Review Category: Comic Books

On the face of it, Herman is an introverted street cleaner who picks up garbage on the city’s waterfront. But what nobody realises is that Herman has a secret inner life. When auditions are held for a major new film, and the city’s population is swept up in an excited creative frenzy, Herman decides to try out. But after his first audition doesn’t go so well, Herman shows the director his truly remarkable hidden talent – Herman can transform his appearance at will. Now the director wants Herman to star in her movie, but it’s not only going to cost Herman his job, it’s going to trigger a city wide riot.

 

Herman by Trade is a neatly rendered low-key meditation on art, identity, self-expression, and our relentless hunger for fame. Chris W. Kim’s sketchy monochrome artwork is impressive, and works especially well in the panels when Herman’s transformations are almost-but-not-quite lost among the melee of the crowd. It is, by turns, surreal, socially realistic, and occasionally grotesque. There’s a Commedia dell’arte influence in there as well, which is fun. However, although Kim’s decision to keep dialogue to a minimum (often as barely heard snatches of bystander dialogue) gives the story a strange silent movie aesthetic and subtly underlines Herman’s sense of personal isolation, it also creates a disconnect which makes it hard to properly enjoy the tale. There are moments when Herman by Trade feels almost like a rorshach test, and rorshach test’s can be fascinating but they can also be frustrating. With a few more words thrown in to compliment the visuals, Herman by Trade could have been the kind of thoughtful, gently paced graphic novel that is always interesting to return to from time to time and seek new interpretations. As it stands, it’s an intriguing concept that is beautifully drawn but doesn’t make the psychological impact it should. A bit of a missed opportunity.

 

HERMAN BY TRADE / AUTHOR & ARTIST: CHRIS W. KIM / PUBLISHER: SELFMADEHERO / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

The US presidential elections always throw up candidates who say they will blow the lid off the UFO controversy, if they get elected, but it never comes to anything. Some hoped the maverick Trump would finally say they have extraterrestrials lurking in Area 51, so far there are no signs of this happening.

As more than adequate compensation, we get Paul Cornell’s story of Arcadia Alvarado, a quick thinking Democrat politician, who with her husband Michael is abducted by aliens in New Mexico.

On becoming President, Arcadia hires a UFO expert, Professor Joshua Kidd, to dig out the truth about UFOs and what really happened during her abduction, and who was behind it? Was this some form of manipulation by human agencies or aliens?

Her presidential advisor, Chloe, is a sassy and sceptical political wheeler dealer who thinks it might be a good idea for Arcadia to go public with her abduction experience, optioning that ‘“I think I met aliens” might not poll too badly in the post-truth environment. It’s funky.’ Arcadia isn’t convinced or impressed!

One explanation is that a microwave projector has been used to induce hallucinations, although this does not explain the presence of a Silver Space Lady…Whilst Arcadia investigates through official channels, Michael, now her ex-husband, has to deal with fairy-like space people who have haunted him since childhood. Then it looks like genuine extraterrestrial signals are being picked up by NASA. We are left wondering if this is the moment we will make contact at last.

This is the first of a two six-issue mini-series and it takes up all the loose strands of Paul’s previous Saucer Country series (that IDW will publish in one volume soon). His experience as a screenwriter for Doctor Who and novelist shows in the pace of the action and pithy dialogue between the characters, and he cleverly draws in the many strands of UFO mythology and conspiracy theory worthy of our post-truth era.

SAUCER STATE / WRITER: PAUL CORNELL / ARTIST: RYAN KELLY / PUBLISHER:  TED ADAMS / IDW PUBLISHING/ RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW.
 

As you may well guess, Spies takes us into the dark and violent world of secret agents. Three brief tales introduce us to the main players: John, framed for a bombing and branded a terrorist; Francis, a smooth operator held at a Russian femme fatale’s mountain chalet; and Bethany, an ice queen warrior and apparently part ninja just returned from a Hong Kong mission. Their exploits each represent different variations on perceptions of spycraft: the counterterrorism battlegrounds of the likes of Spooks, the glamorous yet dangerous Bond-like webs of international intrigue and seduction, and the high-octane action of the Bourne movies.

 

There is a lot of history to these characters, some of it implied in their dialogue, others in their actions and attitudes to their craft, and it’s clear that they are people so deeply entrenched into the spy game it has become a part of who they are, for good or ill. John’s internal monologue is the nihilistic dejection of a man who has had every reason to live taken from him, ragged scars gouged under his eye like the burned canals of tears shed for his old life, his emptiness only briefly filled by effortlessly kicking the crap out of a band of football hooligans on the London Underground. Despite being helpless, Francis remains calm and confident and unable to turn off the charm even in the face of imminent death. Bethany’s report of a motorbike chase, the intense violence of the action juxtaposed with her matter-of-fact verbal report, in which she relates details of the deaths of colleagues and taking out half a dozen enemies in a matter of moments, suggest a woman for whom emotion is a foreign concept and human connection a distant puzzle.

 

While this first issue of Spies is not as immediately gripping as Farman’s other titles such as School of the Damned or Royal Descent, that’s less a detraction and more indicative of the high bar he has set for himself. It’s like an extended prologue, as it’s not until the end that the disparate strands come together in any way, but the names of everyone involved both explicitly and tacitly state just how connected everything is, but to what extent is yet to made completely clear. Now that the necessary introductions are taken care of, what we can assume will be a complex and multi-layered tale of swift action and shifting loyalties can properly begin.

 

SPIES #1 / AUTHOR: JOHN FARMAN / ARTIST: JASON MATHIS / PUBLISHER: VITAL PUBLISHING / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

A while back, a Japanese group of artists took a cult short film, Call Girl – directed by Jill Gevargizian and starring Laurence R. Harvey and Tristan Risk and expanded the story into a luridly brilliant digital comic book. Now, they’ve given another popular short their artistic make-over; this time, it’s the turn of Gigi Saul Guerrero’s El Gigante, a fierce and unrelenting slice of steamy Mexican wrestling-inspired horror.

The comic follows the story of the film closely. A desperate Mexican wants the best for his family, and that means finding a way into American. An unscrupulous trafficker takes his wife and child, but won’t show pity on Armando, who doesn’t have enough money to pay for all three passages. Promising to meet his family over the border one way or another, they part ways.

Unfortunately for Armando, his gruelling voyage of hope ends abruptly when he drugged and shanghaied by a stranger who offers him a drink. He awakes in a crudely constructed wrestling ring with a Lucha mask stitched to his face. A monstrous opponent facing him…

The first thing to strike you with Kurabayashi’s digital art is how frenetic it is, from the anguish on the face of the hopeful Armando to the disgustingly twisted and distorted visage of the titular Lucha monster and the depraved and equally abnormal locals who surround the ‘match’ the poor Mexican is forced to fight in. The story stays very faithful to the short, whereas the earlier adaptation embellished the tale with a little more mythology. McKenzie’s story is much more fleshed out (pun very much intended) so there is no need for the expansion, but – like the short itself – it does leave one wanting more (so let’s hope the planned feature film version isn’t too far off!)

As with the previous release, the comic perfectly captures the brutal visceral essence of the film and one can taste the blood in every frame, particularly in the sickening crunches when El Gigante mangles his victim. For those who haven’t seen the short, it’s the perfect appetiser, but it can be enjoyed independently from the source.

The digital comic will be available to download anywhere in the world (there’s an English language version), so what have you got to lose?

EL GIGANTE – THE COMIC / AUTHOR:  SHANE MCKENZIE / ARTIST: DAIJU KURABAYASHI / DESIGN: HIRO FUJII / RELEASE DATE: MAY 5TH

It’s hard to believe that four decades have passed since the rock supergroup KISS made kisstory by appearing in the first of two Marvel Super Special one-shot comics, with the added publicity stunt of each band member adding a small amount of their own blood into the ink, while news cameras caught the whole event and a smiling Stan Lee oversaw the proceedings.

 

Comics have come a long way since then, titles have come and gone. Music, similarly has come a long way – but KISS (always in capitals as any member of the KISS Army will tell you) still prevail and continue to Rock and Roll Every Day and Party Every Night.

 

So, forty years later, the band appear in a fresh new title from Dynamite Comics that expands upon the storyline of their Music from the Elder album of 1981. Written by Amy Chu with artwork by Kewber Baal, this edition collects the first five issues in an ongoing story.

 

Taking its cue by quoting lyrics from their A World Without Heroes in the first panel, we are introduced to the underground city of Blackwell, established after an apocalyptic war between the years 2041 and 2068 destroyed the surface of the planet, rendering it uninhabitable.

 

468 years later, over two and a quarter million people live in Blackwell. None of them have ever seen the sun. Though seemingly contented, the population is rigidly controlled by the Council of Elders, with the law being enforced by the Protectors – large robot versions of the band.

 

Four inquisitive teenagers discover an old map of Blackwell, which shows a system of tunnels that might lead them to the surface. On their quest they discover that not all they have been told is what it seems to be, as the authorities send flying Sentinel type KISSbots to stop them before they manage to reboot the ancient computer named Morpheus.

