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Stupid Comics issue 2, by Jim Mahfood, 2003, Image Comics Now here's an odd bird. This book seems to be mainly a collection of comics that Mr. Mahfood has written for various underground newspapers. As one would expect for comics intended for the alternative press, there is no shying away from foul language or left-leaning diatribes. Still, the author often presents multiple sides of recent political events [cough]wariniraq[cough], so the comics often come across as surprisingly deep and thoughtful, which I appreciated. My favorite comics in this book were the autobiographical ones, like tales from when he visits the local comic shop or goes to comic shows or goes to a clubg, stuff like that. There's also a series of strips where he makes fun of stupid pop-culture things that totally deserve to be trashed, so that's great, too. Bottom line, while I obviously do not share all of the author's political and social views, I still enjoyed his presentation of those views and got a number of big laughs out of the comics in this book. If you can handle some "leftist" attitudes, I recommend trying to track this sucker down. |
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Spy Boy volume 5, Spy School Confidential, by Peter David and Pop Mhan, Dark Horse Comics My first experience with Spy Boy was in the latest mini-series, The M.A.N.G.A. Affair, which actually focused mainly on the secondary character of Spy Girl (she of the questionable moral virtue shown on the cover). That series was interesting enough that I went looking for TPBs of earlier parts of the series, and it turns out that volume 5 was the only one I could find in my local shops. So, wanting to try out more of the series, I picked it up. After having read the book, I have to say that jumping into the series at this point was probably a bad idea, as I really didn't know what was going on. This volume starts with Spy Boy, Spy Girl, and Bombshell (all teenage spies, naturally) being in Japan to thwart the evil of some supervillians. It turns out that one of said villains gets hold of a giant godzilla robot and begins attacking Tokyo. Spy Girl and Bombshell, who have been fighting about whether it is OK for Spy Girl to shamlessly throw herself at Spy Boy, are able to put aside their differences long enough to pilot a giant Iron Chef robot to fight the godzilla robot. I kid you not. Luckily the back end of the book was much better, involving some shenanigans at the high school that Spy Boy's and Bombshell's alter egos go to. See, it turns out that they are really more like superheros than real spies, with special powers and all. They even fight mutant bad guys like in superhero comics. Unfortunately, once you wade through the juvenile sexual humor (the target market is obviously teenage boys), there really isn't much to the book. While the second story was much better than the first story, it either relied on knowing chracters from previous books, or it just flat out didn't make sense. I never could really figure out what was going on, which means that this book did disappoint me. Still, you must admit that this book has the perfect cover to reach its intended demographic... |
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Spy Boy volume 1, by Peter David, Pop Mhan, and Norman Lee, 2001, Dark Horse Comics The first Spy Boy trade paperback collection covers Spy Boy's first adventure, involving an evil gourmet chef. We see how Spy Boy's alter ego, Alex Fleming, is a wussy-boy, but when the secret code word is spoken he turns into the super-cool, butt-kicking Spy Boy. This series has always been pretty silly, and it is obvious that the silliness was evident from day one. An evil gourmet chef? Seriously, that is funny. Also, Alex's dad and grandfather are obviously ex-spies themselves, based on the multiple attacks on their home that happen in the book. Luckily, Grandpa is on top of things, and it is always funnyy to see how he disposes of his oppenents without ever leaving his wheelchair. In the end, this book is pretty funny, if a little senseless. If you like over-the-top action without a heavy plot, this book is for you. |
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Scooter Girl, by Chynna Clugston-Major, One Press I am a big Chynna Clugston-Major fan, having appreciated her work in Blue Monday as well as Hopeless Savages. This is an orignial story about Ashton Archer, the big man on campus at school. All the girls want him, and being the kind of guy who is trying to get as many notches on his belt as possible, he has had sex with most of the girls in school. Pretty much everything is going his way, until Margaret Sheldon shows up, and his life pretty much goes to hell (from his perspective, anyway). The rest of the book is about his attempts to piece his life back together and get even with Margaret, whom Ashton is convinced has destroyed him. I am very conflicted about this book. It has the usual fantastic art and story-telling that I am used to from the author, but the subject matter is too earthy for me. I am a pretty serious Christian, so I really can't relate to a guy who spends all of his life trying to get between girl's thighs. It is just so different from the way I live my life that I actually had a hard time finishing the book. I wanted to read it, and yet I didn't want to read it. Obviously, I finished it off, but the subject matter forces me to be a little more cautious about picking up another book by Ms. Clugston-Major sight unseen. But if that isn't an issue for you, or if you like that kind of thing, then this book will probably be right up your alley. As I wrote above, the writing and art are both top notch, and the production values for the book itself are excellent, as well. It's always good to read another book by Chynna, but I hope the next one won't have two people having sex on page three. |
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Shirahime - Syo, by CLAMP, TokyoPop I picked this book up last year when it was first released in hardback. It had gotten really good reviews, but I have a bad habit of buying lots of manga and graphic novels and then taking months to read it all, so I only got around to reading this book last month. It is a collection of short graphic stories, all with a central theme of snow and human suffering. All of the tales revolve around the old Japanese legend that when it snows, it is the snow princess shedding her tears. The art style used in the book is a nice mix of modern manga form and more traditional Japanese brushwork. It is quite beautiful, and it would have been nice to get more than just the first few pages in color. Alas, such is not the way of the modern Japanese publisher, and I'm sure that most of the book was only drawn in black and white. Still, you can't escape all of the standard manga staples. For example, in the first story, On Wolf Mountain, we are introduced to a young heroine out to hunt down a wolf. Is she beautiful? Yep. Does she have flowing, long black hair? Yep. Is she wearing a miniskirt, even though she is hunting the wolf on a snowy mountain? Yep. Ah, well. Style trumps realism again. Such silliness aside, if you can appreciate the melancholy underlying these stories you will find much to like in this book. Each story is well told, and even though all of the stories are different, CLAMP does a decent job of tying everything together into a somewhat cohesive package. It's interests are somewhat specialized, but anyone who appreciates Japanese art, either modern or the more classic styles, will likely find enjoyment here. |
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Samurai - Heaven and Earth issue 3, by Ron Marz and Luke Ross, Dark Horse Comics Here is an interesting little series. The basic premise is that our hero is a samuria from what seems to be 18th century Japan. He is on the losing side of a battle against a Chinese warlord, who captures his lover and takes her to China. He follows her to China and fights the warlord to get her back, only to find that she has been sold to a slave trader. Here, in volume 3, our hero has followed his beloved all the way to France, where he gets in trouble with the local authorities and such, finds a potential benefactor, and basically gets in way over his head. While the premise of the series is interesting, the execution in this episode is a little unbelievable. It made sense that our samurai could speak some Chinese, but here we find that he has travelled across Asia, found his way into France, and is still able to converse with the locals. This is even commented on during this issue, where the samurai says "I have an ear for languages, so it seems; enough to get by during my travles." I really can't suspend my disbelief that far. Still, the art is mostly good and the pacing is mostly good; and getting to see a samurai running around renaissance Europe is an intriguing concept, even if wholly unbelievable. I will be giving this series a few more issues to hook me, so I'll hopefully be reporting back in a few issues to let you know what I decide. |
