We’re back, with a renewed emphasis on drawing attention to what is and isn’t worth your hard earned dollars in these lean economic times. Comics have never been more expensive, with cover prices that have far outpaced inflation (despite an increasing number of full page ads). The $3.99 price point is in sight. 

No more B.S. We ‘re committed to a weekly comic book column highlighting some things we think are worth a look, and some that should be overlooked.

JSA Kingdom Come Superman Special #1 (DC)
By Jeb D

Given the level of detail in his work, it’s actually surprising that Alex Ross turns out as much product as he does, and comics fans can be forgiven for drooling over the prospect of the man beginning another mega-epic here. The fact that he’s only providing the introductory chapter to a miniseries that will then be handed off to others before dovetailing back into the monthly JSA series is going to temper some of that enthusiasm, though, because Ross is one of the few (only) guys today who can pull off the cornball heart-tugging that he indulges in, and actually make it work. Following Ross is a tough gig: you either shift the tone of the story in a jarring way (we all remember The Kingdom), or succumb to his brand of cheese in a way you can’t hope to emulate (because, let’s face it, you just don’t BELIEVE the way Ross does; no one does). But that’s for (as Paul Harvey would say) the REST of the story. Taken on its own, this is a gorgeous comic, with a story that’s a bit ponderous, even at 22 pages.

Among other things, it’s the first time that Alex Ross has penciled, inked, and written a book all himself. Of course, it’s immediately recognizable as a Ross book, but the one it most resembles is the recent Justice miniseries, where Ross was painting over the pencils of Doug Braithewaite. Maybe it’s just the nature of the tools, but the penciling/inking combination brings out a dynamic in Ross that’s too often missing in his painted work. Not only does that make this a must-have for Ross fans, but even those previously unpersuaded may find it worth a look.

The story is fairly typical of Ross: the version of Superman from Kingdom Come, who has been kicking it with the JSA for a bit, is beginning to fear that the apocalypse portrayed in that series is coming to pass in his new home universe, and that he’s powerless to prevent it. He hooks up again with Norman McKay for counsel, faces off with "our" Superman, and recounts the events of Kingdom Come, including the complete story behind the brutal death of his Lois Lane. The events, as we’d expect, take a back seat to Superman’s brooding ruminations on them, and his questions about his role in that world, and the one he currently inhabits. In other words, Ross once again stresses for us the iconic importance of Superman. Noted, thanks.

The bonus material is sketches/pencils/panel development by Ross. Delightful (and instructive for the would-be comic creator), but as with Warren Ellis’ scripts in the back of “X-Men: Ghost Boxes,” they’re mostly there to cushion the blow of the $3.99 price tag. Again, this is fine when you’re putting out a collected edition, but don’t add enough to the (already incomplete) story to justify their addition.

Certainly, the book’s a “must-have” for the serious Ross fan. For the more casual reader, it’s enjoyable enough, so long as you understand that its sole purpose is to lead you into another set of stories (from different creative teams) that may or may not mean as much to you as this one.


THREE AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS



Thunderbolts #126 (Marvel)
Jeb D.

When Andy Diggle was handed his first Marvel gig in a few years, I'll bet he was looking forward to putting his own stamp on the anarchic blend of spandex realpolitik and celebrity culture that Warren Ellis brought to his reboot of the Thunderbolts in the wake of Civil War. I sort of doubt he anticipated that the delay in the final issue of Secret Invasion meant that he risked revealing major spoilers with this issue (though, of course, Ellis was in exactly the same situation with Civil War, having to release his first Thunderbolts issue a few weeks ahead of that series' conclusion).  But he doesn't play his hand as close to the vest as I'd have expected, and his willingness to jump in with both feet means that he hits the ground running.

Any attempt to avoid spoiling the end of Secret Invasion doesn't prevent Diggle from mixing things up with the Thunderbolts (not the most stable group in the first place). While Norman Osborn heads to Washington to absorb the plaudits he earned during Secret Invasion, his nominal charges are coming apart at the seams. Bullseye's out to pay Songbird back, Venom's trying to get off his very short leash, Penance is a mess, and Swordsman is most definitely not regarding his sister's death as finished business. It's not a big, splashy restart in the wake of Secret Invasion, but a series of quick character sketches that lays the groundwork for some dysfunctional explosions to come.

I've been OK with Christos Gage's run on the book, but it did have a sort of "caretaker" feel to me (maybe because, while I've enjoyed a lot of his work, Gage himself hasn't yet seemed to carve out an identity for himself in either of the Big 2 universes); part of that, too, was likely due to his having to run this series in parallel with Secret Invasion, giving him less room to maneuver. Diggle, on the other hand, almost feels as though he's jumping directly on at the end of Ellis' run, picking up threads of character interaction that have been dormant for the past few isssues; even though the transition was less direct, the Ellis-to-Diggle baton has been passed as smoothly as Bendis-to-Brubaker on Daredevil.

Robert De La Torre was a great choice for the art: he has some of the same old-school realism that Mike Deodato brought to this book, but it's less flamboyant: where Deodato often seems like he's about to morph into Jim Lee or David Finch if not carefully monitored, De La Torre has always seemed to me to be channeling John Buscema or Milt Caniff as much as anyone else. He's still not as consistent as most of today's A-listers, but rarely turns in anything less than a wholly satisfying book: in a series where a shadow falling across a face may say as much as one falling across the White House, he feels like the right partner for Diggle. These days it's futile to get too attached to creative teams for any period of time, but I'll keep my fingers crossed that we'll see these two together on this book for a long time.


FOUR OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS



[Trade Winds] Lulu and Mitzy: Best Laid Plans (SLG Publishing)
by Graig Kent 

I read recently that Showtime is developing a reality TV show around Los Angeles prostitutes, which seems at once intriguingly racy and uncomfortably exploitative. When thinking about the world's oldest profession, there's still a sense of taboo associated with it. No matter how violence- and sex-centric our entertainment devolves, no matter how exposed our society gets to it, selling one's body still holds confusing moral and psychological connotations for most people. While there's little question about what the job entails, the dangers surrounding the job and the motivations of the sex-trade workers that ply it remain rather mysterious. As a society we tend to view prostitutes as something other, something abnormal, whether we disapprove or not of what they do, it's hard to see their job like any other job, with even pornographers held in higher esteem (prostitutes hardly have flashy Vegas awards ceremonies in celebration of their career).

What we’ve heard about over the past few decades with regards to prostitution has either been the fairy tale ala Pretty Woman or the horrid reports of serial killers targeting women of the night. There’s the victims and the victorious, those that succumb to the dangers of the street and the romantic notion of those that escape it to become a rich man’s concubine.  It’s not often we get a naturalistic portrayal of these women and their lives, or even an unnatural one that treats the characters and their profession with any sense of respect. This lack of investment gives that Showtime reality show the potential for incredibly compelling viewing, and is exactly what makes Lulu and Mitzy such a marvelous read.

Set in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, Lulu and Mitzy are two prostitutes who live in this unseemly underbelly of the city, which simultaneously strains under the weight of forced gentrification.  Both women are immigrants living in the country without official paperwork, both working to live, and aspiring for little more than to continue living and working. Lulu is buxom, gentle, understanding, intelligent and a little flighty, while Mitzy is headstrong, opinionated, quick-tempered and a bit of a lush. Their disparate physiques and personalities give them a classic vaudevillian odd-couple dynamic, but it also gives two unique perspectives on the lifestyle they live.

Best Laid Plans opens with the pair on their corner, establishing immediately their rapport with one another, and how they handle their customers. The book progresses through many adventures, introducing the audience to the wild cast of characters around them, from their encounters with regular customers to brief foray in working with a pimp to their turn as strip-club workers.

Creator S. Eddy Bell delves into these women’s lives as they happen, only hinting at where they’ve been and where they’re going to. It’s not a tale about redemption, or escaping a prison, or anything of the sort, but a surprisingly warm, funny and  compelling look at two people without much in the way of options and making the best out of what they have, mostly having each other. Bell’s dialogue is fast and sharp, full of good natured humor, and occasional dialects, but also with the proper sense of drama and urgency when needed.

Bell’s illustrations are charmingly cartoonish, giving the curious cast simplified identities but with tremendously expressive physicalities. There’s one particularly sobering moment where we see Mitzy rendered in a more naturalistic style and it’s shocking, tremendously affective at solidifying and reminding the reader of the humanity that he’s imbued in these characters. His lines are thick and clean, a keen sense of space and shadow, and overall just wonderfully readable.

His San Francisco, his Tenderloin district, seems perhaps not inviting, but decidedly not intimidating. It’s a definite home to all those that live there, and the titular duo muse occasionally about the state of their home town and the nature of its design, the forcing together of classes and the resulting culture clashes.  Bell’s affection for the city and it’s character is most apparent.

Lulu and Mitzy is a fresh, original read. It’s not necessarily a “message” book, but it does have a purpose in finding a human angle to the people who make their living in ways most of us wouldn’t even contemplate, which makes it stand out in vibrant black and white from most books on the stands. It may not seem so inviting at first, but through the charm of the characters and warmth of the illustrations, this book will draw you in fully.


FIVE OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS