Dark Horse Presents #3

Written by Dave Gibbons, Robert Love, David Walker, Carla Speed McNeil, Paul Chadwick, Howard Chaykin, Jim Steranko, Patrick Alexander, Richard Corben, Chuck Brown, David Chelsea, Neal Adams, and Michael T. Gilbert
Art by Dave Gibbons, Robert Love, Carla Speed McNeil, Paul Chadwick, Howard Chaykin, Jim Steranko, Patrick Alexander, Richard Corben, Sanford Greene, David Chelsea, Neal Adams, and Michael T. Gilbert

There are a lot of comics in this book.  This issue of DHP, while keeping it's $7.99 price point, increased its page count to 104 pages, which is appreciated, as that is a nice chunk of comics to digest.  I do wish I liked all of them though...

Dave Gibbons 'Treatment' is not bad.  Really, it's a lot like Archaia's French reprint comic Cyclops, starring a group of SWAT-like police officers who are broadcast live on a mix between a football game and a reality show.  It may be an interesting idea, but it's going to need more developing than we get in this first installment (I assume there will be more).

As always, the two stand outs in this book are Paul Chadwick's Concrete, and Carla Speed McNeil's Finder.  In Concrete, Chadwick addresses the issue of unjustified police tasering.  I know that sounds ridiculous, but the best Concrete comics are the ones that have the stone giant explore a social issue that doesn't often get much play, especially in comics.  Chadwick's environmental stance had a huge influence on me when I was younger, and it's nice to see that he's still using his work as an engine for some kind of social change.  I think this may meander a little too close to being preachy, but I admire Concrete's usual stance that there can be a better way of doing things than what is current practice.

Finder is incredible.  Having read Voice, the most recent graphic novel, I now get a lot more of the context of this DHP strip, and I'm loving it.  In this chapter, Jaeger helps an old lady who has missed her train stop by taking her through a short-cut which crosses the incredible city that McNeil has built.  The story ends on a pretty creepy note that I thought was very effective.

I'm enjoying Love and Walker's Number 13.  There is more happening in this chapter that is getting me interested in this post-apocalyptic story, and I'm curious to read what's going to happen next.  Also, I've been enjoying Richard Corben's pieces, although I found this month's to be a little disjointed.

Beyond that, the book becomes kind of mediocre.  I know this may be sacrilegious to many comics fans, but I didn't feel Steranko's Red Tide excerpt much at all.  For all his bombast about his own ingenuity, he's written a fairly standard and cliche-ridden private detective prose story, which is only marginally assisted by his art.  I don't think I'll be looking for the full book when it comes out.

Howard Chaykin's Marked Man is growing on me a little, but I still don't like his art.  Likewise, Neal Adams's Blood continues to be incomprehensible and way over-written, but pretty.  I find Brown and Greene's Rotten Apple, which debuted last issue, to be pretty incomprehensible too.  Snow Angel, which I found refreshing earlier, doesn't even appear to have a point this month.  It's pretty rambling.  And, after having been burned last time, I didn't even bother to read Michael T. Gilbert's Mr. Monster.

Dark Horse Presents #2

Written by Paul Chadwick, Robert Love, David Walker, Neal Adams, Carla Speed McNeil, Howard Chaykin, Michael T. Gilbert, Patrick Alexander, Chuck Brown, Richard Corben, and David Chelsea

Art by Paul Chadwick, Robert Love, Neal Adams, Carla Speed McNeil, Howard Chaykin, Michael T. Gilbert, Patrick Alexander, Sanford Greene, Richard Corben, and David Chelsea

It's pretty difficult to look at an anthology like DHP, which has no unifying theme, as a single, whole entity.  It's easier to break it down into its components and review them individually.  I will say that I still wish there was more originality to the book - as much as I love things like Concrete and stories by Richard Corben, I'd like to read the next big thing even more.

Concrete - I'm always happy to read a new Concrete story, although I thought this one was kind of strange, with its hinting that the aliens that made Concrete could be returning, and Maureen's explorations of the roots of religion.  I think it should have been a bit longer, but mostly that's because I'd much prefer a new Concrete mini-series.

