It's been a long time so I'm getting right into it with simple, ultra short reviews.
The Complete Major Bummer Super Slacktacular!
(w) John Arcudi, (a) Doug Mahnke, published by Dark Horse, 348 pgs, $30
Just a boatload of fun. Arcudi creates the world's worst superhero and puts him into weirder and weirder situations. All expertly drawn by Mahnke. Tons of action and lots of humor made this a great read. I wrote a long review here.
More short reviews and some longer ones below
Jennifer Blood Vol 2
(w) Al Ewing, (a) Kewbar Baal and Eman Casallos, published by Dynamite, 152 pgs, $20.
It doesn't matter if you skipped Vol 1 of Ennis's "it's cool because it's a female Punisher and I don't have an editor so I can curse alot and have lots of pointless violence" because I did too. So why did I read this? Because Al Ewing is f**kin' great!!!! He's going to Marvel at some point. Trust me on that. This is a great story of "so I got my revenge, what now?" A tight script watching the ever increasingly bad decisions made by our heroine to protect her normal life. This is not to be missed. You can read the long review here.
Captain Swing, Vol. 1
(w) Warren Ellis, (a) Raulo Caceres, published by Avatar, 128 pgs, $18This is Ellis doing Steampunk. Set in London circa 1830, a policeman gets involved with a band of pirates that fly through the sky on electricity.
It's Ellis being Ellis. There's lots to like here with solid characterization and a strong historical setting. I loved all the historical information and I learned alot about how modern police forces came into existence. But, as far as the story goes, it's all forgettable. It's all setup for someone to build on later. The characters are all fairly generic and there isn't enough there to really love, or loathe, them.
The art is great and Caceres manages to make it all look very wood cut. But great art can't save a ho-hum plot. It's worth reading if you can find it in the cheap bin.
Plastic Man Vol 2: Rubber Bandits (w/a) Kyle Baker, published by DC (in 2005), 144 pgs, $... whatever they are charging on ebay Collecting Plastic Man #8-11 and #13-14, our pliable hero wrecks continuity as we know it, investigates a vampire, gets in trouble with homeland security, battles a menacing mouse, and stops one of the worst crimes ever: illegal music downloading!
This was pure manic silliness. If you like funny books then you owe it to yourself to go out and find a copy of this. The story with the mouse and Plas is vintage Looney Tunes. And when Plas travels through time to save Lincoln it's... well a disaster. But a really funny one.
Judge Death: Boyhood of a Superfiend
(w) John Wagner, (a) Peter Doherty, published by Rebellion/2000AD, 96 pgs, $... gotta find it first.
This collects the Judge Death origin story originally serialized in 1992. Judge Death, on the lam from Judge Dredd, decides that if he tells the people his story then they will all understand him and happily submit to their deaths. In order to do this, he has a long interview with a National Enquirer type journalist.
This is exactly what you think it is. It's a long origin story about a really twisted little boy who grows up to be a really twisted, mass murdering man. The story is interesting and Wagner creates an alternate world that is just off enough to be different, but not so off to make you say "well that's unbelievable."
Doherty's art is fun if not really exciting. I would recommend this for Judge Death fans. For the rest of you, you won't miss it.
That's all for now.
(w) John Arcudi, (a) Doug Mahnke, published by Dark Horse, 348 pgs, $30
Just a boatload of fun. Arcudi creates the world's worst superhero and puts him into weirder and weirder situations. All expertly drawn by Mahnke. Tons of action and lots of humor made this a great read. I wrote a long review here.
More short reviews and some longer ones below
(w) Al Ewing, (a) Kewbar Baal and Eman Casallos, published by Dynamite, 152 pgs, $20.
It doesn't matter if you skipped Vol 1 of Ennis's "it's cool because it's a female Punisher and I don't have an editor so I can curse alot and have lots of pointless violence" because I did too. So why did I read this? Because Al Ewing is f**kin' great!!!! He's going to Marvel at some point. Trust me on that. This is a great story of "so I got my revenge, what now?" A tight script watching the ever increasingly bad decisions made by our heroine to protect her normal life. This is not to be missed. You can read the long review here.
(w) Warren Ellis, (a) Raulo Caceres, published by Avatar, 128 pgs, $18This is Ellis doing Steampunk. Set in London circa 1830, a policeman gets involved with a band of pirates that fly through the sky on electricity.
It's Ellis being Ellis. There's lots to like here with solid characterization and a strong historical setting. I loved all the historical information and I learned alot about how modern police forces came into existence. But, as far as the story goes, it's all forgettable. It's all setup for someone to build on later. The characters are all fairly generic and there isn't enough there to really love, or loathe, them.
The art is great and Caceres manages to make it all look very wood cut. But great art can't save a ho-hum plot. It's worth reading if you can find it in the cheap bin.
This was pure manic silliness. If you like funny books then you owe it to yourself to go out and find a copy of this. The story with the mouse and Plas is vintage Looney Tunes. And when Plas travels through time to save Lincoln it's... well a disaster. But a really funny one.
(w) John Wagner, (a) Peter Doherty, published by Rebellion/2000AD, 96 pgs, $... gotta find it first.
This collects the Judge Death origin story originally serialized in 1992. Judge Death, on the lam from Judge Dredd, decides that if he tells the people his story then they will all understand him and happily submit to their deaths. In order to do this, he has a long interview with a National Enquirer type journalist.
This is exactly what you think it is. It's a long origin story about a really twisted little boy who grows up to be a really twisted, mass murdering man. The story is interesting and Wagner creates an alternate world that is just off enough to be different, but not so off to make you say "well that's unbelievable."
Doherty's art is fun if not really exciting. I would recommend this for Judge Death fans. For the rest of you, you won't miss it.
That's all for now.
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