and the Triumph of Nerd Culture

If you've never read Glen Weldon, he writes for NPR on books and comic books, and a couple years ago wrote Superman: The Unauthorized Biography, a great book about Superman's history. For this year, he's moving on to Batman. Now, you know anything Batman has me excited, and this past year for the 75th Anniversary we got the beautiful Batman: A Visual History from DK Publishing, but that book is a comic book history of Batman. Weldon is going to be looking at Batman's history in pop culture, from the comics, to the Batmania of the 60s, to Burton in 89, to present. Weldon is a witty guy, and someone who loves comics and Batman, so if I'm not going to be writing this book, I'm glad to see that Weldon will be.

Convergence Tie-Ins

Now, I'm not sure about Convergence proper; I don't know if I know enough about it to pass any judgement. But some of these tie-ins? Yes, please! Greg Rucka and Cully Hamner returning to the Rene Montoya Question is a no-brainer, made even better by Rucka writing Two-Face again. Gail Simone writing Oracle is exciting, and the fact that Nightwing co-stars is even better. I think Doc Shaner might have been born to draw Shazam's retro-world, if his work on the recent Flash Gordon series is any indication. Len Wein returning to Swamp Thing is very cool, and bringing Kelly Jones, who drew an amazing Swamp Thing during his run on Batman makes it all the better. And Booster Gold is back. These are total fangasm books for me, and you know what? I'm ok with that.

Fables #150

I've been reading Fables since issue #1. It's not the first longform Vertigo series I read, and it won't be the last, but for it's sheer scope and length, I would be impressed. The quality has been consistent since issue one. And ending the run with a one hundred fifty page issue? That's impressive in a whole new way. I am excited to say goodbye to all these old friends, and see where they're going.

Thrilling Adventure Hour comes to Image Comics

Because a weekly podcast isn't enough for it's rabid fans, creators Ben Acker and Ben Blacker are doing to series based on characters from their fan favorite, "new time podcast in the style of old time radio." It's a mix of comedy and action, bending genres together in new and exceedingly bizarre ways that never fails to surprise and delight. In February, we get Sparks Nevada, Marshall on Mars, a sci-fi Western with a touch of soap opera, about a lawman on the rights the outlaw wrongs on Mars with his Martian companion in a classic odd couple partner situation, and March sees the release of Beyond Belief, about those married mediums Frank and Sadie Doyle, who will drink you under the table, all while correcting your grammar and stopping demons, vampires, werewolves, and anything that goes bump. I reviewed the digital zero issues of the series earlier this year, and I will keep talking about it until everyone is listening to the podcast and reading the comics.

Princeless: The Pirate Princess

Readers got their first taste of this series in the Free Comic Book Day Princeless story in 2013, so it's been a year and a half since the last Princeless story featuring the main cast. Still, good things come to those who wait, and the story of Princess Adrienne, who decides to stop waiting for a prince and saver herself and her sisters, and her companions Bedelia, who is a dwarf but not the short kind, and Sparky, her dragon, is still one of the best all ages comics of the past five years, twisting genre stereotypes. This volume adds a new character to the cast, the titular Pirate Princess, who is going to bring her own problems on top of the knights pursuing Adrienne on her quest. It's a series to share with everyone, and I'm glad to see it back.

A.K.A. Jessica Jones

There's been an increase in quality comic book based TV this season, and there's more on the way. And while I'm a long time and confirmed Daredevil fan, the Marvel series from Netflix I'm really looking forward to is A.K.A. Jessica Jones, the adaptation of Alias, Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos's MAX series, the story of a former superhero turned private investigator. If it approaches the original, it will have a grotty noir vibe that will mix nicely with the superhero aspects of the show, and I'm a sucker for mystery and p.i. stories. The series is starring Krysten Ritter, who I've liked since her turn on Veronica Mars, and between that and her performance on Breaking Bad, I think she can capture the brittleness of Jessica, a character who starts the series just on the right side of complete collapse, and can also show the toughness underlying that. And since the show is on Netflix, I hope they can at least keep a bit of Jessica's trademark swearing. I miss Jessica cursing every third word like she did when she was introduced, something that had to be sacrificed when she moved into the Marvel Universe proper. I know Marvel is going to keep it a little cleaner, since it is an MCU property, but if there's any project that can have an edge, I think this is the one.

Gamora

Every character from Guardians of the Galaxy got a big spotlight shone on them this summer, and while Star Lord, Rocket, and Groot were the breakout characters, Gamora is the character I have the longest history with, and the most affection for, and so knowing we're getting a Gamora ongoing this year has piqued my interest. This has a lot going for it in the current Marvel landscape, with the success of so many other female lead books and the heightened focus on the cosmic corner of the universe. The series is going to be written by Nicole Perlman, who co-wrote the screenplay for a certain Marvel movie this summer, so she has some history with Gamora. Perlman says that the series will reveal more about Gamora's history, about why she decided to leave the service of Thanos, and seems to be deeply entrenched in the cosmic Marvel Universe I grew up with. The series looks to dig into the psyche of Gamora, a character who was given plenty of layers by Jim Starlin, her creator, so I'm curious to see which layers Perlman is going to unwrap.

