A.D.D.

Written by Douglas Rushkoff
Art by Goran Sudzuka and Jose Marzan Jr.

Douglas Rushkoff can be a difficult writer to read.  His Vertigo series Testament was a clear case of ambition not being met by the material (it was about how Old Testament stories were living in a future where young people are under close government control).  With A.D.D., Rushkoff returns to some of the same themes, minus the Biblical aspect, but is more successful because the scope of the story is much more contained in this thin original graphic novel.

The words acronym ADD stands for Adolescent Demo Division, a team of video gamers who have been raised in isolation to be be experts in their fields, as well as media stars.  The ADD kids are beginning to show some special abilities, such as main character Lionel's ability to 'dekh' images that lie behind screen images.

When team leader, and Lionel's best friend, Karl, 'levels up', most of his teammates are jealous of him, but when he later turns up dead, Lionel and his few remaining friends spring into action to expose the truth behind Nextgen Inc., and the ADD's kids histories.

Rushkoff employs lots of futuristic slang that isn't always easily understood (I kept thinking of 'dekh' as meaning roughly 'grok'), but his message about media manipulation and corporate dominance of individual thought is pretty clear.

It was nice to see Goran Sudzuka's art on this book; I haven't seen much from this artist since his fill-in arcs on Y the Last Man, and I've always enjoyed his work.

In all, this is a decent read, which does raise some important points.

Jack of Fables #40

Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Russ Braun, Andrew Pepoy, and Jose Marzan Jr.

I really don't know what to think about this title any more. The first thirty-five issues or so work quite well as a long story, detailing Jack's adventures with the Literals. The Great Fables Crossover ended any chance of future stories including them, and effectively neutered Gary (the former Pathetic Fallacy). Now Jack is a giant dragon, and wants to eat, sleep, and guard his horde.

To quote Babe the Ox, in this issue, "That's just too boring, even for me."

So, the book has more or less gone through a soft relaunch, and is focusing on Jack's son, Jack Frost, and his efforts in the hero business. That's all fine and good, except that these stories aren't really Vertigo material, and have very little (to this point) connection to the goings on in the main Fables book. Basically, this series has become a slightly knowing and clever retread of classic 'hero quest' stories, but with only a modicum of the sophisticated humour that made the earlier issues of Jack so good.

And so, I think I'm moving on. I'm going to pick up the next issue, but if it doesn't do it for me, I'm going to be saying good-bye to this title. I have a lot of respect for Willingham (and have been cultivating some respect for Sturges), but lately they seem to be making some mis-steps (without even talking about the Justice Society). Presumably, someone is happy with the newer direction for this title, as sales seem pretty stable. I guess I'll see how I feel in a month...

Jack of Fables #39

Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Russ Braun, Andrew Pepoy, and Jose Marzán Jr.

I find myself increasingly on the fence about this title. This issue was stronger than the last, but I can't escape a general sense of aimlessness in this book.

Jack's recent changes are explained in an amusing development at the end of the book. Jack Frost, meanwhile, displays some intelligence as he takes on two heroic commissions at once, but I think a big part of the problem with this book is that I don't much care about Jack Frost yet.

Babe the blue ox gets the best page in the comic again, although I'm not quite sure what's going on with him - did he just wander off from Jack and Gary?

Also - what's with the cover? I love Bolland's work, but this has nothing to do with the contents, or even the themes, of this issue. This title has two more issues to show me some promise, or I'm going to be saying goodbye.

Jack of Fables #38

Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Russ Braun, José Marzán Jr, and Andrew Pepoy

I think the problem with The New Adventures of Jack and Jack is that the usual Jack has become a little played out.

Willingham and Sturges have split this arc between our usual hero, who is now fat, bald and hungry, and his son, Jack Frost, who is on a quest to prove himself as a hero.

The regular Jack part of the book reads as pretty stale, while the Jack Frost section is more interesting, if pretty standard in its execution and approach. My concern is that now that the Literals storyline is complete, after a build up of some thirty-five issues, there's not much left to be said about the Jacks.

While the quality of the comic is quite high in a mechanical sense, I don't feel like I'm reading something new, which was how I always felt in the earlier days of this title. I hope something changes soon, or I can see dropping this off my pull-list.

Jack of Fables #37

Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Russ Braun and Jose Marzan Jr.
With the close of the Great Fables Crossover, and the resolution of nearly three year's worth of stories pitting Jack up against the Literals, this book needs to find something new to do. Apparently, that involves shining the spotlight on Jack Frost, Jack's son, as he gets the majority of pages in this book.

Young Jack travels to the heart of the Empire, renounces his parentage and his mother's abilities, gets into a fight with some deserters, and makes friends with a wooden owl. It was a good start to his adventures, but didn't feel like new ground. Instead, it feels like the beginnings of a new buddy movie.

The Jack who this book is usually about only shows up for a few pages, wherein he gets treated poorly by the artist, in a way reminiscent of some old Warner Brothers cartoons. All we needed was the big hand and pencil. Personally, I thought that we would be done with the fourth wall stuff, now that the Literals are gone.

I think this title might be finding itself falling off my pull list, if the next issue doesn't restore some of the things I like about this book....

Jack of Fables #36

Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Tony Akins and Jose Marzan Jr.

I guess that Willingham and Sturges took a month off after their giant crossover, and as they are working on JSA and other titles now, as this issue is written by Chris Roberson, who I've never heard of before.

Whoever he is, he has a good feel for Jack, and the way flashback stories in this book tend to work. In this issue, Jack tells Gary about his time as 'Lord of the Jungle', when he came across a group of talking Fable apes in Western Africa back in the day.

This is a fun, amusing story. It brings back a lot of the elements that I'd missed in the book the last few months. The art, as usual, is excellent.

I don't want to see Willingham and Sturges leave this title for long, but I think that Roberson would be a good person to tap into for future one-offs like this.

Jack of Fables #35

Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Russ Braun and Jose Marzan Jr.

This is the penultimate chapter of the Great Fables Crossover, and by necessity, the pace has picked up quite a bit. Snow, Bigby, the Page Sisters, and company are still in a firefight with the Genres, until Bigby, still trapped in the body of a little girl, takes matters into his own hands. Ol' Sam does his best to deal with Kevin Thorne, and Jack Frost arrives to complete his quest.

Most shocking of all, Babe gets two pages, instead of just one (and of course, they are the best two pages in the book).

The finale of this crossover is looking to be pretty interesting - I have had mixed feelings about this whole thing, but I have faith that Willingham and Sturges will be able to pull off an excellent ending.

Jack of Fables #34

Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Russ Braun and Jose Marzan Jr.

The Great Fables Crossover continues, and while this issue has plenty of decent moments, overall, I'm beginning to feel like the Crossover isn't a little padded and drawn out.

In this issue, Bigby gets transformed into a few different things, and Kevin Thorn discovers that it is his twin brother, Writers Block, that is causing his difficulties in re-writing reality (and is the guy in the straight jacket we keep seeing). Not much more than that happens.

I think it is a strange choice to not have Jack appear in his own title, but to keep the silliness and cartoon-ish art that it is known for. I hope, when the dust settles on this story, that the two titles will diverge in their styles once again, as I rather like the more serious nature of Fables, while still enjoying the usual madness that is Jack of Fables.

On the positive side, it's good to see Brian Bolland draw the monkey from Animal Man #25. Does this mean that Bigby has been transformed into Grant Morrison?

Jack of Fables #33

Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Russ Braun and Jose Marzan Jr.

The Great Fables Crossover is well underway, and the story is starting to take shape. Jack, Bigby, and Snow, along with Revise, the Page Sisters, Gary (who is now going to be Bigby's sidekick), and the rest of the Golden Boughs crew are going to hunt down Kevin Thorn before he has the chance to destroy reality.

Following the tradition of all comic cross-overs and team-ups, Jack and Bigby get into a fight that takes up a good deal of this issue, but now that it's out of the way, things can get started (except, of course, for the last page's events). This is looking like it's going to be a fun story, and as always with this title, it's the little character moments, like Snow White meeting up with Carl, the fourth little pig, that make the book.

Also of interest is a sub-plot set long ago and far away involving Jack's son with the Snow Queen. I'm not sure if that's going to be dealt with in the Crossover, or if Willingham and Sturges are setting the stage for the next storyline, and hoping to attract some new readers...

Jack of Fables #32

Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Tony Akins, Jose Marzan JR and Dan Green

This issue makes up the last of the Books of War, as the characters have finished the fight with Bookburner, and now must plan their next move. The Golden Boughs are destroyed, and while some of the newly-freed Fables decide to make their way to Fabletown, another group decide to stick with Revise and make plans to deal with Kevin Thorn. Jack and his group travel with Revise, and Jack learns a lot of new information about his provenance.

This issue is, I imagine, essential to understanding next month's Great Fables Crossover, so much so that it should have been labeled as a prologue for the benefits of anyone who doesn't read both titles.

As usual, this title is very funny. I especially liked Jack's recounting of the end of the war, in which he appeared looking rather like a 90's style hero, while still in his general's uniform.

I think it will be interesting to see how Willingham and Sturges blend this title's brand of humour with the decidedly more serious main title during this crossover.

Jack of Fables #31

Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Tony Akins and Jose Marzan Jr.

The Books of War arc continues in this, the Book of Reversals. Bookburner has the Golden Boughs in a tough place, forcing Revise to take some very serious measures in an attempt to basically save his life and keep the Fables that are with him safe.

This involves revising his revisions, as he turns the Fables back into their original selves (with attachments, in some cases), and freeing three Native American Fables who he kept chained up under a rock.

The ending doesn't explain too much, but does make me look forward to the next issue. This series seems to be getting better each month, and I feel that Willingham and Sturges are really laying down the groundwork for the up-coming Fables crossover.

Jack of Fables #30

Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Tony Akins, Russ Braun, and Jose Marzan Jr.

This issue continues the excellent Books of War arc, as the siege of the Golden Boughs becomes even more complicated by some fifth column work by Goldilocks, and the rage of the Pathetic Fallacy. This arc works on ground that was laid back in the first issues of this title, and is a very satisfying read for that reason.

It also details a little more of the history of the Literals, and the work that Revise has been doing for a very long time. Willingham and Sturges are able to step back in time to fill in their readers on essential backstory, without taking away from the sense of urgency that this issue is permeated with.

The 'Babe the Blue Ox' page in this issue is one of the funniest ones yet.

House of Mystery #9

Written by Matthew Sturges and Bill Willingham
Art by Lucca Rossi, Jose Marzan Jr., and Bernie Wrightson

I still can't make up my mind about this title. I was about ready to drop it, but then realized that this issue was going to feature art by Bernie Wrightson. It's really good art too. The sequence that he did with Willingham is by far the best part of the book. And I think that's the problem with this title. The main conceit of having a story within each issue's story was an attractive one - especially when you look at the list of talent they've tapped to produce them, but I think it is confining the main story into too small a box, making it difficult to attach oneself to the characters or their situation.

Honestly, I don't think I care about what's happening in the House. I liked the idea of it all in the first arc, but now that there are people wandering around a giant basement fighting giant monsters, I've lost interest. The appearance of Fig's father isn't adding to the story for me - I find it annoying.

But then, the stories told in the book are really, really good......

Jack of Fables #29

Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Tony Akins and Jose Marzan Jr.

The Battle of the Golden Boughs heats up, as Bookburner's army pushes their advance, and meet up with Jack's army. Jack, of course, is off somewhere else eating tacos and supplying a gripping narrative on what is expected of true heroes and leaders during war.

This comic is as good as always. Willingham and Sturges have set a huge story in motion, and it feels, as the stakes get higher, that it's reaching its denouement. This issue features the return of a character not seen since the original escape from the Golden Boughs, and the mighty war prowress of the Moose with the Juice.

My only other thought is that the Knife-Johns look like they would better belong in the Grant Morrison era Doom Patrol.

House of Mystery #8

Written by Matthew Sturges
Art by Luca Rossi, Jose Marzan Jr., and Henry Flint

I think I'm permanently on the fence about this comic. I like so many things about it - the idea of a bar where people trade stories, the story-in-a-story approach (especially considering the calibre of artists they are using), and I like a few of the characters.

The only thing holding this book back for me is the generally slow pace at which things progress in the on-going part of the story. Now, obviously, the framing story does not have as many pages as a regular comic to move through, but I feel sometimes like very little has happened in a given issue.

This issue, for example, does a great job of giving us some much-needed back-story concerning Harry the bartender, and even has an appearance from Abel and Goldie, the former dwellers of the House. The framing story gives us some random debauchery, and some weird creatures, leading to a surprise ending that didn't surprise me so much as confuse me again.

The art provided by Flint is quite different from his work on Haunted Tank, but still quite nice. The main story art, by Rossi, is serviceable. I'm starting to wonder what the deal is with Vertigo books and Italian artists, but that's a post for another day.....

Anyway, I'm sticking with this title through the end of this arc, and then I'm going to have to decide. I'd like to see something to give me faith in an overall plan for this title.

Jack of Fables #28

Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Tony Akins and Jose Marzan Jr.

When this series started, I wasn't sure how Willingham and Sturges could find enough material to keep the book going, without it becoming too much like Fables. Now we're 28 issues in, and I don't see a quick ending to the myriad of plot-lines and potential stories that have been set up with this diverse supporting cast.

The battle between Revise and Bookburner looms, and Jack inserts himself as the military leader for Revise's imprisoned Fables community. Jack, of course, is still just trying to figure out how he can have 'special grownup time' with all three Page sisters at the same time.

The humour is what makes this book, and this issue is no different (even if Babe the Blue Ox is apparently suffering from a form of writer's block). The cover by Brian Bolland is brilliant - it matches the tone of the book perfectly.