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Happy Marvel Day!

June 16, 2014

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In literary circles, June 16th is “Bloomsday,” this single day on which James Joyce’s beloved classic Ulysses takes place. Folks take the day to either honor or malign the author and his works. As a thinking person of Irish descent, I’ve made several attempts to conquer the novel, but never completed it.

This year, I’m going to neither praise nor condemn the man. Instead, I’m going to celebrate another significant numeral of 6/16.

In the Marvel comics universe, or rather multiverse, 616 is the number associated with the version of Earth where the stories take place. There are other Earths, where these characters don’t exist, or live radically different lives. Occasionally, readers get a glimpse of these ‘alternate’ realities, but for the most part, our heroes are the ones from Earth-616. So this year on 6/16, rather than celebrate a work I have a complicated history with, or an author who has his own complex history of achievements and failures, I’m going to watch “The Avengers” and enjoy some literary works that may not be as highbrow as Joyce, but still were a force for good in the world.

Captain America was a symbol of hope and encouragement in the darkest days of World War II. Even up until the present, he has served as a reminder of the greatest ideals of my country: Freedom, Equality, Tenacity and Acceptance. The X-Men are icons of the struggle civil rights in every community. Iron Man is a symbol of what we can achieve if we dream big enough and work hard enough, and also of the fact that no matter how high we fly, we can’t outrace our demons. And of course, Spider-Man is an example of the responsibility to use power for the benefit of others.

These characters might not breathe the same rarefied air as literary icon Leopold Bloom, but I learned more from their stories than I ever did from Joyce’s high-barred, punctuation-less tome. But I won’t admonish any literary fans from enjoying today as they see fit. But as for me? Pour me a glass beer, put “The Avengers” in the DVD player, and hand me my “Astonishing X-Men” collection, and make mine Marvel.

How are you celebrating today?

 

Hugh Likes Comics: Batman The Long Halloween

May 17, 2014

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Written by Jeph Loeb

Drawn by Tim Sale

Published by DC Comics

 

With summer movie season already begun and a host of superhero comic book adaptations leading the pack, it is time for Hugh Likes Comics to embrace the trend and give you some hop on points for Big-2 Superheroes. These characters have long, tangled pasts, and their stories are far too often are an impenetrable soup of references, call backs, and retcons. So for the summer, I’ll be discussing some of my favorite, and most accessible stories from Marvel and DC Comics. Since we just got a lovely image of Ben Afleck moping next to his rocket car for “Batman vs. Superman,” let’s start with the Dark Knight.

In a Gotham City ruled by Organized Crime, a young Batman teams up with Commissioner Gordon and D. A. Harvey Dent. But they aren’t the only trying to bring down the mafia. Criminally insane Freaks like the Joker and Poison Ivy are muscling in, and a serial killer dubbed “Holiday” has begun killing gangsters, each on a major holiday. Can Batman truly complete the task he’s given himself, or is Gotham city doomed to be cut in half by Organized Crime and random violence?

First of all, let me start this review with a confession: I like this graphic novel better than it’s predecessor, Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s groundbreaking “Batman: Year One.” “Year One” is a GREAT story, and a wonderfully gritty depiction of the kind of city that made Batman not only possible, but necessary. But “The Long Halloween” is a noir mystery filled references to “The Godfather” that ends with Batman fighting his entire rogues gallery at once, so it wins out.

Year One is an engaging look at how Jim Gordon and Bruce Wayne came to be who they are. The Long Halloween boils that origin down to a single sentence: “I made a promise to my parents that I would rid the city of the evil that took their lives.” It doesn’t get simpler than that. And as reductive as the set-up is, the book is actually a nice character driven piece about the human cost of working towards goals. Relationships get shredded by the weight of these personal quests. Jim Gordon’s relationship with his family. Harvey Dent and his wife Gilda. Even The Roman’s relationship with his children is deeply affected by his work. And then there’s Batman and Catwoman. Their relationship is extremely complicated, both in costume, and out of costume. It lends the noir elements significant weight.

But one thing that this comic does, and does really well, is temper that weight with super-heroic sections. The focus of the book is the Holiday mystery, but Batman still has to contend with The Joker, Poison Ivy, Solomon Grundy, and the rest of his villains. In a lesser run of comics, the change would be abrupt, and flow breaking. “I can’t look for clues today, The Joker is robbing that bank!” But here, everything flows naturally. The colorful characters are all weaved like brocade into the black fabric of the noir mystery. For example, at one point, Batman chases a fleeing buttonman into the sewers, where he accidental fumbles into the lair of Solomon Grundy. Later, the Falcone family brings in the riddler as a consultant, green suit and all, to help solve the murders. Instead of being asides, these sections lend a depth to Gotham City, and raising the stakes. It evokes the best parts of my introduction to the characters, Batman: The Animated Series.

Sale’s art, and Gregory Wright’s colors, bring the story to life. There’s a rich, velvety darkness to Sale’s Gotham City. The page layouts are also really well done. The book is filled with gorgeous splash pages, and Sale really knows how to guide the eye and build tension. A great deal of imagery from this book was included in Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” film.

“Batman: The Long Halloween” is the perfect graphic novel for readers who want to see the World’s Greatest Detective tackle an engaging mystery and fight crazy villains without wading through 75 years of canon.  It can be found at your Local Comics Shop, or purchased digitally through Comixolgy!

Next week: The Astonishing X-Men!

 

Hugh Likes Comics: Loki, Agent of Asgard

April 28, 2014

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Written by: Al Ewing

Drawn by: Lee Garbett

Published by Marvel Comics

Loki’s had a strange time of it lately in the Marvel Universe. He’s died, come back to life, co-starred in a few hit movies you might have seen, and was even on a team of (Young) Avengers. Now Marvel has given him his own series, and it’s great stuff.

As a God of Lies and Mischief, Loki understands the power of stories better than anybody, and there is a lot of information floating around about Loki’s past. That past could destroy him if he’s not careful, so he’d like to take it back. The only ones powerful enough to expunge his record is the All-Mother, a trio of ruling goddesses. So Loki’s out in the world working for them doing what he does best: making mischief.

This is a very modern take on an old character, and I love it. It’s written with fans of the movies in mind, but it reminds me a lot more of one of my favorite books, American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Forced to interact more closely with the modern world, Ewing’s Loki feels much closer to his mythical roots than Lee and Kirby’s God of Evil.

It helps that Ewing’s take springs right out of Young Avengers Vol. 3, which was my favorite comic of last year. Loki’s smart, clever, and more than a bit mysterious. He’s out robbing casinos, climbing Avengers Tower with his Seven-League Boots, and even going speed dating! My favorite bit is a spot of panels where someone sees Loki in his Asgardian clothes and asks if he came from a Con. He smiles and says “There’s always a con going on somewhere.” This comic is pure fun.

Garbett’s art is great as well, with beautiful colors by Nolan Woodard. Everything looks, well, magical, with clear but stylish layouts and splash pages. There is a bit in the third issue where Loki travels magically, and actually crosses through the gutters. It is a very cool effect.

This is a series full of myths, mystery, cleverness, and a joy. Loki’s got a plan, and it looks like it’s going to bring him into the crosshairs of ancient hero Sigurd. I can’t wait to see what the Trickster’s got up his sleeve.

Loki Agent of Asgard 1-3 is available from Your Local Comics Shop, and digitally from Comixology. And don’t forget, Saturday May 3rd is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!

Hugh Likes Comics Classic: Nextwave: Agents of HATE

April 20, 2014

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Written by Warren Ellis

Drawn by Stuart Immonen

Published by Marvel Comics

 

2006’s “Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.” is the best super-hero comic nobody read. It’s a cynical, action-heavy book about washout super-heroes that will teach you to love again. The Nextwave Squad were going to be the elite Super-hero team of the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort. (H.A.T.E.) Until, that is, they discovered that H.A.T.E. is a front for the Beyond Corporation, a rebranded terrorist organization interested in field testing bizarre weapons of mass destruction on American Soil. They go rogue, steal an experimental aircraft, and set to work stopping H.A.T.E.