Number 13 - This appears to be a pretty cool post-apocalyptic story about a young kid who is a cyborg or bioweapon or something, and the three-eyed girl he rescues from an ogre.  There's not much more than establishment going on here, but it's pretty interesting.

Blood - I'm not sure why Neal Adams thinks that he should be writing without some help.  This story shifts from what looked like a crime-fighting thing to a combination of The Secret History and I Am Legion, but not as good.  Just wordy.  Adams's terrific art does not make up for the story.

Finder - The Finder stories in this series so far are becoming favourites of mine.  It's the first I've read of McNeil's series (I do have the Voice graphic novel in my to-read pile), so while I'm not sure of the context, I am finding it amusing to explore her world through the eyes of a courier.

Marked Man - This is still not doing it for me (mostly because of Chaykin's art, which is better here than his recent New Avengers work), but I found the second chapter of this 'career criminal as family man' story to be better than the first.

Mr. Monster - I find this kind of thing unreadable, and therefore did not read it.  I'm still impressed with myself for making it through the first chapter...

The Wraith - This is also not really kind of thing - I guess it's cute, but it doesn't fit with the rest of the stuff in this book.

Rotten Apple - Now this is a new entry that has some promise.  Brown and Greene are building an interesting world populated by rival zombie gangs, religious orders, and cartoon animal mercenaries.  I think that this would have benefited from more space to build the setting, but I like Greene's art and am curious to see where the story goes.

Murky World: The Treasure - Richard Corben stories don't have to make a lot of sense, because they are always so well-drawn.  This chapter has our hero get tricked by the women he helped last time, and we meet a gigantic monstrous cabbie.  This is good stuff.

Snow Angel - In the first issue, I found this story to be pretty charming, but this chapter is just kind of cute.  I can see getting tired of Snow Angel - a girl who gains powers when she lies in the snow.

Dark Horse Presents #1

by a lot of different people

Well, that was kind of disappointing.  I loved the original Dark Horse Presents series (and its companion, Cheval Noir), which I can credit with introducing me to a large number of new creators, characters, and series.  Its diverse selection always held something to enjoy, and while there were stories I didn't like, I don't think there was ever an issue where I didn't find something to enjoy.  The Myspace DHP of recent years was a less satisfying grab bag, but still managed to entertain me in its collected editions.

I was very excited to learn of this new, quarterly edition of the title, in an eighty-page format.  Sure, the price is higher, but with its publication schedule, that wouldn't cost more than a monthly would.

This first issue is good in plenty of places, but I feel like Dark Horse missed an opportunity here by focusing so strongly on the past.  The book opens with a Concrete story by Paul Chadwick, and then goes on to feature work by Howard Chaykin, Neal Adams, Michael T. Gilbert, Richard Corben, Paul Gulacy, and Harlan Ellison.  In other words, this could have been an issue of the original run.  The strength of DHP was that it uncovered new creators.  Okay, this issue also has the first Finder story I remember ever reading (granted, that series has been running for like 20 years too), and features work by David Chelsea, who is new to me.

The point is that, while comics fan are notorious for looking to the past and living in a nostalgic world, there is also a market for work that is more forward-looking, and talented up and comers need more platforms that will lead to greater exposure.

As for the actual content of the book, it's pretty varied.  The Concrete story is great, of course, as are Corben's barbarian and zombie story, and Ellison's interesting prose story.  I liked Carla Speed McNeil's Finder (I should totally start reading that series), and found Chelsea's Snow Angel story charming.

I can't stand Howard Chaykin, especially when he writes his own stories, and so wasn't surprised that I disliked his Marked Man.  Neal Adam's Blood was overly wordy and kind of ridiculous (not all that unlike his Batman: Odyssey), and the Frank Miller interview felt like filler.  The Star Wars story left me cold, despite some nice Gulacy artwork.

I'm hoping that future issues do a better job of finding a balance between commercial appeal, support of Dark Horse's licensed properties, and innovative comics.