Review- FREAKS OF THE HEARTLAND

FREAKS OF THE HEARTLAND (Dark Horse, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects Freaks of the Heartland Nos. 1-6 (cover dates January- November, 2004)

Writer: Steve Niles

Artist: Greg Ruth

Steve Niles is at the top of the heap of the modern decompression storytelling style writers. While not using a third party narrative is typically a handicap for these modern hacks, Niles uses it to his advantage, making things go at a breakneck clip so that you are disoriented, uncomfortable, and unable to really predict what will happen next. I've always been of the mindset that the best stories leave with you with more questions than answers. My biggest beef with Freaks of the Heartland is that it leaves you with tons of questions, and no real answers.

Mild spoilers ahead.

Okay, so all of these deformed children were born at the same time, but the question is why? How? Was there a nuclear reactor in this rural community? Did a UFO crash? Was this the result of an alien abduction/ artificial insemination? Were they the result of an inbred serial rapist? Are they a byproduct of pollution? Again, there are no real answers, just tons and tons of questions.

This was a good read, and the artwork by Greg Ruth is quite nice. His style is reminiscent of Gene Colan, all brush without an abundance of polish. It's pleasing to the eye once you settle into it. The colors give this a feeling of Americana, not unlike a Norman Rockwell painting. 

This was an excellent read, one of those books that I've always meant to read, or thought about buying but never did. For once, my procrastination paid off, as this mini-series has been reissued in this handsome, deluxe hardcover edition. Which brings us to...

The OCD zone- The current trend in collected editions seems to be hardcovers without dustjackets. We are seeing more and more publishers forgo the tried and true paper dustjacket, instead opting for the cover image being screen printed directly onto the cover. The problem with this book is that there isn't a decent coating on the cover, which could result in scuffs and scratches if the book is not handled with the utmost care. If this book were on a bookstore or comic shop shelf, it would be beat to Hell with repeated handling since it is not shrinkwrapped. Whose idea was it to not shrinkwrap these high end hardcovers, anyway?

The covers are all collected as a gallery in the back of the book instead of as chapter markers before the start of each issue, a pet peeve of mine. It's like they think that civilians will walk into a store, buy this, and think that it's a graphic novel instead of a collected edition of material originally printed in the comic book format. As if comic books are not credible, but graphic novels are so goddamn artsy.

This book is as tall as a DC Absolute or EC Library set, and has superb coated stock paper and ten stitches of sewn binding glory. It lays perfectly flat from the first page to the last. Glorious. Aside from a need to upgrade the hardback coating, this package is as high quality as one could want.

Follow my blog on Facebook.

Join the cause page if you want make sure that DC keeps up the recent good work on their hardcovers. This group is a watchdog organization dedicated to top notch production values in collected editions.

Review- THE CREEPER: WELCOME TO CREEPSVILLE

THE CREEPER: WELCOME TO CREEPSVILLE (DC, 2007; Softcover)

Collects The Creeper Nos. 1-6 and The Creeper story from Brave New World No. 1 (cover dates August, 2006- March, 2007)

Writer: Steve Niles

Artist: Justiniano

This is a decent modernization of The Creeper. Steve Niles pours on the macabre while keeping an air of lightheartedness that makes this such a fun read. Batman and the Joker feature prominently in the storyline, and they even tie The Joker in to The Creeper's origin. Not sure if I am crazy about that angle, as I really enjoyed Steve Ditko's original version of the character from the '60s. Other than that, everything was fine. Justiniano's artwork was a happy marriage of Silver Age DC and modern comic book art. 

The OCD zone- This has a decent weight coated stock paper and laminated cardstock cover.

Follow my blog on Facebook.

DC has made strides in fixing the problem of their books not laying flat. Join the cause page if you want make sure that DC keeps up the recent good work on their hardcovers. This group is a watchdog organization dedicated to top notch production values in collected editions.

Review- Steve Niles Omnibus

STEVE NILES OMNIBUS (IDW, 2008; softcover)

Collects Aleister Arcane Nos. 1-3, The Lurkers Nos. 1-4, Secret Skull Nos. 1-4 and Wake The Dead Nos. 1-5 (cover dates September, 2003- January, 2005)

IDW apes the Dark Horse Omnibus format, right down to the trim size and trade dress. That's cool, as it's a sharp design. Aleister Arcane is a decent story with mediocre artwork. Wake The Dead is fantastic and worth a read. It's the only series in this book with decent artwork, and the cover image (above) is taken from the cover of one of the issues. Secret Skull has a solid enough premise, but is marred by Chuck BB's amateurish artwork. Horrible, non-Horror tinged garbage, it really holds the story back. The Lurkers is a severely decompressed, lazy read. It's Bendis bad, with padding and unnecessary "camera angle" changes.  The final tally: One series that's a winner, three that are losers.

Junk Food For Thought (From Another World)

CITY OF OTHERS (Dark Horse, 2008)

Collects City of Others Nos. 1-4 (cover dates February- August, 2007)

Vampires, werewolves, zombies, Steve Niles, Bernie Wrightson, and it was in the half off box at the Motor City Con. We have a winner! This would have been good even at full price.