 

That’s all the plot we’re willing to give away, as the story is ongoing with a pretty amazing plot twist that nobody could have really seen coming. Among the familiar Demon, Starchild, Spaceman and Catman characters (all drawn from the original line-up that included Ace Frehley and Peter Criss) there is also a fan-satisfying nod to the late Eric Carr’s Fox persona.

 

There are few of the easter egg riddled visuals that will not mean anything to those not versed in the history of KISS. However, for fans – especially us long-time fans, there’s a richly detailed treasure trove of references, costumes, album covers and lyrics in the background to pore over, savour and enjoy.

 

The beginnings of an epic tale for an epic band!

 

KISS: THE ELDER VOL 1 – A WORLD WITHOUT SUN / WRITER: AMY SHU / ARTISTS: KEWBER BAAL / PUBLISHER: DYNAMITE / RELEASE DATE: 25TH APRIL

No, not those cape and cowl crimes. Batman remains firmly in his corner of the DC Universe for this collection of Judge Dredd stories, some dating back to a time when a meeting between the two must have seemed like an impossible fancy, at best. Here we see the lawman of the future encounter various Mega City vigilantes, many of whom bear a striking resemblance to characters well outside of 2000AD’s remit.

 

Superman, Batman and Wolverine are just three of the figures who come in for a typically Dredd kicking, starting with Prog 529-530’s Fairly Hyperman. Cape and Cowl Crimes is the strip at its most comedic and fanciful, pitting the typically unimpressed Dredd against the Superman facsimile Fairly Hyperman. Of the lot, only the gangster thriller Marauder really takes itself seriously (as seriously as a Dredd story can take anything) and is the ‘worst’ in the book for it.

 

But, being an anthology collection, there’s a wonderful variation in writers and artists here, and not a dud amongst them. The Simon Bisley illustrated Chicken Run is the strip at its most chaotic and silly, concluding with a pop culture punchline which is now antiquated but still quite brilliant. In a fun coincidence/bit of synergy, Bisley also illustrated the first Batman/Dredd crossover Judgement in Gotham, giving him a Batsuit to fill out with just a few more muscles than are on display here. Taking a similar style and tack is The Juve Mutated Kung Fu Kleggs, which is exactly what you might expect it to be given the title (and a welcome return for the Kleggs, rarely given much to do since The Day the Law Died).

Cape and Cowl Crimes, while a lot of fun, is essentially a collection of puff pieces and filler stories and, as a result, lacks some of the bite and intelligence of the best Dredd tales. Coming with a dictionary of Dredd lingo at the front of the book, there’s a feeling that this is a book more aimed at newcomers than hardcore fans. Marauder aside, it’s a whole book of very specific spoofs, and that joke inevitably wears thin towards the end (but not before a fairly hilarious take-off of Wolverine which hinges on a ‘Master of One’s Own Domain’ joke).

 

Rendered somewhat redundant by the existence of the ‘real’ thing, crossover fans will be better off picking up The Batman/Judge Dredd Files, or any one Case Files book for a better cross-section of Dredd action. But for beginners or even the Dredd stalwart looking for a palate cleanser between Mega-Epics, it’s an absolute winner.

 

JUDGE DREDD: CAPE AND COWL CRIMES / WRITERS: JOHN WAGNER, ALAN GRANT, SIMON SPURRIER / ILLUSTRATORS: SIMON BISLEY, ERIC POWELL / PUBLISHER: 2000AD / RELEASE DATE: 12TH APRIL

 

Superhero stories that take the traditionally child-friendly tropes of comic books and twist them into a mature new form are among the most celebrated in the genre. For instance, Watchmen, The Dark Knight and Netflix’s Daredevil. Invincible looks to follow on in their footsteps – and while it would be a tall order to match up to those examples, it isn’t very successful in its own right either.

Invincible follows Clay Chesterton, a life-long devotee of the retired superhero Invincible, as he tries to hunt down his reclusive hero – even at the expense of his own marriage. It’s a great premise, as telling a relationship drama through the lens of superhero fiction is a novel approach to the genre that could produce some terrific results. Unfortunately, for us to get invested in the central relationship we would have to actually care for the couple, and both characters come across as petulant, self-obsessed people that are hard to like.

 

We might be able to forgive this, though, if the superhero element was well-drawn. Unfortunately, this side of the novel is a let-down as well. Invincible does start off very promising in this regard, as the opening chapter sets up a world in which superheroes have been around for decades but many are now past their prime. Yes, it is a familiar concept – Watchmen again – but it is still a potent one. Sadly, Newey doesn’t do enough to flesh out this world beyond that intriguing introduction.

