Anyway, I thought I'd haul a few of these relics out of the basement and post em on ye olde webpage. This particular work was a part of a Birds of Prey anniversary issue. I had been on hiatus for ages and was asked to contribute something to the final product. Thus, we see my attempt to thoughtfully examine Steampunk #2. Enjoy.
Yes, it is my triumphant return to the Birds of Prey. Now you can all stop weeping from joy. No, really...stop.
Before we jump right in, I want to take the opportunity to state how glad I was to be part of this unique and cool online fanzine. In the future, I hope to become a regular contributor again. Until then, happy anniversary folks!
Drawn by Chris Bachalo
Written by Joe Kelly w/ Chris Bachalo
Cliffhanger!/DC/Wildstorm
$2.50
I feel the art is characteristic of Bachalo's later run on Generation X. (That *was* the name of the latest team X book wasn't it? Jeez, I must have bought 15 issues, I'd hope I remember the name. Anyway...) Which could be good or bad, depending on your tastes. Personally, I thought his stuff got overly odd during that period. Short bodies, round heads. The team started to look like fourth graders when they were supposed to be teenagers. A lot of the characters in Steampunk resemble that design. Since I never cared for it, I was not thrilled to see its presence in his newest title.
On a side note, this was actually a point of contention between myself and another regular in the now deceased Wizard chat room. Basically, I thought Bachalo's change was awful and greatly preferred his earlier work in Generation X and particular the Age of Apocalypse mini-series of that book. My disagreeing opponent felt the "simplification" was fantastic and a return to a truer and more satisfying form. Being a level headed sort, I quickly labeled him as jerk. It wasn't until much later that somebody revealed to me that the guy was Trent Kanigua, the creator of Creed (the small press comic, not the Florida pseudo-Christian rock band). I can't say this affected me that much. I was like, "Wow! The guy who does Creed! Man, he's a jerk." True story.
Note: I have NO idea whether Mr. Kanigua is a jerk 24/7. This just relates to my impression over one topic we got into a debate over. Other times he was fairly hospitable and seemed well liked by several other regulars. My anecdote was a simple attempt at humor. An "ice-breaker" on this, my return issue. And now having fully explained my joke and halfway apologized for a zany comment that was made years ago, I have likely ruined any spirit of fun it once held....MOVING ON!
Anyway, high points? Bachalo uses some creative frames at times. Instead of standard lines, they're drawn like steel piping and gears. He also doesn't seem constrained to keeping things in frame and lets large pseudo-splash pages appear at several points to prove this. I hope that's the correct term I was searching for. In any case, the point remains that enormous drawings are often cool.
He draws very intricate scenes filled with lots of small details. (Perhaps, overly so at times.) In particular there's a nice chapel picture with lots of candles, criss-crossing chains, pedestals, and a cool stained glass window w/ a knight battling a dragon. Another keen part was a point of view shot through a fence. The bars lie imposingly large in the foreground while the background is a gray landscape of rubble, skulls on spikes, smoking buildings, and lizards scampering about a pool.
Bad point: The story was not easy to understand. I realize it takes place in an alternate historical setting which is chiefly characterized by the presence of more advanced technology than are own point in time had. There's a guy who has been brought back out of stasis after 150 years and he's got powers important to a resistance group. What are they resisting? I have no idea.
But this dude's so important that multiple groups are looking for him. That includes a bounty hunter chick who seems real hardcore but then shows a softer side when she refuses to kill our protagonist. And then the mysterious villain arrives and you can tell he's a badass because only his energy sword is in the frame and another of the characters says, "Know any prayers f'r hasty death boy? Use em." So that's enough of a hook to get me to buy the next issue.
In conclusion, if you're a big fan of Bachalo's art, Kelly's writing, intricate storylines, or alternate earths, you might wanna check this out. I didn't get issue number one so it might prove worthwhile to try and grab it if you're gonna become a regular reader. Likely some of the basics were laid out in that ish. For anybody else, pick one up on a trial basis if you can spare the cash and judge for yourself. However, I can't really say it's a "Must-have" new series right now.
And with rumors I've read that Joe "Mad" has abandoned Battlechasers for toy and movie deals and Danger Girl #7 coming out in late summer and possibly being cancelled after that, your choice of Cliffhanger titles is a little scarce at the moment. Crimson and Steampunk folks. They look to be the flagship titles now.
Oh and it's in Britain, so folks talk with an accent.
And PSS, there's a winged cat.
Rating: 6 out of 10.