Review Category: Comic Books

FORMAT: HARDCOVER (REVIEWED), DIGITAL | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Though we’re still waiting for the latest cinematic adaptation, Dune is now reimagined in a different visual medium – comic books. Dune: The Graphic Novel adapts Frank Herbert’s science fiction classic over three volumes; the first is available now.

In this volume, young Paul Atreides and his noble family take control of the desert planet Arrakis, only to fall into a deadly trap set by Baron Harkonnen. Brian Herbert – son of Frank – and Kevin J. Anderson, who’ve previously written numerous Dune spin-off novels, provide a script faithful to the original novel.

There’s a risk of their painstaking adherence not making for the best comic, as this first chunk of the novel is rather heavy on meetings setting up the plot, before it gets round to the action. But, Herbert and Anderson’s script condenses the novel skilfully, not omitting any scenes but fine-tuning the dialogue to fit the pace of the medium.

And, the interior artwork from Raúl Allen and Patricia Martín is stunning. Beautiful character and location designs make every scene absorbing, and much storytelling is achieved through precise character ‘acting’. And, in the big visual moments such as the arrival at Arrakis and the first sight of a sandworm, the artwork adds a sense of epic scale.

A gorgeous cover illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz is the icing on the cake of this impressive volume. We have to wait until Spring 2022 for the second part… but at least we’ll have a film to enjoy in the meantime.

FORMAT: TRADE PAPERBACK (REVIEWED), DIGITAL | RELEASE DATE:  OUT NOW

Over the years, Wonder Woman has acquired a great deal of spin-off and adjacent characters who have not gotten the same amount of attention or love as say the Batman and Superman families. Case in point, Nubia, Wonder Woman’s twin sister, a character full of potential.

In Nubia: Real One we see the titular character cast as a young black woman living in a generic Amercian suburb. She has a small circle of friends, two moms and absolutely no idea as to her origins. All she knows is that she is super-strong and every time she uses this power, she gets in trouble. Turns out that people seem to see a super-strong black woman as a threat rather than a hero, even in the DC universe. This still doesn’t stop her from doing the right thing, even though it is a hard path.

This  book is a splendid mix of teen drama and super-hero hi-jinks. It’s also very grounded in modern America; this is a world of BLM protest marches, school-shootings and wrongful arrests. At the same time, it’s the sort of story we expect from a Wonder Woman character; thoughtful and socially aware but also action-filled and heart-felt.

Robyn Smith’s art is a perfect choice for this sort of book. It’s a messy but not busy cartoonish style which makes the story’s real world approach all the more believable. Rather than the hyper-real approach we get in larger more cinematic books, this type of art feels more down-to-Earth and honest. The colour palette is gentler than the highly glossy sort of affair we get in similar books so the result is something pleasing yet easy to read. Coupled with L. L. McKinney’s narrative style, this is a very refreshing and very interesting work.

Nubia: Real One is a refreshing and modern book and the sort of thing we need more of in this modern age.

FORMAT: PAPERBACK (REVIEWED), DIGITAL | RELEASE DATE: EARLY APRIL

Graphic novels are a fantastic way to communicate new ideas through stories. The combination of visual and written information means that for many, it’s easy to be inspired. This is perhaps why so many scientists and engineers are into sci-fi comics, having picked up the habit in their youth. The Curie Society is perhaps the most blatant attempt to get young minds into science, technology, engineer and maths that we’ve ever seen, however.

Our heroes are science undergrads Maya, Simone, and Taj. Each of these young women is brilliant in their field but finding navigating the world a little tricky. Simone isn’t a team player, Maya struggles under the expectations placed on her by her family and Taj is much younger than the others and thus quite naïve. Each is brilliant in their own way and the trio end up discovering The Curie Society, a super-secret science organisation dedicated to making the world a better place. On the way, they fight those who would corrupt good intentions for selfish ends.

Basically, this is a super-hero book where all the heroes are young women who happen to be brilliant scientists.  Think Thunder Birds  meets Birds of Prey.

The Curie Society’s biggest problem is that it is in too much of a hurry to tell the story, so it packs everything in on every page. They aren’t enough splash pages and a lot of the comic book is quite dense.  Coupled with this is the book’s central mission to promote science and technology. Rather than simply showing us a cool thing and moving on with the plot, we get more information than we need right now about the cool thing. We get it; science is cool and it’s for everyone, but this message comes at the cost of the books narrative and this lets it all down.

With a TV series already rumoured to be in development, The Curie Society is a comic book that reads like a pitch for something else. It’s a brilliant idea and a great premise, but it simply crams in too much set-up and not enough story.  The Curie Society is perhaps not the best science focused comic book in the world, but it is the most enthusiastic. Recommended for anyone with young people in their life who are keen to explore science.

FORMAT: HARDCOVER (REVIEWED)| RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Michael Moorcock can easily be described as one of the founders of modern fantasy. Though ground-breaking at the time, works like Stormbringer and The Return to Melniboné are now regarded as classics of the genre, blending more heroic tropes with a sense of doom and darkness.  Anthology collections of Moorcock’s work are very common, but Titan Books have done something little special; Elric The Eternal Champion Collection brings together the first two attempts to turn Moorcock’s work into a graphic novel.

First up is James Cawthorn’s version of Stormbringer. It’s a tale of Chaos lands , magic swords and betrayal and has been incredibly influential on the genre. Cawthorn’s work has been similarly influential and every page of art  looks like it’s been pulled from the best prog-rock album cover you’ve ever seen. It’s very, very metal which is highly appropriate when you consider that Michael Moorcock used to be a member of the band Hawkwind.