Our Expanding Universe, a new graphic novel from Alex Robinson

OK, first thing I have to admit is I know next to nothing about this project except for that name and the creator. But that's really enough. Alex Robinson doesn't release a ton of work, but when he does, it's always outstanding. Box Office Poison, his first major work, a comic series about growing up in your twenties, was the first truly independent comic I ever read; it was black and white! It was also full of characters I recognized, characters I wanted to be, and characters I wanted to flee from, but they were all real people. It's an underrated classic, something that belongs in the same breath as books like Blankets. Since completing that book, Robinson has released two graphic novels, Tricked and Too Cool to be Forgotten, both smart and affecting stories. New work from a cartoonist of Robinson's caliber is something to be excited about. Now, Robinson's publisher is Top Shelf, which it was announced today was purchased by IDW, but the announcement doesn't indicate any changes to their publishing schedules, so I hope that means we'll still get this book in our hands this year.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 7/16

B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth #121
Story: Mike Mignola & John Arcudi
Art: Laurence Campbell

So many of the B.P.R.D. stories have been so big lately, that I forget what wonderful creepy little stories the book can do as well. That's not a complaint about the big stories, as "Reign of the Black Flame," the last five -parter, was one of my favorite action/horror stories the series has ever done. This issue wraps up a two part story that takes place both in the present and flashbacks to 1949, and features four of my favorite characters in the who Mignola-verse; in the present, it's Kate Corrigan and Professor J.H. O'Donnell, and in the past it's Professor Bruttenholm and Hellboy. Instead of ancient Lovecraftian horrors and men with flaming heads, this is really a haunted house story, or a haunted artifact story, with some possession tossed in for good measure. The daffy professor has accidentally unleashed an evil force that has possessed Kate, and now it's up to Liz Sherman, Panya, Fenix, and Carla Giarocco to figure out what is going on and to save Kate. In the past, Bruttenholm and a young Hellboy, who insisted on going on his first field mission, confront the necromancer whose spirit is wreaking havoc in the present, and that confrontation ends with Hellboy making a decision that I hope is going to play into the events in the upcoming Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. mini-series. It's also nice to see the good guys get an unqualified win; so much of Hell on Earth has seen our heroes fighting a rearguard action to stop the world from slipping deeper into the abyss, so even if it's a small one, a real victory is nice to see. I also want to give a real shout out to Laurence Campbell, whose moody, shadowy art worked beautifully in this story. B.P.R.D. has featured art form some of my favorite artists in comics, including Guy Davis, Tyler Crook, Ryan Sook, and of course Mike Mignola himself, and Campbell looks to be another artist in a long line who is going to burn up these pages with some really terrifying art.

Fables #142
Story: Bill Willingham
Art: Mark Buckingham & Eric Shanower

First things first: SPOILERS ahead for anyone who doesn't read Fables in singles. Trust me, you don't want to be spoiled. Move along to the next review, nothing to see here. It seems like Bill Willingham has been building to this last, mega-arc of Fables for quite some time, and now that the events have started to unfold, they're unfolding rapidly. Bigby Wolf, a broken monster thanks to the machinations of Miss Douglas, has drawn the attention of the mundies, the normal humans of New York, and is killing unrepentantly.  Grimble, the troll turned sparrow, has finally found someone who understands him. Winter, Snow and Bigby's daughter who is now the embodiment of the North Wind, is gathering her vassals for the final battle. And Snow White and Rose Red's fates seem to be moving on a bullet train to confrontation. All of these disparate plot elements are balanced, so none of them feel particularly rushed or forced. It's an intricate piece of work, similar to the finals major arcs of Sandman and Starman. The part that has me most curious is the mundy reaction to Bigby's monstrous attacks; the Fabletown community has done its best to keep out of the limelight for centuries, but this looks like their downfall in that respect, and I'm curious to see how that plays into the series climax. It's great to have Mark Buckingham going full steam ahead for this final arc, and especially his monster Bigby is something to behold. This arc also includes back-ups featuring, "The Last _____ Story." Last issue's Flycatcher story was a cute one page story, but this issue's is far more sinister. Featuring art from legendary Eric Shanower, it features Sinbad and shows that, even though the Empire of old has fallen, that is not the end of Empires, and Willingham hints that he might finally be able to use the grand villain he originally planned to be the Adversary. And if he doesn't, well, it's still a great nod for those of us wrapped up in Fables history.

Robin Rising: Omega
Story: Peter J. Tomasi
Art: Andy Kubert

Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman has been the crown jewel of the New 52 Batman family, and rightly so; it's a gorgeous roller-coaster ride of a Batman title, with new ideas and amazing art. But the absolute heart of the Batman family has been Peter Tomasi's Batman & Robin. Tomasi, more than any other current writer of Batman, understands the emotional weight that Batman is under, and has done beautiful things with Batman's relationship not just with his currently deceased son, Damian, but with the rest of the Batman family. It's a book that has dealt with doubt, grief, and love better than most mainstream superhero comics could dream of. And now, after the quest to find the bodies of Damian and his mother, Talia al Ghul, stolen by her father, Ra's al Ghul, Batman finds himself trapped into an alliance with Ra's against the forces of Apokolips. The issue, which begins the "Robin Rising" story is mostly an action issue, with Batman, Ra's al Ghul, Batman's dog Titus, and Frankenstein battling Parademons and other minions of Darkseid lead by Glorious Godfrey to retrieve a Chaos Shard, a mystical artifact desired by Darkseid. Andy Kubert is an artist at home with massive amounts of kinetic action, and this issue gives him that in spades. And when the Justice League shows up, it's even more exciting. While all of that makes for a great comic, the first few pages, where Batman recounts his time with Damian, is the highlight of the issue. It's heartbreaking to see Batman go through everything he did, and then to lose the son that he had come to love and who had come to love and respect his father. The end of this issue sees Batman beginning a quest to retrieve Damian's body from Apokolips and to see him returned to life. I'm excited to see if he can pull it off.


And that's it for this week's reviews. This actually marks the 200th post here on The Matt Signal, so I want to thank you all for reading so far. Wednesday marks Batman Day, the day DC has set aside for celebrating Batman's 75th Anniversary, so expect a post about the things I love about Batman, and some more Batman goodness over the next couple weeks. I look forward to 200 more posts!

Recommended Reading for 12/13: Fairest In All the Land & Tommy Taylor and the Ship that Sank Twice

Today's recommended reading is a little different than usual, as it is featuring two books that are not connected by story, but by publisher. In the past couple years, it seems like DC's venerable Vertgo imprint, the mature readers imprint that gave us such seminal works as Sandman, Preacher, Transmetropolitan, and 100 Bullets, has been slipping away. There have been a few hits, but mostly the new series have come and gone in short order. The end of Vertigo's longest running series, Hellblazer, and the fact that many of its major creators are now doing their creator owned work through Image, seemed like a clear death knell. But there have been some signs of life recently, with a couple new hits, and this fall, two of the better received series of the past five years each released special hardcover original graphic novels: The Unwritten: Tommy Taylor and the Ship That Sank Twice and Fairest: In All the Land. I sat down and read them both this past weekend, and was very pleased. There will be some mild spoilers in this piece, but I'll do my best to not give away too much.

Fairest: In All the Land is this year's Fables special project. Since writer/creator Bill Willingham began his work on Fables, he has tried to do nearly annual special issues or tie-ins, whether it was an extra large anniversary issue, a special (The Last Castle), an original graphic novel (1,001 Nights of Snowfall and Werewolves of the Heartland) or even a prose novel (Peter and Max). This new book ties in with the ongoing Fables spinoff, Fairest, which focuses on the large number of strong female fairy tale characters that populate Willingham's world.

The book is tied neatly into the ongoing continuity of Fables and Fairest, so as a warning to people who are reading Fables in trade, DO NOT read this before you read Fables Vol. 19: Snow White, which comes out this Wednesday, and it might not hurt to read volume three of Fairest first, which is scheduled for a June release, but the spoiler there is nowhere near as big as the one for Fables. This book, more than either of the previous graphic novels, feels like it is hugely important for the upcoming arcs of Fables, and I believe is gong to be a major part of the lead in to Willingham's grand finale in a next year. Still, if you have no background in Fables, Willingham does a good job of using the framing sequence to explain everything you need to enjoy the book with no history with the parent series.

I was expecting another anthology of shorts tied together by a framing sequence, like 1001 Nights of Snowfall, but was actually surprised and pleased to see that this is actually one continuous story with various artists drawing each chapter. There is a framing sequence, narrated by the Magic Mirror; you know the one, the one that the wicked queen from Snow White had, that has been trapped in the pocket dimension when the business office of Fabeltown, the block in Alphabet City in New York where the fairy tale characters in exile reside, was lost. He is investigating a mystery, and also putting on a show for his fellow prisoners, a group of tiny women and some severed heads that still have quite a bit of life in them.

The story that he is showing is itself a mystery, connected to the goings on in the business office, but this mystery is  one of a more bloody sort. Cinderella, Fabletown's number one spy, is pulled into a situation where she must solve a murder mystery. As she points out, detective work and spycraft are two distinct skill sets, and she feels somewhat out of her depth. But Cinderella, as created by Willingham and expanded by Chris Roberson in the two mini-series that she starred in, is nothing if not resourceful, and so she goes out to solve the case, with a little help from Reynard the Fox and Little Bo Peep. Soon, the bodies begin to pile higher, and some of Fabletown's luminaries are among them.