 

Newey’s writing style also isn’t as polished as could be. He employs a wandering point-of-view that can be distracting and there’s a little too much reliance on explicit language rather than actual maturity to remind us that this superhero story isn’t for kids. The narration also frequently commits the cardinal sin of telling rather than showing. For instance, when Clay’s wife Beth is introduced we are told that she suffers from post-natal depression in literally the very next sentence.

 

In Invincible’s defence, Newey’s love for superheroes absolutely shines through and, as we have said, it sports a very promising fresh take on the genre. However, the flaw is in the execution, as the characters, world-building and writing style let it down. It makes for a frustrating read as there is a, well, super book in there somewhere.

 

INVINCIBLE / AUTHOR: LEE NEWEY / PUBLISHER: SLAVERING DOG PUBLICATIONS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Have a soft spot for speculative fiction? Enjoy the odd graphic novel? Like cats? Scratch that, do you LOVE cats (Oh, and have a bit of a soft spot for birds of prey)? Well, Margaret Atwood, the Canadian Booker prize-winning author and champion of writing has created the hero and world that you’re craving.

 

Mild mannered, scientific nerd Strig Feeledus works for Muroid Inc, a slightly shady biotech-esque company. He is tasked by his boss, the rattish Dr. A. Muroid to create a serum to help cure all manner of genetic diseases. When he makes his chemical break-through with a super-splicer serum he, his cat, and a snowy owl are involved in a hit-and-run “accident”. Left for dead in a puddle of the serum with the corpses of the owl and his much-loved pet, Strig is reborn as Angel Catbird who can change into a superhero: part cat, part owl. He becomes embroiled in helping love interest half-cat, half-human Cate Leone who leads a cadre of half-cats to fight against Dr. Muroid and his tech-enhanced rat army.

 

There are obvious comic book and superhero tropes at work in this first volume from Atwood – the heroes and villains of the piece are easy to spot – but that’s OK. This is a graphic novel that doesn’t take itself too seriously, it doesn’t have a twisty-turny plot, and it’s not as politically astute as many of Atwood’s other works. It IS great fun and gorgeously drawn by Christmas and inked by Tamra Bonvillian. There are cat facts and cat tips alongside the plot provided by Nature Canada which nod to Atwood’s conservation and environmental concerns. At the end there is also an insight into the process of how the team created and developed the characters, which is a neat touch by the team at Dark Horse.

 

There are parallels with Robert C. O’Brien’s Rats of Nimh and Robert Jarvis’s Deptford Mice: while the violence and body count is minimal it may be a little bit scary for little ones to read.

 

Angel Catbird is a lovely introduction to graphic novels for the cat-loving young person in your life. And it’s out right meow…er, we mean, now.

 

ANGEL CATBIRD / AUTHOR: MARGARET ATWOOD /ARTISTS: JOHNNY CHRISTMAS, TAMRA BONVILLIAN / PUBLISHER: DARK HORSE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

On his last day, disgruntled office worker Maxwell releases an audio virus through his office building’s security system, turning the corporate drones into a pack of homicidal maniacs who then explode into an orgy of slavering violence. It’s exactly the kind of scenario where a decisive figure must take charge to save as many people as possible and overcome the villainy. Unfortunately, what it has is Frankie, a dim-witted window cleaner, who far from being a reluctant hero barely has the survival sense to make it through the day.

 

Levels is a straightforward idea, but one that swiftly establishes itself with visceral intensity. Like a bastard hybrid of 28 Days Later and Die Hard, the comic deftly balances its horror and action aspects, each complementing the other in a fusion of madness and death. As well as the gore-strewn brutality, the comic is filled with just as much dark humour, including a demented bit of wordplay that few people other than Scottish football fans will get. Additionally, caption boxes periodically punctuate the story, often snarkily relaying embarrassing details of Frankie’s life or pointing out the shortcomings of his decisions in the face of the escalating crisis, as though the comic itself actively resents that a gormless idiot is all it has available as a viewpoint character.

 

The detail of the art gives a neat balance between the uniform monotony of the office building and the frenetic chaos tearing apart every inch of its interior. The margins are decorated with coloured blood splatters that get heavier as the comic progresses depending on how much madness and carnage is currently being depicted, often spilling over the edges of the panels and complementing the black blood of the main artwork.

 

Lettering is often one of the unsung duties of comics production, but here it adds an extra dimension to the artwork, with the ravings of the infected written in jagged letters tinted with crimson, portraying the hoarse scratching of voices from throats scraped raw with screaming rage.

 

This first issue of Levels is a simple opening, but one that promises far greater development to come, as well as answers to questions yet to be asked.

 

LEVELS #1 / AUTHOR: RICHARD ALLAN, GREG LIDDLE / ARTIST: KARL ENGRACIA, NATHAN ALLISON / PUBLISHER: DESERT WHALE COMICS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW