THOR'S COMIC COLUMN - 12.07.07

By Captain Sean Fahey and the Rack Attack

Be sure to check our expanded near-daily comic book coverage at our sister-site and the interweb’s (only?) review-only comic blog, Rack Raids! www.rackraids.com 

Raided: Necessary Evil #1 (Desperado)

By Jeb D.

Sometimes, a good concept is enough. Issue #1 of Necessary Evil isn’t going to reshape your thinking on spandex storytelling, but it does take a fun and interesting slant. Jake and Miller are two young boys who discover that their conventional suburban lifestyle has been a front for the fact that their mother is one of the world’s premiere supervillains—knowledge that they gain, tragically, by watching a newscast of her death during a holdup. Years later, the teenage pair are on the run from foster care, determined to emulate their mother’s career, and following the trail of a mysterious map which was mailed to them on the 10th anniversary of her death. The journey takes a grim and deadly turn before they find themselves at their unexpected destination: the Necessary Evil Academy: a Hogwarts for supervillain trainees. And writer Joshua Williamson borrows from the Rowling playbook, viewing the fantastic through the prism of the mundane (students are told that “if by some chance you take over the world… we ask that you add a school representative to your council”). Most of the characterization isn’t terribly deep (there’s a bully, a hot chick, a happy-go-lucky sidekick), but the brotherly friction that grows between Jake and Miller is convincing, particularly when Jake is told that he, and not his murderous brother, has the family’s true potential for evil. The story calls for little in the way of action or imaginative paneling, but the artwork by Marcus L. Harris and Vincente Navarette has a look that is big, colorful, and appealing. A book that deals in evil and murder wouldn’t normally come across as charming, but I do think that’s a pretty good description of this comic. Sometimes the bad guys are the most fun, and readers looking for a change of pace can have a lot of fun with Necessary Evil.

THREE AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS

Raided: The Sword #1 (Image)

By Jeb D.

I think I’d have enjoyed this first issue more if the book was called something else. Sorry to get spoilery here, but after several pages establishing the Brightons (good-guy dad Alex, devoted mom Elizabeth, wheelchair-bound artistic teen Dara) as a happy, well-adjusted, basically average family, we start to get hints of dark intrigue surrounding them. Next thing you know, their home is invaded by some super-powered types, who go medieval on the house, and the family, searching for “the sword,” which they are certain Alex has in his possession, just as they’re certain that Alex was once called “Demetrios,” and somehow involved with their intrigues. Though it means the life of himself and those he holds dear, Alex steadfastly denies this, until the climactic moment when… well, hell, the book is called The Sword, right? I mean a few pages of grisly torture and death can’t hide the fact that the artifact of the title does exist, is connected to the Brightons, and is going to be found sooner, rather than later– making the first issue brutally convincing, but also feeling as though we’re already ahead of the story (not only do we know the sword will be found, but it’s clear from page 1 who will get it and what effect it will have on them). And it’s possible that the Luna Brothers have some unusual directions to take us… but it’s equally possible that this mystical Sword will bring a quest for vengeance much like others we’ve seen before, as it certainly begins that way. As usual with the Lunas, the dialogue is strong, and the artwork fluid and memorable: fans of Girls or Ultra will want to check this out. Others, though, might want to wait for the first collection (as far as I can see, the series is ongoing, not limited) to see if the story gets a bit more meat on its bones.

THREE AND A HALF OUT O FIVE VIKINGS

Raided: Crawl Space #1 (Image)

by Max Patterson

Crawl Space is bad. I hate to be so blunt, but the truth is that despite its awesome premise and solid creative team, this latest attempt to create a spiritual successor to Tales from the Crypt fails on almost every level. To be fair, this issue is not without its highlights; the cover is undeniably eye-catching, and succeeds in capturing the kitschy B-movie vibe of the story (although I still don’t understand the story’s sub-title. What’s a xombie?). Unfortunately, once you open the book things quickly go down-hill. We’re introduced to our story by the “Crawl Monitor” an obvious Crypt Keeper homage, complete with bad puns. While those puns may work for an iconic character like the Keeper, coming from some random ugly guy they just fall flat. The rest of the story is fairly standard, albeit with a 70’s theme and a cast of porn stars replacing your average mixed bag of survivors. Obviously this book isn’t meant to be serious horror, but it is seriously horrible (HA! Now that’s a pun.) An extended Dungeons and Dragons joke? Really? Here’s an example of Crawl Space’s “humor;” a gay man turned into a zombie (who inexplicably has a raging hard-on) is tied down by the crew, who believe he’s simply whacked out on drugs. One of the porn starlets then begins to earn her pay, at least until zombie guy’s wang falls off. Of course I could be mistaken, and this entire scene could be some kind of statement about the porn industry, but it reads like a penis joke, and a bad one at that. The art is probably the best part of the book, although the zombies themselves look less like ravenous dead and more like people with a rash. Unlike Tales from the Crypt, the XXXombies story is extended over four issues, so we’ll have to wait and see whether Crawl Space as a series can turn itself around, as I have no reason to believe XXXombies is going to get better. (But if it does, drop me a line. I’m always happy to eat some crow!)

ONE AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS

Black Cherry OGN/Therefore Repent! (OGN)

by Graig Kent

It’s 10 A.M. and I’m in bed with the laptop, my wife beside me sleeping, my stepson in the living room watching cartoons. There’s a knock at the door. I haul myself out of bed, put on my robe and head towards the door, my stepson circling around me telling me he heard a knock. I open the door, and it’s as I feared: Jehovah’s Witnesses. They look me up and down through the barely opened door and apologize for waking me up so early. Then they proceed to tell me they’d like to talk about the Bible, that it’s a “good book written many years ago”. I tell them I’m not interested in the same partially annoyed tone I usually reserve for the faceless telemarketing peons. An you know, it’s the truth. I’m not interested.

In my teenage years I was a solidified Athiest, if only for sheer rebellion’s sake. These days I’m a fast and firm Agnostic believing simultaneously that anything and nothing is possible. Do I have a spiritual side? Perhaps, but do I believe in a singular God or that any of the religions have it right? Nope. Plus, there’s something about organized religions, as much as governments and big business, that bothers me. They do have their place in our world and society, but I’m not sure any of the good they do really counterbalances the harm en masse (my opinion only and not that of this site or its other writers). So when it comes to entertainment that has distinctive Christian (or any other religious) overtone do I shy away? 
 
Nope.

In fact I love them.

Stories that use the mythos of religions often end up telling pretty good stories, since most of the mythos are just stories to begin with, much as the fables of Greek or Norse gods were. Films like The Prophecy (with Christopher Walken brilliantly cast as the rogue angel Gabriel) or The Rapture are fascinating. I’m sure there are the highly religious that see the use of Christian symbols for entertainment purposes as blasphemy, but often films and stories such as these have to do with faith, which I think is what most people get out of religion anyway. As an agnostic I think having faith, in whatever you wish to believe, is fine, as long as you don’t become blind in the process.

Much of Doug Ten Napel’s work has Christian undertones. I’ve seen many a message board posting about work like Earthboy Jacobus or Creature Tech griping about this fact. Ten Napel is indeed a Catholic and his beliefs do often underpin his work, sometimes overtly, other times well-masked. Black Cherry (Image) is definitely one of those works where the Catholic influence is out in the open. It’s also highly juxtaposed by gangsters, strippers, and the most foul mouthed dialogue in a work of faith since Kevin Smith’s Dogma. Ten Napel addresses this dichotomy in an introduction, essentially stating he’s not going to whitewash his storytelling for a Christian audience and nor is he going to refrain from injecting faith for a squeamish, non-secular audience.

Eddie Paretti is the type of mobster that gets along with everyone, until you get on his bad side. He talks tough and he has a smart mouth which half the time people find endearing, and the rest of the time pisses them off. Eddie’s gotten himself in a bit of trouble financially with a rival mob, who have asked him to retrieve a package (in a body bag) from his boss. In between a rock and a hard place.

Eddie does the job only to discover what the package is, and how it ties into his life before crime. The priest who raised him and the reformed stripper he’s in love with arrive to claim the package, only to find two different mobs after him, and a third which isn’t human.

The first two acts of the book are high-action, high-adventure with plenty of cursing and a wicked sense of humor. The third act deviates more into faith-based territory, which is fine as there’s still plenty of action and comedy, but (and this is what will challenge the non-religious readers) the resolution is a pious one, solved with not fists, guns or human smarts, but faith. For me, it’s always a challenge when an action-packed story is resolved by an intangible aspect (like faith or magic), rather than a punch-out or outsmarting the adversary, but I’m sure to the religious, faith isn’t such an intangible.

Ten Napel’s ink-heavy, roughly hewn cartooning has never been better suited than to this religiously-tinged pulp-inspired story. With each effort his strength as an illustrator grows, his use of black space and shadows ever more effective at telling a cleaner story. Still, there’s a stream of consciousness sensibility to this work, as one couldn’t ever predict from where the story begins that it would wind up where it did, especially not via the journey it took. The occasional character moment feels forced into place to fit with the story, but overall it’s a highly enjoyable romp, your mileage depending on how much you concede to the resolution.

Jim Munroe and Salgood Sam’s Therefore Repent! (No Media Kings/IDW), however, never asks the reader if they believe or not, but only requires you to embrace the story’s conceit which is printed right on the front cover: this is “a post-Rapture graphic novel”.

In the months following the apparent Rapture, the world has changed, sort of. Though life goes on, almost as usual, there’s a sense that for many, well, they were wrong… wrong choices in life, wrong religion to follow, etc. But suddenly there are new magics about the Earth, people displaying abnormal abilities and unusual mutations, dogs talking, and a whole bunch of non-ascendants readying themselves for a second-wave of ascension that’s not likely to happen. An army of angels have silently come to Earth to cleanse the land of sinners, but there is a resistance.

The story of this post-Rapture world is told via two hipster lovers, Raven and Mummy, one Jewish, the other a Christian who could have ascended but chose to stay. They move to Chicago where they squat in an abandoned apartment, vacated by an ascended couple. They’ve adopted guises (made apparent by their chosen names), and Raven begins showcasing some incredible powers, capable of turning objects to ash and the ash then coming to life like a smoky black phoenix. They get settled in their new neighborhood, making friends with their new neighbors and becoming accustomed to the way of the world now. But things will never be “normal” when their dog starts talking, an angel in fatigues arrives, and word from a friend in Vancouver tells of a war brewing that they will eventually become involved, regardless if they volunteer or not.

The bulk of the book is an examination of the status quo of this new world as well as a sense of discovery of self for both Raven and Mummy, and it’s an incredibly interesting and detailed environment that Munroe has crafted. His little community of characters tightens and solidifies as the story progresses, and the oddness of the world starts to make sense. There are hints at an impending threat throughout the story, but it never does loom heavily enough and it always seems to slowly be building. The sixth and final chapter, however, is an abrupt turn into a full-on war between the humans and angels, with the caption of “one month later”. It’s a total cheat on the story’s progression, as if the writer tired of building his story and just wanted to get to the action and resolution. I know most international readers (and even most Canadian readers) won’t be very familiar with Jim Munroe’s previous prose works, but this sort of abrupt turn at the end of his stories is a frustrating par for the course.

The art here here by Salgood Sam (Sea of Red) is solid through and through, with highly detailed environments, distinctive characters and a pencil shading that adds a rich texture and depth to the visual proceedings. The book looks great, and is an engrossing read, despite missing a few beats.

Therefore Repent! is currently available in Canada via Munroe’s self-publishing moniker of No Media Kings and will be available soon from IDW. Munroe’s idea with No Media Kings is that self-publishing is just as viable and rewarding as striving to sell to the major publishers, but allowing more control over story, distribution, promotion and ultimately, financial gain. Munroe has become the guru of self publishing, firmly establishing a DIY mentality in many with regards to their writing careers, and also joining the writer-as-indie-rock-band concept with his Perpetual Motion Road Show. He’s a very intelligent, inspiring and admirable man, but as I’ve followed his works, each which I’ve enjoyed to a point, I sense that he could use the influence of a story editor to assist him in crafting a smoother resolution to his books…. unless it’s a stylistic choice of his, at which point, it’s not a very good one.

In the case of both books, the storytelling is solid (but not flawless) and in both dialogue and illustration they are engrossing reading. Depending on who you are and what you believe the religious aspect will either be an accentuation, an annoyance or a frustration. Milage will vary.

Black Cherry

FOUR OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS

Therefore, Repent

FOUR OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS

Special Forces #1 (of 6) (Image)

by Graig Kent

The US Army has an annual recruitment goal of 80,000 new recruits per year, so it’s no surprise that, in the shadow of a manufactured war-for-profit, for the past few years they haven’t always been meeting their objectives. As the Associated Press recently reported, “The Army began its recruiting year Oct. 1 with fewer signed up for basic training than in any year since it became an all-volunteer service in 1973″.

In order to fulfill quotas, the Army is now throwing money at young people along with the offers of free or sponsored education. On top of this recruiting violations have been on the rise, including one well-publisized incident where an autistic teenager was signed up, even passing the physical and exceeding the minimum score on the Army’s basic entrance exam. Kyle Baker’s new mini-series uses this news story (reported by ABC and CBS, and not just “weird hippie alternative papers”, Baker notes), and the generally lapsed standards for military recruitment, as a launching pad for his latest satire, Special Forces.

Our guide is Felony, a grade school drop-out who hit her third strike and had two options: the Army or jail. She, along with Zone, an autistic kid, Hummer (of the don’t ask, don’t tell variety) and a couple others were inappropriately enlisted by a sergeant desperate not to return to war, and even though he met his quota, Sarge was still sent back, now in charge of his freakshow recruits. Sarge, along with his entire team, save Felony, it’s evident, are unfit to serve, and everything goes to hell.

Baker has tacked serious material before, most recently with Nat Turner, but he’s better known for his comedic work, so this book does mark a bit of a departure for him, in that it’s not a comedy or a drama, but a farce. The action is ratcheted up to levels I’ve never seen Baker work at, not cartoonish but completely overblown. He showcases a Hollywoodized vision of war through grotesqueness such as heads exploding and disemboweling, and his next-generation M*A*S*H*-style ensemble brings it all together as just over-the-top. But that’s the point, it’s looking at the extreme end of real problems, working for a response that’s equal parts amusement and depression.

Baker’s art, here, has also taken different form than what we’re used to, channeling the biggest names in comic book satire: tightly structured and heavily detailed, with plenty of Frank Miller-style cheesecake, and full of Harvey Kurtzmann and Will Eisner inspiration. This first issue plays out as if it’s a sharper, long-form Mad Magazine parody of a war film like Platoon or Jarhead, but the underlying meaning is far too unsettling to dismiss as easily. This isn’t about the war in as much as it’s a look at some of the procedures, people and policies behind the war machine, and how they compromise or are compromised.

There are laugh out loud moments (Sarge’s recruitment of Hummer), shocking ones (Doughboy’s fate), disturbing ones (Zone’s following of his schedule), exciting, titillating, tense, sad… the whole gamut. Baker is a master storyteller, and Special Forces is just further proof that, if he’s not already, then he will be remembered as a legend of the medium.

FIVE OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS

Green Arrow: Year One #1-6 (DC Comics)

by Eric Cordo

Besides his undying and unwavering drive to fight for all that is righteous and innocent, and I suppose a silly costume, the most important aspect of the modern superhero is his or her origin. You know them, and you know them well. An orphaned son of millionaire philanthropist that chose to stalk the streets of Gotham City, doing his best to never allow such an injustice to occur again. The last son of a doomed planet, sent across the universe with nothing but a faint memory of the parents who loved him, only to find a new home on Earth and protect it’s denizens with his yellow sun powered brand of hurt. And something about a radioactive spider, and then some whining ensued for the next 40 years. I, and you, could go on for hours with this, because just as important as the drive to fight, is the journey you took to arrive at the crime fighter you’ve become, and they’re all ingrained into our memories through years of reading.

While not the first telling of Ollie’s origin and adopting of the Green Arrow moniker, Andy Diggle and Jock’s Green Arrow: Year One by-far is the most in depth account of Oliver’s ship-wrecked past. To take a direct quote from a customer at the comic shop I work at, Green Arrow: YO was “really kinda not so bad”. To be honest, while I was talking-up the character, and this mini-series, deep down in my soul there were tears. In my Green Arrow/Black Canary review I explained how the character has been a continual victim of missed opportunities, and unfortunately this mini has been no different.

Green Arrow was originally conceived out of the popularity garnered by the superhero, and pop culture phenomenon, Batman. If we could make a bat man with a bat car and a bat plane and a bat cave, why can’t we play Madlibs and create another character just as easily? Because, as is the case with nearly every knock-off, the latter iterations and creations lack the heart of the originals, therefore the reader cannot get as emotionally attached as they had been to their first loves, and pretty soon the Arrow Cave and all of it’s dwellers fall by the wayside. This has been the sad and enduring case of Green Arrow since his inception: he’s always followed the path, and never led.

So what better way to establish Oliver Queen, and Green Arrow, by giving him his own definitive origin story under the title of Year One? Twenty years too late you say? Well just be happy we have one. You’re so picky. Let me digress because it’s been apparent that I’m projecting, and for that apologize. Perhaps the most upsetting aspect of this whole situation is that Green Arrow: Year One was released amidst the flagship title getting canceled, and Oliver Queen being murdered on his wedding night. I cannot speak for die-hard Green Arrow fans (all 6 of us), but this came across as a slap in the face from DC. “We’re sorry about all that other stuff, but hey, don’t you want to know how you’re favorite character that we just canned got started?”

No!

Oliver Queen has an origin so of the Golden Age that it should have stayed buried. The character hadn’t achieved any sort of higher status within the DCU until the 1960s, when his demeanor was revamped and he became a politically aware crime fighter instead of an urban Robin Hood with boxing glove arrows. In this reviewers opinion, that is the most important origin of all, and in the past 30 years Ollie has made such great strides in his character development and tone that it’s more important at this stage to look forward than back. He stands apart from the DCU in his political and personal views, and the character is in a better position to address issues than a shape shifting Martian* or a member of an intergalactic police squad.

That brings us to the reason we’re all here, and why I get paid the big bucks: an actual review of Green Arrow: Year One.

Trying to stretch out into six issues something that has previously been told in three panels is no easy task, and Andy Diggle was up for the challenge. The final project was a story that falls in line with many of his Green Arrow writer brethren: it was enjoyable, but forgettable. The first issue begins with Oliver Queen being a drunken, skirt-chasing billionaire who has no passion for life because he’s already accomplished it all. The only way to pass the days is through self-medication, whether it be alcohol or narcotics. This thrill seeking lends itself to a shady business dealing with an associate, in which Ollie doesn’t care, because in his mind he’s invincible.

Only he’s not. When his business partner turns on him, Oliver is left for dead and washes up on shore, awakening on a seemingly deserted island. But it’s not deserted, it’s a drug-running island chalk full of heroin and slaves. And it’s at the point Oliver finds himself on the island that the narrative starts to get a little, lost**. Days become weeks, which to the reader only feels like minutes, because it’s only been panels, which has actually been months. By the end of the six issues I had to remind myself how much time had passed between him washing up literally and figuratively, and him becoming the hero. It almost was like an episode of Lost because once on the island, there was no sense of time continuity, and after breaking an arm it seemed like only hours before he was all healed up. Perhaps the every other week shipping made it seem like the plot points and subsequent pay offs were occurring faster than they should have been, but it gave the impression that Oliver Queen went from drunk billionaire playboy to stoic avenger for all that is good, with a mastery of a bow and arrow not seen since Robin Hood or Ted Nugent, in a mere few days.

Jock’s art, as usual to these eyes, was fantastic. The shadows and colors made it feel like an island setting, but it when looking at his pages, it feels like Green Arrow. I’d love to see him do another GA book in an urban setting, and see if he can once again capture that magic. Andy Diggle did the best with what he had to work with. There were some interesting revelations that they intend to tie in with the rest of Green Arrow cannon, and there were also some rather inane ones, such as the only thing Oliver was ever good at when he was young was archery. I could have lived without that hitting me over the head.

While it seems like negative review, well, I suppose it might be. Which kills me, because I desperately want a Green Arrow story worth boasting about. The best use of the character in recent memory was in Identity Crisis, but for some reason people have a hard time using him as anything more than a nostalgic supporting character. With the talented crop at writers that have tried to tackle Ollie, sometimes I wonder if I’m nuts in believing there’s a wealth of story potential inside of a Green Arrow comic. I think I’d rather be delusional than disappointed when it comes to my favorite character. For this, and other arcs in recent memory, the best I can say about the story is that it was okay. I’m waiting for the day where I can say to someone that I just read an absolutely fantastic comic, and yes, it was Green Arrow. A fella can dream.

TWO AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS

*When I typed Martian originally it was with a lowercase ‘m’, but grammar check insisted that it be changed. I’m sorry if I offended any Martians in my original non-capitalizing of your nationality.