The mystery doesn't seem to hard to figure out, especially if you've been reading Fables for any amount of time, but there are some great twists involved, and whodunnit proves to be less important than why and how. Other than giving readers more time with Cinderella, one of the best characters in Fables, we get to spend a little more time with Ozma, the good witch, a character who has been getting fleshed out a bit in the past couple years and who I find a lot of fun. A couple old favorites pop up, including Bellflower, better known as Frau Totenkinder the Black Forest Witch, and the Page Sisters from Jack of Fables. There is also some very interetsing stuff done with one of Fables male characters, Stinky the Badger, who is usually played for laughs. I wouldn't say his speech was poignant, but he makes a point that ties heavily into the theme of the book.

Dancing around the specifics of the mystery makes writing a piece like this tricky, as so much of what happens hinges on the mystery, but Willigham plays with a lot of interesting themes within a story that focuses on the most beautiful women in all of Fables. In a society obsessed with beauty like ours, is it really the most beautiful that get all the best? Exactly what kind of punishment is deserved by those who would enslave or use another? And what exactly does it take to rise up in a society? And aside from the interesting thematic pieces, the book ends with some Fables characters irrevocably dead, which is hard to do when your characters lives are fueled by belief. There are a couple surprising deaths, ones that may have some serious effects on the series as a whole.

While the story here is a lot of fun and well done, the art in this book is something that grabs you by the shirt and demands to be noticed. There are over a dozen different artists who worked on this book, and all of them are impressive on their own, but when put together, it's a murder's row of top talent. Chrissie Zullo, the cover artist for the two Cinderella minis, provided wonderful spot illustrations for Willingham's prose framing sequence. Single chapters are produced by luminaries like Adam Hughes, Chris Sprouse, Gene Ha, and regular Fables artist Mark Buckingham. Russ Braun, former artist from the Jack of Fables spinoff, contributes a couple chapters, as does Shawn McManus, who pencilled the Cinderella minis and is pencilling the current Cinderella arc in the regular Fairest monthly. And that's just a few of the names. Even if you've never read Fables or Fairest, if you're a fan of great comic art, this book is worth picking up.

The Unwritten is currently in between volumes, with the original series ending with issue 54 and the final year, subtitled Apocalypse, not beginning until next month. This has been one of my favorite comics since it began, and I intentionally saved the first Unwritten original graphic novel to help me get over the hump in between volumes. After the previous arc, "The Unwritten Fables" which was a crossover between the two properties (huh, see, I found a way to tie the two books together after all), it's good to be back firmly grounded in the world of The Unwritten.

The concepts behind The Unrwitten is a bit more complex than Fables, "fairy tale characters living in the modern world," one, so bear with me as I explain a bit. The Unwritten is the story of Tom Taylor, a young man whose father wrote a mammothly popular series of books about a bespectacled, young, orphaned wizard named Tommy Taylor (and yes, I know that description is familiar to pretty much everyone, but it's not like J.K. came up with the concept from whole cloth either, and all similarities are not purely coincidental here). Tom has spent his whole life dogged by his literary alter ego, but at the beginning of the series, things start happening to Tom, things that seem to connect him more to Tommy than he imagined, and he finds himself thrust into battle with a cabal that wants to control the world through stories and the collective unconscious.

Tommy Taylor and the Ship That Sank Twice is the first book in the Tommy Taylor series, and this graphic novel serves as a full adaptation of that fictional book. Throughout the series, readers have been treated to bits and pieces from the Tommy Taylor series, but never more than a page or two. All the things we've seen in the series come together here: Tommy, his friends Peter Price and Sue Sparrow, his pet/familiar Mingus the flying cat, his nemesis the vampire Count Ambrosio, and the wand Glitterspar. And the world of the books, the ones that readers have heard so much about, makes a lot more sense and has a life that it lacked before.

In a recent episode of NPR's excellent podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, host Linda Holmes commented on how hard it is for a fictional work to live up to its hype. If you hear about a band or a book or a movie in a TV show that exists exclusively in that world, when the consumer of that media actually gets a chance to sample that much ballyhooed bit of culture, it rarely is anything near what you've been led to expect. I was a little worried about that as an idea before I heard the podcast, and after I did it crystallized my fears about reading this book: what if the Tommy Taylor story was dull, or just really read as warmed over Harry Potter? Would that throw me out of the world the series of books inhabits? Fortunately, I don't have to find out.

I won't say Tommy Taylor and the Ship That Sank Twice is the greatest piece of fantasy I've ever read. Writer Mike Carey actually addresses that in the reviews we see of the book in the sequences in the graphic novel that take place in the "real" world. He acknowledges the failings of Wilson Taylor, Tom's father and the author of the Tommy series, as a writer, and that gives him a safe little out. But what we get is a very fun fantasy story.

Tommy's world isn't like that of Harry Potter. Magic is commonplace, and the world is controlled by mages. Tommy is rescued from the same watery grave as his parents in the ship Demeter by Leviathan, the great whale (an important figure in The Unwritten), and he is deposited at a school for magic, where he is raised in the kitchens. He has no magic himself, and so seems to be relegated to the life of a second class citizen. But Tommy is clever, and he makes friends, and when the Demeter is raised from the sea, it is his intelligence and grit that saves the day as much as the magic he discovers in himself. He proves himself a hero, and makes a difficult choice that makes him a savior, and sets him a messianic path.

That description could pretty well describe Harry Potter, and that's clearly intentional. It's the differences that make this book interesting. The more magical world and the fact that Tommy combines Harry Potter's grit and Hermione Granger's brain, gives the book a different flavor. Frankly, it feels closer to Garth Nix than J.K. Rowling, and there are healthy doses of Bram Stoker mixed in as well, with even a touch of Lovecraft for good measure. Carey knows his source material, and wears that on his sleeve, but in a book that is about humanity absorbing stories, and how stories effect the human mind and world, there are worse ways to be.

While the main part of the book is the story of Tommy, it is interspersed with scenes of the events surrounding the writing of the book and the birth and first year of life of Tom Taylor. These sequences are narrated through the journals of Wilson Taylor, so the view of events is somewhat skewed, but the reader gets a better understanding of what Wilson was doing. This does not make him any more sympathetic a character. In the regular comics, we've seen glimpses of Wilson's journals before, and they portrayed him as a cold, manipulative s.o.b., and this doesn't help. His treatment of Tom's mother, and the way he uses Tom, is nothing short of repugnant. But you get to see him as a pragmatist, doing this for "the greater good," and not a sadist, hurting people for no other reason than he can. The thorough process that Wilson uses to make Tom and Tommy one thing, despite them being inherently two (a little boy and a fictional character) is finally laid out, and it's brilliant in its Machiavellian design. Every step is laid out, from the moment of conception of both the book and child to Tommy's first birthday party, and every step he takes in between.

As with Fairest In All the Land, you don't really need to have read The Unwritten to enjoy this book. The sequences with Wilson won't have the same resonance, and you might really hate him if you don't know exactly what it is he's creating Tom to fight, but it's not like we don't live in a time where anti-heroes outnumber heroes in a lot of popular media. It also uses various artists, mainly Peter Gross, the main artist for The Unwritten, but includes works by other who have worked with Carey before. If you're someone who has enjoyed Tom Taylor's battles in the monthly comic, or someone who just enjoys a well told fantasy story, this is a great volume.

Both of these volumes are available now at both comic shops and book stores, and would make for excellent holiday presents.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 10/23

Daredevil #32
Story: Mark Waid
Art: Chris Samnee

Now that it's been confirmed that Mark Waid's excellent run on Daredevil is wrapping up, every issue is a treasure. And this issue features appearances by the Legion of Monsters! Now the appearance is small, and at the end of the issue, setting up next issue, but I still love these characters, especially Werewolf by Night, also known as Jack Russell (yeah, for those unfamiliar with him, you heard that right). But that's just something that speaks to my inner fanboy, which would be enough to get me to write the issue up, but there's so much more great about the issue. The opening scene, where the villain, The Jester, has left a dummy of a hanged Foggy Nelson, is one of the cleverest examples of Waid's use of Daredevil's powers and the lack of understanding others have of it. The Jester's surety that the horrible site of Foggy hung up before him would cause a reaction from Daredevil, but draws none, is clever and Jester's reaction was amusing, and this is inverted when Matt assumes that a mob in the small southern town he heads to at the end of the issue is preparing a race based lynching, when instead they are hunting monsters, something he couldn't tell with no site. Waid has done a tremendous job of writing scenes that remind the reader that Daredevil is blind and that radar sense is not the same as sight. It's also nice to see Daredevil and Foggy working together to help find an answer to the problem with the Sons of the Serpent; Foggy's cancer hasn't removed him from the book, but it's nice to see him doing something other than sitting in a bed. Four issues left, and the wild ride of Waid and Samnee's Daredevil doesn't look like it's slowing down.

Kiss Me, Satan! #2
Story: Victor Gischler
Art: Juan Ferreyra

I know I just wrote about the first issue of this Dark Horse horror comic last week, but when a good second issue comes around, I might as well keep writing. Barnabus Black continues to protect the witches from a line of bounty hunters. Writer Victor Gischler uses this to continue to expand the world he has created, introducing vampires, necromancers, and ninja zombies. I feel like Gischler has a whole world in his head, with all sorts of supernatural craziness, and he's slowly rolling it out. We also get to see more of our villain, Cassian Steele, werewolf chieftain, and I have to say, this is one bad guy. Sure, kill another werewolf in cold blood to maintain your power base, that's pack infighting; tell your pregnant wife you're going to kill the baby and you can always try again until you get a werewolf baby? OK, he's an A-1 bastard. The story is great, but what pushes the comic over the top is the art from Juan Ferreyra. The main action piece of the issue, a battle between Barnabus and animated ninja corpses, that starts out on cars and moves to a graveyard, is a sight to behold. Ferreyra mixes action with great body language and facial expressions. October is the spookiest time of the year, and this is the perfect comic for a chilly October night.

