Reviews: Batman & Robin Vol. 3- Batman & Robin Must Die; City of Dust- A Philip Khrome Story

BATMAN & ROBIN- THE DELUXE EDITION: BATMAN & ROBIN MUST DIE (DC, 2011; Hardcover)

Collects Batman and Robin Nos. 13-17 and Batman: The Return No. 1 (cover dates August, 2010- January, 2011).

Writer: Grant Morrison

Artists: David Finch and others

This is decent, but I'm done with Batman for now. I'll wait for the Chronicles trade paperbacks to catch up. I've enjoyed Grant Morrison's run (what I've read of it) but have no interest in Batman, Inc. There are loads of different artists involved in the issues in this book, and all of the are above average in terms of quality. There are many super violent, over the top fight scenes.

I am not crazy about seeing heroes kill villains, although I do realize that this routinely happened in Batman's earliest adventures. It probably wouldn't bother me if I didn't have a 5 year old son. It's too bad that the 'real' Batman titles aren't in that middle ground where they can appeal to us adults, yet I wouldn't cringe giving them to my son to read. In any case, this was a fun read, and Pyg and the whole contagious addiction thing was a trip to say the least.

The OCD zone- This book has decent paper and glued binding, but it does lay reasonably flat. This can rest comfortably in one hand while reading and lay flat on the bed as well. I can live with glued binding on skinnier hardcover collections like this.

CITY OF DUST: A PHILLIP KHROME STORY (Radical, 2009; Softcover)

Collects City of Dust Nos. 1-5 (cover dates October, 2008- March, 2009)

Writer: Steve Niles

Artist: Chng

I like Steve Niles' writing, but I am sick and tired of dystopian views of the future. This series riffs on a number of familiar stories (1984, Farenheit 454, Blade Runner) but is decent in its own right. The artwork and computer coloring are breathtaking, which is par for the course for Radical Publishing's output. I have no problem plunking down cash for their products. My major gripe is that the title of this series has nothing to do with the events that occur here. Yes, it takes place in a city, but there is no mention of dust. No metaphor, no dust superpower, no drug called dust...nothing. It's as dumb a name as the movie Murder By Numbers with Sandra Bullock, in which the story had nothing to do with numbers.

The OCD zone- Heavy duty, high quality coated stock paper really brings out the artwork and colors. This book also has sewn binding, which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I am ill, but at least I don't hurt anybody. 

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Reviews: Untouchable Vol. 1; Batman & Robin- Batman Vs. Robin; Classic G.I. Joe Vol. 8

UNTOUCHABLE VOL. 1 (Dynamite, 2010, softcover original graphic novel)

This is the format of the future, kids, at least as far as hard copy comics go. A beefed-up 'prestige format' from the days of yore, this is like a 1/3 trade on nice paper with a cardstock cover. Radical does the same thing, offering 50+ pages of story, in this case $5.99 MSRP. When you compare that to DC's 20 pages for $2.99 and Marvel's 22 pages for $3.99, you can begin to see where this is going. Plus, titles tend to have diminishing returns. If this were a 5 or 6 issues mini-series it might not make it, but people are more willing to stick around for 3 bi-monthly books like this.

Mike Carey and Samit Basu deliver an Indian (no, not Native American) flavored tale with a creature that reminds me of the Nabu from Avatar. Ashok Bhadana's artwork is unbelievably gorgeous. The hybrid of pencils and computer "painting" give this a lush, detailed look and feel. The story works and I want to read the rest of it. I'm not sure if I will trade wait or not, though. Bluewater has been cancelling many of the titles that I have been trade-waiting on (the second Vincent Price Presents trade, Black Scorpion), so I am re-thinking my format preferences for the smaller publishers.

BATMAN & ROBIN: BATMAN VS. ROBIN (DC, 2010, hardcover)

Collects Batman & Robin Nos. 7-12 (cover dates March- July, 2010)

Issues 7-9 were Blackest Night tie-ins and were not done by the regular creative team of Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly, so the quality was way down. Thankfully, things picked way back up with Issue 10. I am not reading all of these various Batman titles and tie-ins about the disappearance of Bruce Wayne through the ages, but I was able to follow this well enough. This ends on one helluva cliffhanger, and Volume 3 hardcover is featured in this month's Previews, so I guess that I am on board.

Terror Inc. Nos. 1-4, 8 (Marvel, cover dates July, 1992- February, 1993)

I will read almost anything if it is cheap or free, in this case these issues which I found in the .10 box at Big Ben's Comix Oasis in Allen Park, MI. They were blowing out the .50 box back issues for .10 a piece, thousands of them. I spent three hours in there one day after work, piecing together an entire run of Nightmask in F/NM and nice chunks of the '90s Morbius The Living Vampire series, among other treasures. I had never even heard of this title, but for .10, who cares? I grabbed what was there.

The basic concept of the series is that Terror, a bounty hunter whose origin is not revealed in any of these issues, somehow can use the body parts of other people and gain their abilities and memories, i.e. an Olympic runner's legs help him run fast, etc. This is black humor big time, filled with gore and an air of '90s "extreme"-ness. Amusing for a dime, but at full cover price...probably not. The artwork is typical '90s scratchy garbage. I like looking at old ads and checklists in these back issues. I was staggered by how many crappy titles Marvel produced back then. Then again, I am staggered by the amount of crappy titles that Marvel produces today. The more things change...   I look forward to reading today's "lost" masterpieces out of some .10 box in 2030.

CLASSIC G.I. JOE VOL. 8 (IDW, 2010, softcover)

Collects G. I. Joe: A Real American Hero Nos. 71-80 (cover dates May- Late November, 1988)

I had already abandoned ship when these issues were originally released, so this was all-new to me. The linework and restoration are spotty throughout the book. Most of it looks fine, but there are some pages that you can tell were not re-colored by "hand". All comics are colored on computers these days, including collected editions like this. The colorist matches the original color palette as closely as possible, and there are two methods to doing this. One is by hand, very time consuming but very nice, and the other is to let the computer fill in the shapes, which often obliterates linework. This is the case here. Also, some of these issues were scanned in poor resolution, with pixelated linework being the result. While nowhere near as bad as Volume 6 or 7 (or some of the later ones...reviews forthcoming), it still annoys the ***t out of me because I know that this is laziness and not the limits of technology. Every other company has long since learned how to collect Classic (read: pre-digital file) material properly, so why can't IDW?

The stories are fun, action-packed, never a dull moment fare. Writer Larry Hama is a genius with these characters, even making the mandated insertion of new characters and vehicles (toys) seem plausible. Marshall Rogers (of '70s Batman fame) even alternates artwork duties with Joe stalwart Rod Whigham.

This book smells fantastic, with it's toxic yet pleasing aroma undoubtedly being the result of that magical Korean printing. It smells much like the Chinese printing, which I have characterized in the past as such: The result of asbestos tiles, lead paint chips, and mercury from recalled thermometers. The Korean printing has one extra delightful ingredient, though: the tears of the children forced to make these books in sweatshop conditions. It's funny how in these issues Roadblock bashes a motorist who doesn't drive an American vehicle, and there are a few other pro-American references in this title, and now these things are printed in Korea.

Reviews: Spider-Man- The Gauntlet Vol. 5, Grim Hunt, One Moment In Time; Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery Archives Vol. 2; Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn

SPIDER-MAN: THE GAUNTLET VOL. 5- THE LIZARD (Marvel, 2010, Hardcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 630-633 and selections from Amazing Spider-Man No. 629 and Web of Spider-Man No. 6 (cover dates May- July, 2010)

Zeb Wells is the weak link in the writers of the 'Spidey Brain Trust'. He writes in a more Bendis-esque, ultra-padded style than any of the other cats involved with this title. Couple that with Chris Bachalo's manga-crap-infused "artwork", and you have one unenjoyable book. I would dump this book in a heartbeat if not for my Amazing Spider-Man completist OCD. At least they tried to do something new with the Lizard. It wasn't any good, but it was new, and they tried.

BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY ARCHIVES VOL. 2 (Dark Horse, 2010, Hardcover)

Collects Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery Nos. 5-10 (cover dates October, 1963- June, 1965)

This series is fun and entertaining. While not great, the stories are paced nicely and have artwork by many Golden and Silver Age greats, such as Alex Toth, Frank Springer, Paul S. Newman, Jack Sparling, and Joe Orlando. This book is worth checking out if you are a fan of the Horror/Mystery genres or appreciate vintage comic books.

BATMAN & ROBIN: BATMAN REBORN (DC, 2010, Hardcover)

Collects Batman and Robin Nos. 1-6 (cover dates August, 2009- January, 2010)

I picked up the .99 reprint of Issue 1 and was blown away. I ran out and bought the first two hardcovers (sucker!!) and really enjoyed this one. I have not been a regular reader of Grant Morrison's run, but quickly picked up what was going on in Issue 1. Bruce Wayne is dead. Check. The original Robin (Dick Grayson) is now Batman. Check. Batman's 10 year old son that he had with Ra's Al Ghul's daughter is now Robin. Check. With that basic knowledge, I was able to follow this with ease. I am not a huge fan of either Grant Morrison writing or Frank Quietly's artwork, but it seems to work here. This is pretty gruesome stuff, so parental guidance is suggested. I am more than a little sad that I can't share modern Batman comics with my son.

I have a double-standard with Marvel and DC. With Marvel, things must strictly adhere to continuity and characters must adhere to the foundations set by Stan Lee. Anything else pisses me off. I am also a completist with Marvel titles like Spider-Man, Avengers, etc. With DC, my knowledge is limited mostly to the Golden Age (1930s/1940s). I have no urge to own the complete run of anything, rather I am more than happy to cherry pick arcs here and there based on either the creators involved or any other whim I may have. Again, this is my 'big two' double-standard, and I am sure that there are DC fans somewhere griping about this the way that I gripe about Bendis' Avengers.

SPIDER-MAN: GRIM HUNT (Marvel, 2010, Hardcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 634-637, The Grim Hunt Digital Prologue and selections from Amazing Spider-Man Extra! No. 3, and Web of Spider-Man No. 7 (cover dates May, 2009- September, 2010)

So this is supposed to be the payoff? After plowing through all 5 Gauntlet hardcovers, this is what it all leads to? While not horrible, I felt underwhelmed after that much investment, both in time and money. No spoilers, only these gripes: Ret-cons suck, as do resurrections. There is some sucky dialogue in here too, with Spider-Man doing several "..." replies, and even Arana saying "BTW...". I wish that I were kidding about that, but Joe Kelly is such a lazy writer that he saved a few keystrokes by doing that. Rather than have her say "By the way", they had her say something that has more syllables, as if anyone would really do that. Horrible writing.

SPIDER-MAN: ONE MOMENT IN TIME (Marvel, 2010, Hardcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 638-641 (cover dates September, 2010- October, 2010)

G-R-O-O-O-A-A-AN-N-N....What a piece of crap! With the exception of the outcome of The Gauntlet/ Grim Hunt arc(s), I feel that the Brand New Day run has given us the best Spider-Man comics in 25 years. Rather than putting the whole messy Mephisto thing behind us and moving on, Joe Quesada feels that drudging everything up with more ret-cons is a good idea. This is borderline DC/ What If...? style storytelling.

The last few pages is Issue 641 were padding to the maximum. Showing the same panel 10 or 11 times, but with different coloring, and then on the 12th panel showing the same pose but with something different going on is piss poor storytelling. Oh well, we had a great run that lasted nearly 100 issues. Now we are getting Humbero Ramos' sucktastic "artwork" after this. Let the new 'dark ages' for Spider-Man begin.

In Search Of... Junk Food For Thought

ESSENTIAL SPIDER-MAN VOL. 9 (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 186-210, Amazing Spider-Man Annual Nos. 13, 14 and Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual No. 1. (cover dates November, 1978- November, 1980)

Sometimes one forgets how good something was! I owned all of these as floppies back in the '80s when they were cheap-o back issues and/or quarter box fodder, but they were all sold when my Mom died (see my first blog post for that story). ASM Annual No. 13 is fantastic, and I must have read it dozens of times circa 1983. My friend had 189 when I was a kid, and it was my first exposure to both John Byrne's artwork and the Man-Wolf. I have never been the same. 

My Mom bought me ASM 195 at Farmer Jack, and 196 up north that summer at a store near my Grandpa's cottage. In 196, there is a scene where Aunt May's house in Forest Hills has been ransacked. That summer up north, my sister and I were roaming around the countryside and found an old abandoned house. The door was kicked open so we decided to look inside, and it was completely destroyed. Chunks of plaster were on the floor, items strewn about, and my then 6 year old mind thought of that panel. Looking back, it's amazing how my Mom allowed my sister and I to roam around unsupervised. No cell phones, no GPS, just "be back by dark". I used to wander with a piece of chalk. My Grandpa taught me to mark the trees with it, and then I would be able to find my way back. By the end of that summer, every single tree likely had chalk markings! 

Back to the comic books! Keith Pollard's artwork is great, and I wish that he would return to Marvel. A neophyte John Romita, Jr. shows immense potential in Issue 210. Marv Wolfman, Denny O'Neil, Bill Mantlo, and Roger Stern all turn in solid stuff too. Lots of classic villains (Mysterio, Kingpin, Dr. octopus), soon-to-be classics (Black Cat) and some never to be seen again (Fusion). This phone book is just chock full of good stories.

JLA VOL. 15: THE TENTH CIRCLE (DC Comics, 2004)

Collects JLA Nos. 94-99 (cover dates Early May- Late July, 2004)

Wow! I had heard rumblings about the Chris Claremont/ John Byrne "reunion" arc over at DC, but never bothered looking into it until May. After a quick search of the Trade Paperback List, I discovered that a trade already existed! Man, this is some good stuff! Claremont's writing is flawless, Byrne turns in some of his best-ever artwork, Jerry Ordway's inks are a perfect complement to Byrne's pencils, David Baron makes excellent use of computer coloring (which, like CGI, is a hit or miss artform), and Tom Orzechowski's hand lettering is as pleasing to they eye as ever. In fact, if I could get a Word font for his and Artie Simek's 1970-on lettering, I would be ecstatic. Seriously people, I hate to gush, but this is as good as it gets. I would love to Claremont and Byrne work together again in any capacity, and would read whatever they did. Westerns, Jungle, I would take any genre, no matter how uninteresting it may be to me. Those two are like Lennon and McCartney: the fans love what they do together, but it is Hell for the creators involved. Why does the creative dynamic have to be like that? Creative people seemed to be wired differently than normal folk.

MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN VOL. 13: ANIMAL ATTACK! (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Marvel Adventures Spider-Man Nos. 49-52 (cover dates May- August, 2009)

Once again, this series is decent and entertaining, but since I have made a resolution to drop all non-main Marvel Universe continuity titles this gets the axe.

CAPTAIN BRITAIN VOL. 3: THE LION AND THE SPIDER (Marvel UK, 2009)

Collects selections from Hulk Comic Weekly Nos. 1, 3-30, Marvel Team-Up (Vol. 1) Nos. 65, 66 and Super Spider-Man & Captain Britain Weekly Nos. 239-247 (cover dates September 7, 1977- September 26, 1979)

This is an uneven collection by all counts; story, artwork, and restoration. The SSMCBW stories range in quality from scans to washed out artwork, with the stories ranging from passable to laughable. The material from Hulk Comic is the best in the book, where Captain Britain essentially takes a back seat to strip headliner the Black Knight. The team of writer Steve Parkhouse and artist Paul Neary turn in a huge arc that could only be British. Very Dungeons and Dragons-esque, all medieval type stuff with gorgeously detailed black and white artwork, and worth the price of admission alone.

THE FILTH (DC, 2004)

Collects The Filth Nos. 1-13 (cover dates August, 2002- October, 2003)

Can't say that I am much of a Grant Morrison fan, but the cover of the first issue (pictured below) was in one of those features in Wizard Magazine where they ask an artist to pick their 10 favorite covers. I thought that it was a compelling image, did a quick search online, and then went out and bought the book. It was, at times, enjoyable, repulsive, violent, fun, perverse, thought provoking, intelligent, and retarded. Chris Weston and Gary Erskine's artwork is top notch, and the visuals often make up for the writing. The coloring by Hi-Fi Design is also fantastic. Digital coloring is difficult to do right, because so many colorists feel that because you have a million different colors that you have to use them all. Less can be more. I think that I need to read this a few more times for it to truly sink in. Think of it as a vastly inferior Watchmen.

DRAGON’S CLAWS (Marvel UK, 2008)

Collects Death’s Head (Vol. 1) No. 2 and Dragon’s Claws Nos. 1-10 (cover dates June, 1988- April, 1989)

I bought the first issue or two of this series as an import in the late '80s but dropped it because it was so expensive. I always wondered what happened with the characters, and spotted this book on Amazon.co.uk and ordered it from their US counterpart. Simon Furman and Geoff Senior turn in an often derivative but always entertaining Madmax/Rollerball hybrid with a uniquely British flavOur. These comics were worlds more violent than their Marvel US counterparts of the time. I enjoyed the team of Furman and Senior on the later issues of Transformers as well. British writers and artists all tend to have a certain, almost pessimistic view, of the future and of authority that always seems interesting to me. I hope that these two can someday relaunch this series and tie up the handful of loose ends that weren't resolved in Issue 10.

BIGFOOT (IDW, 2005)

Collects Bigfoot Nos. 1-4 (cover dates February- May, 2005)

Less a comic book than flipbook storyboard for a movie, this is an insanely fast-paced read written by Steve Niles and Rob Zombie with artwork by comics veteran Richard Corben. Lots of violent, bloody fun here, this would make a good movie. There are entire segments that make Bendis seem like a Victorian wordsmith, though. I used to watch the show In Search Of... with Leonard Nimoy as a kid, and have always been a sucker for Bigfoot, UFOs, the Lochness Monster, etc.

CLOAK AND DAGGER: CHILD OF DARKNESS, CHILD OF LIGHT (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Cloak and Dagger Nos. 1-4 (cover dates October, 1983- January, 1984)

Bill Mantlo is one of those unsung greats. I have always liked his writing, especially on Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man in the late '70s and mid '80s and the Rocket Raccoon mini-series from 1985. Wizard recently did a piece on him, and it was nice to see a mainstream publication shine a light on him and his accomplishments. It's really unfortunate about his health nowadays, and I hope that the royalties that he receives from collected editions like this help to pay his medical bills. Cloak and Dagger are an interesting concept and a terrific read. Rick Leonardi's artwork is good, too. I never cared for him 'back in the day' but appreciate him now. The Marvel Premiere Classic format is wonderful for the presenting mini-series like this in a nice package with nice paper and sewn binding in hardcover. I'd like to see Marvel release more Cloak and Dagger in this format.

NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D.: SCORPIO (Marvel, 2000)

Collects Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nos. 1-3, 5 (cover dates June- October, 1968)

This is one of those older Marvel trades, with lackluster restoration and coloring that is unfaithful to the original issues. Still, this was in the cheapie box at the Motor City Con in May, and I couldn't resist. Someday I will upgrade to the Masterworks, but my wallet cannot support yet another run of high end hardcovers for the time being. Jim Steranko was an amazing artist and decent writer for the era. His page layouts were revolutionary, and it is unfortunate that younger readers do not get the full impact of his brilliance. The only other artist that did as much for page layouts in the '60s was Neal Adams. All in all, this is a highly entertaining read and is worth the Masterworks cabbage if you can afford it. I hope to get them in the not-too distant future.

CREEPY ARCHIVES VOL. 3 (Dark Horse, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Creepy Nos. 11-15 (cover dates October, 1966- June, 1967)

I am thrilled to see this line continue, with Vol. 4 already in my possession (pun intended), Vol. 5 solicited, and Vol. 6 recently announced for February. Woo hoo! All of the usual EC greats contribute to this series, but Steve Ditko's black and white artwork really shines here. Once all of the dust settles and the entire run has been collected in hardcover, it would be nice if Dark Horse collected these in phone book format for the more budget conscious comic book fan and the masses in general.