“Nextwave” was a comic ahead of its time. A parody of Marvels greatest excesses, it recast five c-list heroes as scenery chewing, trench-coat wearing action stars with severe personality issues. At a time when Marvel was pitching overblown crossovers like “Civil War,” Ellis boiled it down, doing short, fun action movies in two issues. These story’s were thrilling, easily digestible, and more importantly, irreverent. In the main universe, Marvel’s heroes were making gritty choices and compromising their ethics fro security. Nextwave was kicking broccoli-based HR Robots until they exploded.

Immonen’s art, which is absolutely gorgeous, helps. It’s as bright and beautiful as story is darkly comedic. Every kick and explosion is delivered with aplomb. The characters all have a manic gleam in their eye and a middle finger thrust towards convention.

Even the editorial team was in on the joke, with a letter page written by a delusional mail-sorting machine. “Nextwave” even had its own theme song, with the lyrics printed in issue one, and an MP3 recorded by editor Nick Lowe’s band “Thunder Thighs.”

“Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E” was a sly, silly, chop-socky gem of a series, and it remains a cult favorite. You can pick it up in trade omnibus from your local shop, or in digital issues from Comixology.

Hugh Likes Comics: Rat Queens

March 26, 2014

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Written by Kurtis J. Wiebe

Drawn by Roc Upchurch

Published by Image Shadowline

Perhaps I wanted to like “Rat Queens” a bit more than I did. It’s a very good book, make no mistake. The art is gorgeous in an ultra-violent sort of way, the characters are interesting, diverse, and well-used, and the action is intense. But there’s just something about this comic that didn’t impress me as much as I hoped it would.

It sounds like I’m damning this book with faint praise, and I suppose I am. It is a gory, snarky ‘Swords and Sassery’ comic in the exact same vein as Jim Zubb and Edwin Huang’s ‘Skull Kickers.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite hit its beats as well.

The eponymous Rat Queens are a quartet of adventuring ladies in the familiar mold: Dwarf Fighter, Human Cleric, Elf Wizard, and Smidgen (I E Halfling) Rogue. They, and the rest of the adventuring parties, are causing a problem for the town of Palisade. All they do is drink and fight, and it’s hurting property values. When the local Captain sends them all out on quests to get them out of his hair, the Rat Queens soon discover that they’ve been set up, and assassins are on their trail.

The dialogue is snappy, filthy, and funny, but the plot is pretty bare-bones. It feels a bit too caught up in the conventions of a certain unnamed table-top Role Playing Game. While the comic starts out as a parody there comes a point where you’re not lamp-shading tropes, you’re just using them. I think that’s what disappoints me about this comic. It’s so gamey that it doesn’t have much weight to it, even when extras are being cut in half and stabbed in the eye. There’s not any real conflict in all this slaughter. I’d have liked the Rat Queens to have come up against something a bit more epic. This first volume is all random encounters.

I do like the fact that Wiebe and Upchurch really put some thought into the design and structure of the world, giving it a real multicultural feel without seeming as forced as the other aspects. The all-female team of adventurers is not presented as strange or even particularly transgressive in the world of the comic. This doesn’t just apply to gender roles, either. Race in Palisade means a bit more than white with pointed ears or white with a beard and a highlands accent. “Rat Queens” presents modern fantasy pulp perfectly by including modern gender and racial equality, and never even calling attention to itself for it. Diversity can be a touchy subject in science fiction and fantasy, with a small but vocal minority demanding the ‘authenticity’ of confirming a bias towards Straight, White and Male. The Rat Queens are here to kick ass and quaff ale, and they don’t care how much blood gets on their outfits. That’s really refreshing, if messy.