The Unwritten #54
Story: Mike Carey & Bill Willingham
Art: Peter Gross, Mark Buckingham, & Dean Ormston

The first volume of The Unwritten wraps up with the conclusion of "The Unwritten Fables," the big crossover between The Unwritten and Fables. The final battle between Tom Taylor and Mr. Dark plays out with a lot of very interesting twists, involving Tom's connection to The Leviathan, the font of all stories. But while much of the story is thoughtful, with Frau Totenkinder trying to explain to Tom exactly what he is and how he fits into the grand scheme of things, the rest of the Fables cast fights with the revanant Boy Blue and Bigby Wolf faces down his wife and children. It's a blood soaked issue, with many favorite characters meeting a final fate. Artists Peter Gross, Mark Buckingham, and Dean Ormston each draw pages suited to their styles, with Gross focusing on Tom, Buckingham on the Fables, and Ormston on the final pages, with scenes of horror as Fran Totenkinder morphs into a monster to hold Mr. Dark off as Tom performs the endgame. It;s a very clever ending, having been set up many issues ago, playing off both the classic poem The Song of Roland and what the readers know about the Tommy Taylor books, the in universe series of children's books. The issues wraps with Tom seemingly ready to find his way back home in time for the final twelve issues of the series, the maxi-series "Apocalypse." It feels like so many of the series I really love are coming to their end. But I can hope the ending will live up to the high quality of the series so far.

Velvet #1
Story: Ed Brubaker
Art: Steve Epting

New work from Ed Brubaker is always something to look forward to, and when he's partnered with one of those artists he has a rapport with, guys like Michael Lark, Sean Phillips, or in this case Steve Epting, you know you're in for a great comic. Velvet is a spy comic in the classic mold; it has touches of James Bond, touches of Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy, and a whole lot of the action you expect when you have Brubaker and Epting together. Velvet Templeton, our lead, seems to be the secretary to one of the director's of Arc-7, a super secret black ops spy organization. But Velvet isn't Miss Moneypenny; Velvet clearly has a background that features plenty of spy training of her own. After an agent Velvet was fond of is killed, she begins investigating his death, and is quickly pulled into a case that features death and deception, and puts Velvet's life in danger. Brubaker wrote the best spy comic on the racks when he was writing Captain America, and he's bringing that same feel for the genre here. Velvet is a complex character, and after one issue you can already tell that she has a complex history. Like all spies, there are things that haunt her. The rest of the cats is sketched out, including Velvet's boss and some of  the other agents, and I'm sure we'll get to know them better, but this issue was the perfect introduction to our protagonist. Epting is an artist whose work has grown tremendously over the years, and this is easily the best work he has ever done. The shadow, the expressions, the action, all are second to none, and perfectly fit the grit of the 70s spy movie. Between Fatale and now Velvet, it's a good time to be a fan of Ed Brubaker.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 10/16

With apologies for the month plus without an update, this week will feature a few books that I picked up this past week from previous weeks, but can't really go back all the way to when I last updated. Sorry for that, folks, but I'm in the middle of buying a house, and that has been taking up a lot of my spare time. But that's enough about me. On to the comics.

Bloodhound: Crowbar Medicine #1

Story: Dan Jolley

Art: Leonard Kirk

I was one of the people who read Bloodhound when it was being published by DC (admittedly, I first picked up issue 8, since it had a D-List Batman villain, Zeiss, in it, but I then picked up the first six and was along for the ride for the last two), so when I saw that new Bloodhound stories were coming out from Dark Horse, I was excited. And that excitement paid off with the serial in Dark Horse Presents, and now in the first issue of this mini-series. If you didn't read either the DC adventures of the serial featuring Travis Clevenger, our title character, and his partner/handler Saffron Bell, that's ok. Everything you need to know is made perfectly clear early on: Clev (as he's called) is a guy who hunts people with special powers for the FBI on a sort of work release; it's kind of like the concept of the TV show White Collar, if Matt Bomer was nearly seven feet tall and indestructible, and they were hunting rogue metahumans, not crooked bankers. The first issue let's you meet Clev, see the kind of guy he is, and then see him go on a hunt. The guy who Clev is hunting turns out to not be a bad guy, just a desperate one, and the polive pursuing him seem to be far worse than he is, which gives a nice layer to the world and to the ending of the issue. The last couple pages set up the thrust of the story, when a mystery doctor named Bradley Morgenstern hijacks all TV channels and offers to give people superpowers to protect them from the menace of rogue powered people. It's an argument made for assault rifles in the hands of everyone, and it's a great example of using superpowers as a metaphor for the concerns of the modern world. The chemistry between Clev and Saffron is great, and helps push the book beyond a simple plot driven think piece and into something that readers can get invested in. There's a nice letter page at the back, where writer Dan Jolley talks about getting the entire original creative team back together to do this book, and asks for those of us digging the book to share it, and I am more than happy to oblige. Glad to see you back, Clev.

Fables #134

Story: Bill Willingham

Art: Mark Buckingham

Some of the best issues of Fables are the interlude issues that give the reader a little breather mid-arc before things invariably go completely off the rails. Bigby Wolf is dead and has found his way into an afterlife that is the apotheosis of all forests, where he hunts creatures and lives as the great beast he once was. The sound of a hunting horn calls Bigby to find Boy Blue, who is there to explain some of the ways the afterlife works before he moves on from the borderlands where Bigby's forest is to his personal reward. The two of them have a long conversation about life, death, and the choices that we make in life. Bigby comes to some realizations about his life and his fate, and Blue explains that he has no intention of ever returning to life. There are some fun labs at Stinky, the badger who started the religion around Boy Blue, and it will be interesting to see how he reacts when Bigby returns and tells him exactly what Blue said to him. It's a lovely send off to Boy Blue, and a wonderful final conversation between two of my favorite Fables characters. The final two pages are touching, so touching that they brought a tear to my eye, and brings a resolution to the quest that Bigby was on before his death. 

Kiss Me, Satan #1

Story: Victor Gischler

Art: Juan Ferreyra

I'm a sucker for horror comics, and have a strong preference for werewolves over either vampires or zombies, and when I saw the cover copy, "New Orleans is a Werewolf Town," I had to give this book a try. My only experience with writer Victor Gischler was the Spike mini-series he wrote and a couple short stories, and no familiarity with artist Juan Ferreyra, so I came in fresh. Barnabus is a fallen angel who is trying to earn his way back into the good graces of the almighty, so he's doing freelance work for heaven, all the while ducking squads of demons that want to bring him back to Hell to pay for making a runner. It's a solid core concept, but where are the werewolves? Well, it seems the packleader of the local werewolf clan, Cassian Steele, has a pregnant wife, and the witch who was summoned to test the fetus tells Steele the baby isn't a werewolf. This means that Steele will lose his standing within the pack. Steele kills the only werewolf who knew, and then sends his wolves after the witch and her apprentices. And this is where Barnabus crosses paths with the werewolves, as heaven has sent him to protect the witches. The whole series is set up to move from here, a quick, action based supernatural thriller. Gischler does a great job fleshing out the characters quickly, and Ferreyra's art is astounding. he has a dynamic style, and his werewolves are beautiful, or as beautiful as monsters can be. A perfect comic for this spooky time of year, the second issue hits this week, so grab both for a double dose of horror action on Wednesday.

Superior Spider-Man #17-19

Story: Dan Slott

Art: Ryan Stegman

Yes, these are the first Spider-Man comics I have reviewed on here. I don't have anything against Spidey, but I've never been a big fan either, and haven't had any real interest in the Superior incarnation. However, when Spider-Man 2099, a character I do love, came back for this arc, I couldn't resist it. I read all the Peter David issues of Miguel O'Hara's adventures from the 90s, and I was worried that he wouldn't ring true after all these years, but credit to Dan Slott for getting him exactly right. The story is a classic time travel yarn, with O'Hara going back in time to keep himself from being erased from the timeline by protecting his grandfather, Tiberius Stone, a sleazy scientist who has gotten on the bad side of Spidey, or Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man's body. Having not read a single issue of Superior Spider-Man, or any of Slott's Amazing Spider-Man for that matter, I was worried I would be lost, but Slott does a great job of giving the reader a good feeling of the status quo. The issues are action packed, with plenty of Spider-Man on Spider-Man action, and very cool tie-in to the history of the 2099 universe. This was a great self contained story that does have some payoff to what seem to be long running plotlines and set-ups for the future. And by stories end, there might just be two Spider-Men running around the Marvel Universe. If you remember the 2099 comics with any fondness, this is definitely an arc you'll enjoy.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 7/24

Ghostbusters #6
Story: Erik Burnham
Art: Dan Schoening

Egon Spengler, the brains of the Ghostbusters, has always been my favorite of the legendary quartet of supernatural investigators, and the new issue of IDW's Ghostbusters series is a strong spotlight for Egon. Earlier in the series, we found out Janine Melnitz, the Ghostbusters' trusty girl friday, was a descendant of Beowulf, and had to take up the family legacy of fighting the ghost of Grendel. Even though she won, she had help, and her spirit ancestors took offense, so she was trapped between life and death, and now Egon and Janine's current boyfriend, Roger (who bears a striking resemblance to Real Ghostbusters Egon, by the way), have to voyage into her mind to save her. Not only do we get a great view of Janine's inner life, seeing her memories from the point of view of Egon and Roger, but we also see Egon having to deal with Roger, and how short his patience is when in an unfamiliar position. While there is plenty of action, as Egon fights the Viking ghosts that are currently inside Janine, the majority of the issue is dialogue between Egon and Roger, the two of them bickering as they voyage through Janine's mind. Erik Burnham is a dab hand at dialogue, and does a good job of making Roger likable, frankly more likable at times than the usually taciturn Egon, so the reader can completely understand what Janine sees in him. After an opening arc with  a temporary team of Ghostbusters, it feels good to be back with the originals, and this issue is a perfect jumping on point if you're a fan of Dr. Egon Spengler.

Lazarus #2
Story: Greg Rucka
Art: Michael Lark

After an outstanding first issue of world building, Greg Rucka and Michael Lark's dystopic corporate future comic, Lazarus, spends its second issue character building, and introducing us to the Carlyle Family. Other than Jonah, who we met last issue, we meet the other Carlyle siblings, Steven, Johanna, and Bethany, as well as the family patriarch, Malcolm. The siblings seem to be as at war with each other as they are with any of the other families (except for Jonah and Johanna, who are very... close, in that creepy Game of Thrones sort of way), and we get hints of secrets, especially those about Eve, the family protector, the Lazarus, and our protagonist), and exactly what her relation is to the others. There is also a mention of the siblings' mother, although she isn't shown, which strikes me as something we're waiting for a big reveal on. Malcolm seems to be a cold, clever manipulator, who discusses Eve as simply "the Lazarus" when she isn't present, but treats her as a favored child when she is with him. None of the children seem to have his skills, and all seem to have something of a short fuse. Bethany launches herself at Jonah with murder in mind from his verbal barbs. Dr. Bethany seems to be the one who cares the most about Eve, but whether that is as a sister or the product of an experiment seems to be up in the air right now. The discussion about going to war with Family Morray is the driving force for this family meeting, but it seems Malcolm has his own way of dealing with that, as we see Eve go off on her secret mission at issue's end. This will give us a view of exactly what the other families are like next issue, continuing to grow this world. And be sure to check out the backmatter for the issue, which includes a timeline of the life of Malcolm Carlyle, full of interesting background information and I'm sure hints of things to come.

Star Wars: Legacy #5
Story: Corinna Bechko & Gabriel Hardman
Art: Gabriel Hardman

The first arc of the new incarnation of Star Wars: Legacy wraps up with a big reveal from our mystery Sith Lord and Ania Solo standing tall. As Darth Wredd reveals himself to the public, showing his face on the holonet as he prepares to kill Master Yalta Val, the Imperial Knight he has been impersonating for the past few issues to show the weakness of the current government, Ania steps up to save Master Val. Ania's doubts about her fitness are assuaged by the assassin droid with a heart of gold AG-37, and so she steps up and faces odds that should mean her destruction. The little guy standing up to the big guy is a big part of the Star Wars mythos, and so Ania takes strongly after her ancestor, Han Solo, as AG reminds her, by getting involved in these kind of affairs with just a blaster and an attitude. But she also takes after Han in an even more important way; when the chips are down, she is loyal to her friends, willing to risk her life to save both AG and Sauk, her Mon Calamari friend. Artist Gabriel Hardman's art is top notch this issue, especially the art as the communications array comes crashing down, and our heroes make their escape. This is Star Wars as its meant to be: action, character, and a touch of humor. The final page sees Ania reach the attention of the Galactic Triumvirate, and especially Empress Marasiah Fel, her distant cousin if my reckoning is correct, so it looks like Ania's adventures are just getting started.

The Unwritten #51
Story: Mike Carey & Bill Willingham
Art: Peter Gross & Mark Buckingham

"The Unwritten Fables" continues, as this dark alternate world only grows, well darker. Its interesting to see Tommy Taylor and his friends in their full power, as readers have all heard about exactly how badass the fictional Tommy is in the books within the comic, and while Tom has worked some magic, its nothing on the scale of casual power that Tommy works here. Last issue gave us a somewhat chilling impression of what exactly Snow White and Bigby Wolf's cubs have become under the influence of Mister Dark, but seeing Dare, who nobly gave his own life in the "real" Fables timeline here casually attacking Tommy and his allies, while preparing to once again torture his father just shows how bad things have gotten. And Mister Dark casually killing three members of the witches council from the Fables without breaking much of a sweat once again reinforces what a threat he is. And the world seems to be reaching out to the children, as Sue Sparrow, the Hermione of the Tom Taylor books, casts evil spells and takes something from Mister Dark's treasure cache. And Dark's building of a new Boy Blue continues, which is just beyond creepy and wrong, and perfectly in character. I love the way that Frau Totenkinder conceives of Tommy and his crew, "stories told by stories made up by the stories to whom we are only stories." This sort of meta, wheels within wheels, storytelling has been what The Unwritten has been about since the beginning, and adding the extra dimension of the folklore Fables characters just gives Carey another mirror to reflect it all off of.