The CBLDF Presents Liberty Annual 2011

Written by Matt Wagner, JH Williams III, AJ Lieberman, Brandon Montclare, Steve Niles, Carla Speed McNeil, Kazim Ali, J. Michael Straczynski, Dara Haraghi, Judd Winick, Richard Starkings, Mark Waid, and Dave Grilli
Art by Fábio Moon, Gabriel Bá, Matt Wagner, JH Williams III, Riley Rossmo, Joelle Jones, Michael Montenat, Carla Speed McNeil, Craig Thompson, Kevin Sacco, Christopher Mitten, Thiago Micalopulous, Rodney Ramos, Shaky Kane, Boo Cook, Jeff Lemire, and J. Gonzo

I've never bought an issue of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund's Liberty Annual before, but seeing a number of creators I admire attached to it, I figured it was time to give it a try.  As with any anthology like this, the stories within are a pretty mixed bag, but I definitely admire the goals of the organization, which provides legal assistance to people in the comic book world who face censorship or legal difficulties related to comics.  The CBLDF is a champion of free speech, and as such, the stories and strips in this book are concerned with promoting that freedom.

There is a large emphasis in this issue on the rights of gay, lesbian, and transgendered people.  Many stories focus on that, but none more effectively than Kazim Ali's memoir strip, which is beautifully drawn by Craig Thompson.  Compared to it, Matt Wagner's story, which features Hunter Rose, feels amateurish and ham-fisted.

Also of note in this book is JMS's rant about the separation of church and state, which raises some good points, and Mark Waid and Jeff Lemire's defense of superhero worship in children.  Carla Speed McNeil has a strip about her child, who has Down's Syndrome, and the ridiculousness of trying to maintain a vocabulary that doesn't cause offense.  Dara Haraghi and Christopher Mitten contribute an interesting story about growing up in Revolutionary Iran, which would be a nice companion to a story in the last issue of Dark Horse Presents.

Another item that is worthy of discussion in this book is the nude Elephantmen, just because that's not something you see everyday.

This is a very decent anthology, and really, anyone who loves comics should be willing to plunk down the $5 to help support the cause.

The Hellboy Project: Hellboy Weird Tales Vol. 2

by too many people to list

It's always cool when new people get to play with someone's toys, especially when a character or property is so tied to one particular style or aesthetic.  The first volume of Weird Tales was pretty exciting, but this second one felt a little less satisfying.

There are some really good stories in here - I liked Kev Walker's Johann Kraus story (really, I like Johann a lot), and Jim Starlin's take on Hellboy, as well as JH Williams's amazing homage to teen slasher flicks.  Scott Morse, Jill Thompson, and Evan Dorkin provided amusing or whimsical tales, and the Will Pfeiffer/P. Craig Russell contribution is of course beautiful, but I found I didn't really get into many of the stories.  It seemed to me more like a bunch of exercises that are technically very skilled, but emotionally vacant.

I good example of that would be the John Cassaday Lobster Johnson story.  It's written in the form of a Sunday paper strip, with yellowed paper and dates that place it in the 1930s, but it works in bondage gags.  I found myself skipping over it; it just seemed a little too precious for me.  I felt similarly towards the Tommy Lee Edwards story - I just didn't really get it.

Oh well, this was never meant to be canon, and was a pretty cool concept, even if it didn't always work out in execution.

Promethea Volume 5

Written by Alan Moore
Art by J.H. Williams III and Mick Gray

It's hard to be critical of a comic this beautiful, but Alan Moore's intent in Promethea was not so much to tell a gripping story as to expound on his own knowledge and beliefs in the tarot, and other arcane things.

This volume starts quite conventionally for this series, with Promethea in hiding in Millennium, the home town of Tom Strong and his compatriots, who get asked by the FBI to help find her. Because she is discovered (in her Sophie form), she now has to end the world (for reasons that are not clear, nor memorable from the last volume).

From there, the book moves into the kind of random, although very scholarly mumbo-jumbo of the last two volumes, and the world ends, and then somehow continues, just in a different, nicer form. After that is the epilogue to the series, more about which in a moment.

As always with Promethea, the draw is Williams's art. As with the other volumes, he employs a number of different techniques and styles throughout the book, relying heavily on photo-referenced work for the scenes where the world is ending, and all fictional realities become real. The pièce de résistance of the book is the final issue of the series, which was originally printed as a huge fold-out double-sided poster, showing two images of Promethea in the background, while the character narrates another essay on magic. It's visually quite stunning when read as individual pages, and a small fold-out page is included in the back of the book to give you a scaled-down representation of the original work.

In the final analysis, I think reading Promethea was too much like going to wizard school to be totally enjoyable, but the series did have a number of very enjoyable moments (I would buy an issue of the Weeping Gorilla if I could) and was visually so inventive as to be worthy of an honored space on any shelf.

Promethea Volume 4

Written by Alan Moore
Art by JH Williams and Mick Gray

There is very little in the first four issues collected here that is different from volume 3 of the series. Sophie and Barbara continue their journey through the higher realms of the Immateria, or through the Kabbalah, or something like that. Whatever - it's a ton of mystical gobbledygook, made entertaining because of the incredible art of JH Williams. He recreates the visual language of each issue to match it to the spiritual concept being explored in Moore's script. The whole thing is lovely, but a little dull.

Once Sophie returns to the real world, things pick up quite a bit. Stacia, her best friend and substitute Promethea during his absence does not want to give back her power (or the shared existences she has been enjoying with one of the earlier Prometheas), and things get physical very quickly. This in turn leads to a trial in the Immateria, presided over by King Solomon himself, to sort things out.

The volumes end on this lighter note, providing a much needed breather from the pretentiousness of its beginning.

Promethea Volume 3

Written by Alan Moore
Art by JH Williams III and Mick Gray
Promethea, in its third volume, no longer worries too much about having a story to tell. Sure, there are the trappings of a story: Sophie is worried about Barbara's spirit, and so travels into the higher realms of the Immateria to find her, and then when she finds her, goes on a quest with her to help her find the spirit of her lost husband. While she's gone, Stacia merges with one of the other Promethea's, beats up some bad guys, then some good guys, and goes after the mayor.

Really though, what's going on here is the journey through Alan Moore's world view. There's tons of Kabbalistic mysticism, symbolism, imagery, and strange guest appearances. I suppose, if you have a strong grounding in magic, this stuff would be quite meaningful to you, but it sort of comes across as mumbo jumbo.

What saves this book, is Williams incredible artwork. I know he's getting a lot of praise for his work on Detective Comics right now, which is gorgeous, but in a lot of ways, this stuff here is better. The scene where Sophie and Barb walk a Moebius strip is incredible stuff. This really is a comic that is read for the art.

Promethea Volume 2

Written by Alan Moore
Art by JH Williams and Mick Gray

I think reading Promethea one volume at a time is a mistake. The title doesn't really lend itself to six-issue collections, as it doesn't appear to be written in arcs; instead Moore has a large vision of his story, and I feel like it was meant to be read continuously.

This volume mostly deals with Sophie trying to learn about magic as a way of mastering the abilities of Promethea. She pokes around the Immateria with the last of the other Prometheas, has tantric sex with an old man, and spends an issue learning about the Tarot from the snakes on her Cadaceus.

Moore's writing here is exceptionally clever - especially the last issue in the book, but also a little dull in parts. I found that last issue a tough read.

The real strength in this title is JH Williams and Mick Grays' art. This book is visually amazing, as Williams plays around with different styles and approaches, including photography. His inventiveness makes this completely stunning.

I wish this creative team would reunite and do a Weeping Gorilla special....