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Superman Batman Supergirl, by Jeph Loeb, Michael Turner, and Peter Steigerwald, DC Comics One of these days I'm going to have to stop saying that I don't read superhero comics, as every few months I get suckered into picking one up. This TPB was a total impulse purchase a few weeks back. I was checking out some comics, and spied this sitting on the shelf. "Michael Turner draws Supergirl?" I thought to myself. "This is worth checking out." Yes, I know, shameless. But was this book worth my $20, considering that I have little previous interest in the characters? You betcha. Who knew that this book would rock so hard? The writing was great, and I really like the whole "opposed thought bubbles" that show us what Superman and Batman are thinking about situations. And no matter what your opinion of bringing back dead characters, there story here makes sense inside what I know of the DC universe. And the art, sweet mother of God, the art. Say what you will about Michael Turner's taste in cheesecake pinups, the cat can draw. Not only dies his Supergirl look great, his Wonder Woman, Batman, and everyone else looks great, too. Fantastic. So, yeah, you gotta buy this book unless you hate art in general, which means you wouldn't be reading comics in the first place. Wow, wow, wow. |
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Sakura Taisen volume 1, by Ohji Hiroi and Ikku Masa, Tokyopop The Sakura Taisen manga is a re-telling of the story from the first Sakura Taisen videogame (never released outside of East Asia). Unlike other Sakura Taisen stories outside of the video game series (like the movie, the TV show, and the various OVAs), the action here focuses on Ichiro Ogami, the long-suffering leader of the Hanagumi, the anit-demon fighting team. For example, the story starts with Ichiro and his buddy Kayama while they are still training to be officers in the Japanese Navy. This part of Ichiro's background was always brushed over in the other stories, so it is interesting to see that side of his past. Also, as the story continues, everything is from Ichiro's point of view, rather than the girls in the Flower Division. This heavy emphasis on Ogami means that there is little action to the book. The bulk of it deals with Ogami's "hazing" at the hands of his boss, Mr. Yoneda. By the end, though, things begin to heat up. Just in time for the book to end, actually. So, while the story doesn't end in the best place, the pacing is good and I can't really fault anything about it. The art is wonderful, too. The characters here were first created in the mid-90s by manga superstar Kosuke Fujishima, and Ikku Masa's renditions of the characters are super-close to the original vision. All told, a fine addition to the Sakura Taisen fan's collection, and a good read in its own right even if you have no prior familiarity with the property. |
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SOLO issue 7, by Michael Allred, 2005, DC Comics I have seen earlier issues of SOLO for sale at my friendly neighborhood comic book store, but they had never looked that interesting for a guy who doesn't read many DC books. The cover on this one sold me, though. First of all, who can ignore Michael Allred? And he's got Wonder Girl on the cover! Brilliant! And this issue is very, very good, even if you don't care about DC characters. First you have a hilarious short story about Miracle Man (whoever that is...), an even more hilarious story about the Teen Titans set in the '60s, that even uses '60s style coloring to make it even more hilarious. Teen Titans fighting Doom Patrol with all sorts of anachronistic grooviness? I'm so there! The only serious story in the book is the next one, where Batman questions whether his crime-fighting activities are relevant in the new millennium. It is quite good, if a little on the odd side. But, hey, Mike Allred wrote it, so what did you expect? Two other short stories round out the book; some weird thing about the New Gods which made no sense, and a short Justice League story that seemed like one big advertisement on why kids should read comics. Overall, a good book if you can find it. And it has Wonder Girl! Ha, ha! |
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Strangetown issue 1, by Chynna Clugston and Ian Shaughnessy, 2006, Oni Press After a hiatus, my favorite lady comic creator is back at Oni with a new series, co-written by Ian Shaughnessy (who used to work for Oni but is now on his own). The story revolves around Vanora, a young lady who washed up on the shore of Grangeton, OR a few years back. The lady she was living with died, so she heads into town to look for a room for rent. She ends up finding a room with a bunch of insane neighbors above a bar. As is typical for a Clugston story, however, the high-level description in no way explains things. First of all, the place may be haunted, as the previous occupant died in the place. Second of all, we receive hints into Vanora's most likely troubled past. I must admit that Vanora does seem to be a departure from Chynna's normal leading ladies. Most of her characters are very extroverted spaz chiefs, but Vanora is quiet and withdrawn. Her neighbors are spaz chiefs, though, so I guess the author got it out of her system that way. Overall, this issue just introduces you to the characters and the setting. We'll have to wait for future issues to learn what is really going on. |