The storytelling isn’t great; Hawthorn’s font is legible (and very rock-and-roll), but this abridged version of the story is not very coherent. The result is a very pretty looking summary of the tale, one filled with nostalgia and inspiration. We aren’t really here for the story (you can buy the book if you’re interested), rather the art it inspired, and that art is very special.

Phillipe Druillet’s take on The Return to Melniboné is similarly short but also gothic and beautiful. The black and white line art is absolutely breath-taking and let’s be honest, this is not a book that’s about the story; it’s all about the very pretty pictures. It helps that this is an over-sized book; it might not fit neatly on the shelf but it’s worth it.

Both works underline the influence of Moorcock on the world of fantasy. Cawthorn’s work especially taps deeply into the heavy metal style; anyone familiar with the worlds of Warhammer or 2000AD will recognise the style instantly. This is the work that inspired those works and as such is an invaluable resource to fans of this very European style.

FORMAT: HARDCOVER (REVIEWED), DIGITAL | RELEASE DATE: MARCH 23^rd

Do you remember when DC comic books used to be fun? When the super-hero fantasy wasn’t bogged down with grimacing anti-heroes and convoluted storylines that weren’t essentially reworkings of the trolley problem, but somehow more violent? Do you remember when Batman and chums actually contained some glee?

The creators of  The Hunt for Harley do and have remembered to pack in a many gags and silly situations as they can. Harley Quinn And The Birds Of Prey: The Hunt For Harley is DC Black Label comic book, which means they can use swear-words, sex and innuendo without having to worry about complaints. They use this privilege sparingly in order to mine it for humour rather than shock. As the name suggests, it’s about everybody’s favourite villain turned sort-of-hero Harley Quinn.

The plot, such as it is, see’s Harley having a lover’s tiff with Poison Ivy only to discover that bad sorts have burned down her home. Fortunately the adopted band of weirdoes who live there get out mostly unharmed, but Harley, already frustrated, decides to seek vengeance. This involves a hare-brained schemed and a journey to Gotham city. Of course this attracts the attention of not only The Joker but her fellow vigilante friends and wackiness ensues. It’s a silly plot and it doesn’t try to shock the reader; it’s just fun.

The book is full of running gags, such as a side-kick called Red Tool (who wears a familiar full face mask) and the fact that Harley insists on carrying a dead, stuffed beaver around. Amanda Conner’s art is clever and not one to waste a single sight gag and this compliments Jimmy Palmiotti writing perfectly. This is a lot of dumb fun and though it’s aimed squarely at adults, the childish humour and refusal to take things seriously is a welcome change of pace.

FORMAT: TRADE PAPERBACK (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

A good villain is hard to keep down, especially one as popular as The Joker, which probably explains why DC decided to produce Joker War, a Batman story in which it looks like The Joker has all the winning hand.

The premise is pretty straight forward. The Joker figures out that Bruce Wayne is responsible for all of Batman’s wonderful toys and then successfully steals all of Bruce’s money. Don’t try and figure out how that works because it’s not relevant to the plot  and this is very much a super-hero story. The Joker then proceeds to burn down Gotham city using all of the resources at his disposal, whilst torturing Batman with zombies and a convoluted plot that essentially boils down to ‘The Joker tries to kill The Batman with Batman’s own sense of guilt’.

Along the way we meet The Joker’s murderous new girlfriend who is called Punchline and a new vigilante called Clown Killer.  Neither of these characters sparkle with originality. Neither does the story; there’s no character growth here and nothing that hasn’t been done before.

James Tynion IV is doing the best with what he can, but the current run of Batman stories seem severely hampered by DC’s need to make the character part of a larger franchise. Weighed down by the need to introduce new characters whilst name-checking heroes with their own series, Joker War is a bit of a slog. There’s nothing new here and that doesn’t seem to be the writer’s fault; if you want an example of what Tynion can do without restrictions, check out the excellent Something Is Killing The Children.

The art is brilliant;  this is a pretty book with some great stand out pieces, the sort of thing that looks great on a wall or as part of a promo. The storytelling is strong and the dialogue is entertaining throughout; it’s just a pity that the story itself doesn’t really do anything.

Joker War Volume Two is a stagnant tale that works as a nice waste of time, but nothing more, and will be forgotten like so many Batman books before it. If it is remembered, it will be as the book that made The Joker boring.

FORMAT: TRADE PAPERBACK (REVIEWED), DIGITAL | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Graphic Novels can be a very powerful communication tool. The combination of words and pictures can be a very effective way to get a message across. When used for essay or long serious stories based on real world events, they can be incredible readers. Take for example, Box Brown’s Tetris: The Games People Play, a brilliant examination into the story behind that world’s favourite puzzle game.

The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History is a similar sort of thing, a graphic novelisation of a part of history many of us know next to nothing about. As the title suggests, it’s an examination of the how the American political group known as the Black Panther’s got started.  It’s a name that almost everyone is familiar with but sadly one that many of us know the vague details of.

This book begins it’s lecture with Oakland, California, in 1966. We learn the events that caused  the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense to be formed and why they chose that particular name. The book is strongly sympathetic to the Black Panther’s and takes an unflinching approach to the facts, mixing the Panther’s triumphs along with their losses. For every victory, such as crossing guards and school meals, they are tragedies and missed chances.  It’s a fascinating look at American history and quite compelling.

The art and information is well done and very interesting, though it’s presented in a rather charmless way. This feels more like a useful history textbook with lots of pictures instead of a documentary.  It’s well indexed and well researched but in an effort to be comprehensive and accurate it loses the level of engagement that can be achieved with the format.

The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History is a great resource for those looking to learn more about civil rights movements and American history, but it fails to as memorable as this part of history deserves to be.