IRON MAN: DOOMQUEST (Marvel, 2008; Hardcover)

Collects Iron Man Nos. 149, 150, 249, 250 (cover dates August- September, 1981 and Mid-November- December, 1989)

Excellent stuff by David Michelinie and the team of John Romita, Jr. and Bob Layton. Doctor Doom is a great foil for Iron Man, and the time travel aspect of each arc is great. I would love to see more '80s Iron Man collected in trade or hardcover. Janice Chiang does the lettering on 249 and 250, and it is horrible. Her hand lettering totally detracts from the reading experience. Aside from that, my only gripe is the fact that this book has perforated glued binding, which is total, utter garbage and has no place in hardcovers. I got this brand new for half price at the Motor City Con in May.

BLADE: BLACK & WHITE (Marvel, 2004)

Collects Blade: Crescent City Blues No. 1, and selections from and Marvel Preview Nos. 3, 6 Marvel Shadows and Light No. 1, and Vampire Tales Nos. 8, 9 (cover dates December, 1974- March, 1998).

Like the title states, this a collection of black and white Blade stories. These are solid, enjoyable reads loaded with '70s smack talk. I love '70s jive fool comic book smack talkin'. I would like to see Marvel do a hardcover collection of Blade at some point in time.

WILDGUARD VOL. 1: CASTING CALL (Image, 2005)

Collects Wildguard: Casting Call Nos. 1-6 (cover dates September, 2003- February, 2004)

Good, fun, lighthearted stuff by Todd Nauck. I hope that the rest of the issues published since this book are collected in a trade paperback.

ROAD TO WAR OF KINGS (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Secret Invasions: War of Kings, War of Kings Saga, X-Men: Kingbreaker Nos. 1-4 and a selection from X-Men: Divided We Stand No. 2 (cover dates July, 2008- May, 2009).

This was a great read. It's nice to see comics that cover all of the bases, i.e. character development, a healthy dose of action, tying in to continuity, etc. Props to all of the creators involved! Now I want to get War of Kings hardcover, though...damn it! My only gripes are the fact that A) Vulcan is another Summers brother/relation; it is unnecessary and adds nothing to the character and B) there is a female version of Gladiator. Why O why is Marvel so interested in making female versions of everyone these days? It's so DC.

ATOMIKA VOL. 1: GOD IS RED (Mercury, 2006)

Collects Atomika Nos. 1-6 (cover dates March, 2005- January, 2006)

Wow, this title looks like nothing else on the market, both in look and feel. Sal Abbinanti and Andrew Dabb deserve mountains of praise for seeing this through to fruition. The tone of this book is oppressive and melodramatic, and I love it in spite of, or perhaps because of, it. I am very interested in seeing how this turns out, and with the next batch of six issues being nearly done, this will hopefully be collected in trade sooner rather than later. I give this title my highest recommendation. 10/10

X-FORCE VOL. 2: OLD GHOSTS (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects X-Force (Vol. 3) Nos. 7-11 (cover dates November, 2008- March, 2009)

Mike Choi is one of the finest artists working in comics today, and this is among the better titles being produced by Marvel today. It's extreme and over the top, but I find myself loving it nonetheless. I am ticked that the next 5 or so issues are contained in crossover trades/hardcovers. Vol. 3 will jump ahead 5 issues! I really don't want to read some dumb ass Cable Messiah War or Dark Avengers/X-Men hardcover just for these issues. Maybe I should (gasp!) buy the floppies!?! Nah.

THE DEATH-DEFYING ‘DEVIL VOL. 1 (Dynamite, 2009)

Collects The Death-Defying ‘Devil Nos. 1-4 and Project Superpowers: The Death-Defying ‘Devil Free Comic Book Day Special (cover dates May, 2008- March, 2009)

This has everything that a fan of superhero comics could want. I am loving the Project Superpowers universe and can't wait to see what happens next.

UNCANNY X-MEN: LOVELORN (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Uncanny X-Men Nos. 504-507 and Uncanny X-Men Annual No. 2 (cover dates January- May, 2009)

Decent, entertaining stuff by Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson. Fraction seems to be trying to move the team in a new direction, with mixed results. While this won't be looked back on as the worst era of the team, it also won't be mentioned among the best.

UNCANNY X-MEN: SISTERHOOD (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Uncanny X-Men Nos. 508-512 (cover dates June- August, 2009)

Wait a minute, Psylocke was dead? I mean, I knew that she was dead at one time, but didn't they already resurrect her? Did she die again? I'm confused! The X-Men are such a convoluted clusterphuck of deaths/resurrections that it has become a joke. At least they explained how she went from being a British telepath to an Asian ninja (thanks a lot for that suckiness, Jim Lee!). I haven't read much '90s X-Men, and with garbage like that, Cable, Bishop, and art by Rob Liefeld, why would one want to? Much of Matt Fraction's dialogue has a cheesy one-liner, made for a Michael Bay movie quality to it here. He is also bringing back many unwelcome aspects of the series. All is not lost, though, because Issue 512 is the best of the bunch. I would like to see a Hellfire Club mini-series further exploring the origins of the organization.

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.

Son of Junk Food For Thought

DANGER UNLIMITED (IDW, 2009)

Collects Babe Nos. 1-4, Babe 2 Nos. 1, 2 and Danger Unlimited Nos. 1-4 (cover dates February, 1994- April, 1995)

This was a fun read, chock full of John Byrne goodness. Unbeknownst to me, Danger Unlimited was cancelled with Issue 4, with no resolution to the first arc. AAaRrRRgGGhhHH!! Since these are creator owned properties, I hope that Byrne finishes it, ditto the Next Men. On a side note, this book has a wonderfully toxic smell, the result of that magical Korean printing. I imagine children working the sweatshop presses, pouring asbestos tiles, mercury, and lead paint chips into a vat that will be mixed and become the ink on these pages. Whatever it is, I had to stop every so often and just smell this book. 

RUNAWAYS: DEAD WRONG (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Runaways (Vol. 3) Nos. 1-6

This was godawful crap by Terry Moore with "artwork" by Humberto Ramos. Ramos is the worst artist in comics today. I cannot stand manga, or even manga-influenced art. This was painful to read and to look at, with it being difficult to tell which sucks more: the art or the writing.

RUNAWAYS: ROCK ZOMBIES (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Runaways (Vol. 3) Nos. 7-10

OK, that does it, screw you Runaways, my money is staying home. Ramos' vomit-inducing artwork is thankfully gone, but another mangish artiste replaces him. The Brian K. Vaughn era was tops and had real heart. Moore's run is just plain dumb. Unless Marvel can convince BKV or Joss Whedon to come back, then I am done with this title. Look for these two books on eBay during my next purging.

EDUARDO RISSO’S TALES OF TERROR (Dynamite, 2007)

Collects eleven foreign language comics translations

This was okay, but Risso's artwork is not really my cup of tea. The cover grabbed me, but most of the artwork in this book didn't hold up. The writing was entertaining for the most part, but not "terrifying." I dislike pseudo-clever, wiseass humor Horror. Give me Creepy or give me death! Look for this on eBay in my next purging.

SAVAGE (Image, 2009)

Collects Savage Nos. 1-4 (cover dates October, 2008- January, 2009)

Amazing stuff by Steve Niles, Jeff Frank, Dan Wickline, and Mike Mayhew. Mayhew's old school artwork is jaw dropping, and the levels of graphic violence portrayed here are shocking. Graphic violence + monsters = a winner. This simply cannot be the end of the series, though. There are so many unanswered questions, and I want more more more! I have searched the Net trying to find further information and have come up empty handed.

MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN VOL. 12: JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Marvel Adventures Spider-Man Nos. 45-48 (cover dates January- April, 2009)

Another enjoyable read, but the fact that this series is set outside of mainline continuity and the ever increasing lines of high end hardcovers have forced me to drop this title. I picked up Vol. 13 recently, so I will read that and then that is it.

SPIDER-MAN 2099 VOL. 1 (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Spider-Man 2099 Nos. 1-10 (cover dates November, 1992- August, 1993)

Spider-Man 2099 definitely has it's moments. Unfortunately, they are few and far between. Peter David's futuristic Marvel Universe seems like little more than a Judge Dredd retread, and Rick Leonardi's artwork is serviceable, if unremarkable. This series came out during my sabbatical from comics, so this was all new to me. Not to be too harsh on it, though, because when compared to other Marvel Comics during this time, this was a bright spot. I really dislike Spider-Man 2099's costume, and his supporting cast is pretty forgettable. This series is a sort of pre-cursor to Ultimate Spider-Man, with the organic webbing, etc., and was likely seen as a sort of fresh continuity to try and entice new readers.

GIANT MONSTER (Boom, 2008)

Collects Giant Monster Nos. 1, 2 (cover dates, 2005)

High art this is not, but it is fun and entertaining. Who doesn't like to see a giant monster go on a rampage? What? You say that you don't? You're lying! Everybody loves giant monsters.

THE ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN VOL. 2 (Image, 2009)

Collects The Astounding Wolf-Man Nos. 8-12 and Invincible No. 57 (cover dates September, 2008- February, 2009)

This is such a great series that I am seriously bummed that Robert Kirkman is 86-ing it with Issue 25. One can only hope that he will come back and revisit this character and concept again in the future. At least I know that I can always do that via these trade paperbacks.

SPIDER-MAN: SPIDER WOMEN (Marvel, 2009)

Collects selections from Amazing Spider-Man Magazine, King-Size Spider-Man Super Special No. 1, Spider-Man Family No. 1 and Spider-Man Family Featuring Spider-Clan No. 1 (cover dates 2005- 2008)

Horrible, horrible, horrible non-continuity drivel. Marvel published a line of hardcovers years ago called The Best of Spider-Man. They could collect all of this crap and call it The Rest of Spider-Man. Even the Spider-Girl story was a throwaway that has no bearing on anything.