“Rat Queens” is a style-over-substance battlefield romp with four lady mercenaries who say ‘fuck.’ Quite a lot, actually. It’s not for kids, but it is an entertaining but character-sheet thin comic for adults. If you’re caught up on “Skull Kickers” and nostalgic for your multi-sided dice, “Rat Queens” might be the comic you’re looking for.

 

Hugh Likes Comics-“Down, Set, Fight!”

March 10, 2014

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Written by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims

Drawn by Scott Kowalchuk

Published by Oni Press

One punch can change your life forever. Chuck “Fearless” Fairlane was a rising football star, set on his life path by his inveterate gambler father from an early age. That is, until he punched out an opposing team’s mascot, then the opposing team. Then HIS OWN Team. Then the coaches. His brawl went in League history, but he retired rather than blame the mascot for his outburst.

Ten years after leaving pro football, Chuck is working as a football coach for Darius Rucker High School (Home of the FIghting Blowfish.) One day, a man in an elephant costume appears and picks a fight with him . Soon he finds himself in search of his father, pursued by a bear, and a shark, and a tiger, and just about every other mascot in the U.S. Plus, one determined FBI agent.

While this comic is on the surface a story about a dude beating up hordes of mascots, there was surprising depth in the relationships Chuck has with his father, as well as agent Harrison. Ostensibly a fight comic with a good dose of humor, “Down, Set, Fight!” turns out to be an unexpectedly effective character study.

The art has quite a 70’s grind house feel to it, and is very detailed. Kowalchuk brings the steadily escalating fight scenes, which ramp up exponentially as the series progresses, to the page with economy and skill. The colors have a muted, washed out feel as well. This reinforces the exploitation style, but it doesn’t show off the colorful mascot costumes as well as it could have.

“Down, Set, Fight!” was not my usual sort of comic, but I enjoy the creators’ other works and was glad that I took a shot on it. Much like Oni’s smash-hit “Scott Pilgrim,” this is a fight comic with hidden depths. For full disclosure, I recently interviewed all three of them on the Way of the Buffalo, so I might be a bit biased on this one, but I’m giving it a recommendation.

“Down, Set, Fight!” is available in print as a Graphic Novel, or as digital issues from Comixology.

Bang! Biff! Pow! Justice League: War isn’t just for um, well, actually, who is this movie for? (Review)

February 26, 2014

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Let me begin by confessing that I have not read a single page of Justice League comics in the DC New 52. So I have no idea how accurate or off base “Justice League: War,” the new animated adaptation of the first arc is. Initial previews and reviews led me to believe that DC’s new direction just wasn’t my thing, and this movie did nothing to convince me to give them a second look.

The plot is rather thin and familiar. A group of well-known superheroes who don’t know each other discover something bad is about to happen. They slowly begin to gather to address the threat and do so just in time for an unstoppable alien army to jump through some portals in an American city. Towards the end of the film, their big bad leader shows up and they gang up on him. They find a way to close the portals and then the threat is suddenly over. The end.

It may not be fair to compare the film to the blockbuster live-action “Avengers,” since the comic “War” is based on appeared close to a year before that film was released, but the similarities are unavoidable. I just wish that “War” had borrowed a little bit of “Avengers” wit and charm.

The movie’s not all bad. The action is well animated, and although it can’t fully carry the ball, there are plenty of neat super-powered displays. I was actually shocked by the level of violence and profanity in this cartoon. The Justice League prevents Darkseid from using his Omega Beams by literally stabbing out his eyes. ‘Just like Oedipus!’ Wonder Woman exclaims when they hatch the plan. It’s the one smart bit of dialogue in a film that portrays these iconic characters as vulgar, petty jerks.

The depiction of characters is where this movie really falls flat. This movie has a cynical edge that it perhaps shares with ‘Man of Steel,’ portraying the public as distrustful ingrates and the heroes as the worst versions of themselves. The writers were going for more extreme, gritty versions, but unheroic, downright stupid, superheroes just leave a bad taste in my mouth. The dialog eschews cleverness for playground vulgarity, but if you really wanted to hear Green Lantern call Batman a douche bag, this is the animated film for you.

The film ends with the characters not having really learned anything, just left a pile of destruction in their wake. It left me with the question of who this adaptation was for? Fans of the New 52, presumably, but with such a high level of violence and vulgarity, it seems inappropriate for younger fans. Older fans like myself will find the thin story and unpleasant characterizations a pale shadow of the Bruce Timm and Dwayne McDuffie eras of DC Animation. I can’t recommend this movie.

Hugh Likes Comics: Amelia Cole and the Unknown World

February 5, 2014

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Amelia Cole & the Unknown World

Written by D. J. Kirkbride and Adam P. Knave

Drawn by Nick Brokenshire.

Published by Monkeybrain (digital issues) and IDW (tpb collections)

Amelia is a magician with an unusual talent: Thanks to her Aunt and Mentor Dani, she can travel between the ‘magical’ and ‘non-magical’ world, and she has a habit of using her powers to stick her nose into matter that the police would rather she didn’t.

When the two start to merge, Dani sacrifices herself to seal them off again, and Amelia finds herself alone in a THIRD place she knew nothing about: A world where magic and technology exist side-by-side.

After she manages to settle in, however, Amelia finds out that the two aren’t exactly equal. Magicians have special status in addition to powers, and Amelia attracts the unwanted attention of “the Protector” after she uses magic to save ‘mundanes.’

“Amelia Cole” is a story about finding your place in the world, and doing the right thing. The story is fairly nuanced. Amelia’s vigilantism causes as much trouble as it solves, but she still doesn’t hesitate to do what she can. She’s a heroine that works by guts and instinct rather than a damsel in distress. Even The Protector isn’t all-bad, even if the system he works within wears him down to a core of anger and frustration.

Brokenshire’s art is a real winner. His crowds and cityscapes breath with life, and more than a few hidden easter-eggs that reward careful reading.  The designs for Amelia are great as well.  It’s sad how rarely we see a comic book heroine wearing actual clothes.

Amelia Cole and the Unknown world marks the first part of what will hopefully be a long series of adventures. Volume Two, Amelia Cole and the Hidden War, continues her adventures in the strange world she finds herself in, and I can’t wait.

Amelia Cole and the Unknown World is available digitally through Comixology, and in print from IDW.

Hugh Likes Comics: High Crimes

January 15, 2014

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Written by Christopher Sebela

Art by Ibrahim Moustafa

Published by Monkey Brain Comics

 

How far can you run from yourself? Zan Jansen was an Olympic snowboarder with a bright future ahead of her, until she fell and saw her chance at a gold medal slip away. After that, everything fell apart. She fled to Kathmandu, where she is drowning herself in substance abuse and guiding tourists up K2. But her real business is a bit darker than that. With the spike in adventure tourism, more and more people are climbing Mount Everest, and not all of them come back down.

When someone dies on the mountain, they are left where they fall. It is one of the hazards of the climb. So far Zan hasn’t climbed Everest. She is saving it. For her, climbing the summit is literally climbing out of the spiral she has put herself it. She says that she’ll climb Everest and keep going. But her boss has, and every time he goes up, he comes down with something someone left behind. A hand and what personal effects they carried. Once he identifies the corpse, he contacts the survivors, and offers to ship them back something to bury. For a fee, of course. It isn’t exactly illegal, but it is dirty work.

Of course, some things are meant to stay buried, and when her boss recovers the corpse of a black-ops government agent gone missing, things start to go very bad for her employer.

Moustafa’s art is fitting for this kind of noir piece. His figures are a bit stiff, but he takes some interesting risks, particularly with layout, that give the piece a nice atmosphere.

Sebela’s central characters are gritty and well defined. They feel like characters with history, and a lot of significant dialog feels unsaid. There’s a richness in what they don’t say, and that’s a tough trick to pull off in a twenty page comic.

I think that if there is a flaw in this comic, it is that the bad guys chasing Zan are a bit too cartoonishly evil. The secret military commander lacks a mustache to twirl when he shoots one of his minions in the face the second he asks a question, but he even goes so far to say that the person who has died ‘went rogue to protect the world from people like us.’

At a buck on Comixology, “High Crimes” is another Monkey Brain comic that really shows the potential of its creative team. It’s at least interesting, even if it might not reach the heights it is reaching for.

“High Crimes” is available from Comixology.

Hugh Likes Comics: The Top 5 of 2013

January 7, 2014

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#5: Batman ’66: I like stories that go all-in. No pussy-footing around, not Super-Heroes-but-no-tights, which seems to be de-reguer, particularly at “The Big Two.” That’s why I was pleasantly surprised by this outing from writer Jeff Parker and artist Jonathan Case. They’ve returned to the source material of the ’60’s Batman TV show, complete with dancing and giant sound effect bubbles. The digital versions have a few more tricks up their sleeves to evoke the classic series. Batman ’66 embraces everything the New 52 disdains, and soars because of it.

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#4: Saga: Vaughan and Staples continued to knock it out of the park this year with Saga. The story of an ancient interstellar war cut with family drama, mercenaries, and the ways art can change a person make for a heady mix. The art remains evocative and controversial. Saga doesn’t pull its punches, but it isn’t crass, either.

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#3: Atomic Robo: The Savage Sword of Dr. Dinosaur: There was little chance for Clevenger and Wegener to escape this list as well, with this nail-biting installment that puts Atomic Robo at the site of an impossible underground city, with shadow military agents storming his headquarters, and completely unstable velociraptor mad scientist Dr. Dinosaur sitting on a stockpile of stolen nuclear warheads. Atomic Robo remains funnier and smarter than it has a right to be.

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#2: Sandman Overture: We only got one issue of Neil Gaiman’s return to his seminal Byronic Dream King, but oh boy, was it ever a doozy. Filled with all of the gothic-horror elements that made Sandman great, and with exceptional art by G H Williams III, This comic is a rare treat for Morpheus fans. Hopefully, we’ll get to see it a bit more frequently in 2014.

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#1: Young Avengers: Sadly ending in early 2014, Young Avengers is a comic that knows exactly what it wants and goes right for it. Under the direction of comics super-team Keiran Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, the Young Avengers bring a little bit of their indie hit “Phonogram” into the Marvel Universe. “Young Avengers” pits focuses less on what it means or takes to be a superhero than it does the trials and tribulations of modern teenagers. After a poorly planned bit of magic use, a group of teens find themselves fighting against an magical parasite that draws power from how parents don’t understand teenagers. It is a fantastic high-concept very well executed. Unfortunately, for a teen book, there is a lot of backstory for these characters that just isn’t given. I’ve felt in over my head a few times, but I’ve loved the ride. Another plus in this comic’s favor is that it has possibly the highest collection of LGBTQ characters anywhere in ‘the big two,’ and handles them with then same excellent touch as earlier Young Avengers installments.

2013 No-Prize: Dan Didio continues to be comics’ greatest super-villain. He spent the year making sure no DC Comics characters have any fun on his watch. After denying the upcoming marriage of Batwoman Kate Kane, he went on to say that none of DC’s heroes should have a stable home life, and seems to be making certain of it. His crowning achievement this year: Creating an art contest for Harley Quinn #0 which included drawing the beloved children’s TV character naked, despairing, and about to commit suicide. After much outcry, the panel did not appear in the final version.

Honorable mentions:

X-Men: Teenage Mom Jubilee, enough time-travelers to stage a production of “Les Mis” and other crazy nonsense. Marvel seemed to focus on their movie-friendly characters like the Avengers in 2013, but there was still a ton of mutants out there, including an all-female team!

Edison Rex: Artist Dennis Culver gets the nod for designing not just a new set of comics characters, but an entire major publisher’s line-up of heroes and villains. My personal favorite: ROFL, an omnipotent extra-dimensional being using the form of a muppet Grant Morrison.

Subatomic Party Girls: Simms and Bowers had the stones to use the line ‘Do you realize we’re floating in space’ unironically. Props.

 

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