jkcarrier | Whatcha Readin'? 7/31/05

FLAMING CARROT #2/35: I didn't realize how much I'd missed this title till it came back. Still the same inspired lunacy we know and love. I also really liked the editorial in back, where Burden talks a little bit about his process, and the fact that for all the goofiness and surrealism, his stories really do have a structure to them. The previews of the photo-comic look really good; Burden may turn out to be the first guy to really pull this off successfully.

"...and I'm all out of socks!"

ASTONISHING X-MEN #11: I really liked the showdown between Prof. X and Danger -- the mix of "mind games" and whack-em-with-an-axe is classic Whedon. But the sudden reversal at the end kind of irked me; it's like some bad anime where they keep pulling out bigger and meaner robots. That patchwork Sentinel does look pretty cool, though. This arc's been a bit hit-or-miss, but if he nails the ending, all will be forgiven.

"I have no interest in impressing you."

MONDO FLOD #1-2: A cool pop culture zine, in the classic style. Issue one spotlights classic tv horror hosts, while #2 (my favorite of the pair) has a history of those "Wacky Packages" stickers. The articles are generally well-written, and the graphics are nice throughout. My favorite bit is where Floyd mocks up a Wacky Package of his own magazine ("Mondo Flop"). Lots of fun.

"Pasta makers Ronzoni argued that the wacky Run Tony Shells was offensive towards Italians."

PLASTIC MAN #17: And Baker just keeps kicking ass. Page after page of perfectly timed and executed gags. Ray El Rey is now my favorite supervillain ever. In fact, he fits so well into the little ensemble here that I'm kinda hoping he sticks around.

"In just ten short hours, I'll be watching a blurry, miniscule version of a formulaic Hollywood bomb ILLEGALLY! Par-TEEEEE!"

PLASTIC FARM #10: You never know what kind of story you're going to get in this genre-bending series. This one's a cop drama, which would usually put me right to sleep. But the lead cop has this jerk of a partner who delivers a steady stream of obnoxious and hilarious one-liners that totally saves the issue. Dennis Culver's art is really terrific as well. This all ties in somehow to the over-arching plotline, but who cares, I just want more of Carl the Obnoxious Cop.

"Cause of death is being labelled as 'blown the fuck up'."

RED SONJA #1: Eh, not bad, but it sure takes its time getting anywhere; the story's barely started by the last page. That bit where the guy starts puking up a tentacle monster was pretty rad, though. The art's ok, kind of generic. And I hate that plastic-looking coloring. But I'm a total nut for Sonja, so I'll give this a couple more issues at least.

"Didn't look so peaceful to me."

THE INCREDIBLE PETE #2: A very cute and funny slice-of-life (perhaps semi-autobiographical?) story. Pete's a college student, wrestling with his studies, love, and life in general. A familiar story, but told with good humor and an appealing style. The opening sequence, which transitions from an embarrassing moment in grade school to his current situation, was esepcially effective I thought.

"This is four pages long... and it's typed."

BATMAN-DARK DETECTIVE #5-6: This series dragged a bit in the middle, but really picked up steam at the end. Batman working his way through Joker's trap-filled mansion is classic stuff. Unfortunately, the inevitable break-up of Batman and Silver is badly rushed, and dopey besides. It's too bad they couldn't have just declared this whole thing out-of-continuity and let them hook up. But flaws and all, it's still the best Batman story I've read in ages.

"It's only through my failure that I know I'm soooo perfect!"

ASTRO CITY-THE DARK AGE #2: Et tu, Kurt Busiek? Ugh. We know the Silver Agent will eventually be exonerated, because later they go around putting up statues to him. But this is just vile. I'm so sick of mean-spirited shit like this. Dropped.

"Don't cry -- he'll hear you."

MANHATTAN GUARDIAN #3: Whoosh. Now that's how you do an action-packed comic, and still have room for character drama. The conflict between Jake and Carla is heart-wrenching, but makes absolute sense -- her fear for his safety (exacerbated by the death of her father) vs. his need for validation and purpose. And just when you think the soap opera is getting too heavy, that last page drops us right back into Seriously Weird Shit. I'll be sorry to see this series wrap up, but I'm already looking forward to the next round of Soldiers.

"Leaving out the guns just seemed so dishonest."

DESOLATION JONES #2: After carefully establishing Jones as a (literally) unfeeling bastard in #1, Ellis lets us see his compassionate side. A common gimmick, but it works especially well here, and Emily's isolation and desperate loneliness come across powerfully. Meanwhile, the "Phillip Marlowe in the 21st century" plot is boiling nicely, and I can't say enough good things about J.H. Williams. This one's a keeper.

"I will always come back. I promise."

DARK LADY SPECIAL #1: Sherman Burnett is a machine. He's been cranking out minicomics for years, and has built up an entire elaborate Marvel-style universe full of interconnected heroes and villains. Dark Lady is sort of an anti-hero... supervillains wiped out her entire town, but she survived and ended up with superpowers in the bargain. Now she's hunting down the gang who was responsible. It's pretty interesting, but mostly seems to be set-up for a future storyline. What really puts it over the top is the artwork. Sherman is all about getting the books out, and his attitude seems to be that he'll collaborate with any artist who's willing to do the work. Which I think is actually quite admirable, but sometimes the results are a bit... odd. This issue is drawn by Bill Quick, who has a very strong "underground" flavor to his cartooning. It ends up looking like, I dunno, Chester Brown drawing "Witchblade" or something. I think the clash of styles actually makes the book more fun than it would be otherwise.

"Man, he's fast! This sucks!"

COURTNEY CRUMRIN TALES #1: A very fun one-shot, featuring Courtney's mysterious Uncle Aloysius in his younger days. Kind of Hellboy-ish in the way it tweaks old pulp cliches -- two-fisted tough guy Goose Daniels is a hoot. Some nice twists to the plot, and I love Naifeh's art -- his linework is so lush and sexy. Great stuff.

"Oh? I wonder what Lon Chaney has to say about it."

WRITE NOW! #10: This is the first issue of this I've picked up (mainly for the Dwayne McDuffie interview). Parts of it were interesting, but overall it's a bit slim in terms of actual practical writing advice. The only real "how to" piece is the essay by Ostrander. Most of the rest is pretty much the exact same kind of interviews you see in all the other TwoMorrows mags, with a slight bias towards "How'd you break in?" questions. The sample script pages are potentially helpful, but it would be nice if there was a bit more commentary/analysis to put them in context.

"I can say Justice League, they don't know what I'm talking about, I can say Static Shock, they surely don't know what I'm talking about. If I say 'I wrote Scooby-Doo,' 'Oh, I love Scooby-Doo!' Scooby-Doo is the one credit you name-drop."