Dark Horse Presents #14

Written by John Layman, Carla Speed McNeil, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Dean Motter, Mark Verheiden, Bryan Oh, Tony Puryear, Mike Baron, Bo Hampton, Robert Tinnell, Chad Lambert, Michael Avon Oeming, Nate Cosby, George Schall, Rodrigo Alonso, and Kim W. Anderson
Art by Sam Kieth, Carla Speed McNeil, Phil Noto, Dean Motter, Mark Nelson, Tony Puryear, Steve Rude, Bo Hampton, Apri Kusbiantoro, Michael Avon Oeming, Evan Shaner, George Schall, and Kim W. Anderson

This month, Dark Horse Presents is 104 pages long.  Take in the fact that that is equivalent to more than five comics from Marvel or DC, which could run you between 14.95 and 19.95, yet this book only costs $7.99.  Clearly, the fine people at Dark Horse know how to give you value for your money.  Even if you don't love every story in here, you only need to love half of them or less to feel that you got your money's worth, right?

For me, as always, the Finder story is worth the price of admission.  This month's instalment is great.  Jaegar is still hanging out in Third World, the contested and unorganized region far outside the domed cities or tribal lands where he usually spends his time.  He comes across a cemetery in a field that is at the centre of a large, and loud, dispute between various factions.  It seems that a hotel corporation wants to build on the field, and were paying to relocate the bodies buried there.  That's all good, but a large number of previously unknown bodies have been found, and they are clearly Ascian.  Ascians, like Jaegar, are an indigenous people in McNeil's world, and the story can be read as a comment on problems that exist in North America today around sacred Aboriginal ground and the balancing act needed between tradition, cultural sensitivity, and the needs of commerce and current lifestyles.  But, this being Finder, it's not long before Jaegar finds himself stuck in the middle, and being perhaps, the only person who can resolve this issue, whether he wants to or not.  Great stuff, although I was hoping we'd see a little more of Professor Shar.

Also of note this month is the return of Tony Puryear's excellent Concrete Park strip.  It's been a little while, so I was a little lost as to what's going on, but I'm really enjoying Puryear's gangsta sci-fi.

Dean Motter's Mister X wrapped up in this issue.  This was a good enough story, but not among Motter's greatest.  Kelly Sue DeConnick and Phil Noto's Ghost works well, and John Layman and Sam Kieth's Aliens is much improved.

Nexus, by Mike Baron and Steve Rude, still doesn't appeal to me, but I did make it through this whole story about invasive alien bugs and a creepy space ship that has been in orbit around Ylam for fourteen years.

There are a number of new strips that debut this month.  Some are one-offs, and others are set to continue.  Some, I'm not sure if this is it or not.  Mark Verheiden (been a long time since I've seen his name), Bryan Oh, and Mark Nelson have a good story about humans fighting an alien invasion in Falling Skies.  It's a little familiar, but it's well told. 

Bo Hampton and Robert Tinnell begin Riven, a creepy monster story involving a strange little girl adopted out of a Romanian orphanage right after Ceaucescu's regime fell.  This story is full of suspense, and hinges on many successful little details.  I was pretty impressed by it, and look forward to seeing where it goes.

Radio Ga Ga is a memoir by Chad Lambert and drawn by Apri Kubiantoro (whose work reminds me of Francesco Francavilla, only rougher).  Lambert tells a story about his radio days, when a joke he made on the air was reported to the Secret Service as a threat to President Clinton's life.  Lambert writes this like a Harvey Pekar story, a fact driven home as he narrates it in a comic store, in front of an issue of American Splendor.  I love this story simply for the fact that it references WKRP...

Michael Avon Oeming's Wild Rover is a dark little tale about a man who is convinced that his vices are being caused by an evil entity in his stomach.  This is a very piercing story that shows a side of Oeming that I haven't seen in his work before.

Buddy Cops, by Nate Cosby and Evan Shaner, is a fun little strip about a Green Lantern-like galactic protector who has been demoted to serving on the NYPD, and his super-serious android partner.  It's cute.

A Spy Dream, by George Schall with writing assist by Rodrigo Alonso is a very cool little story about a female spy who dreams about settling down with her lover, who is on the other side, or is conversely about a bored housewife who dreams about being a spy.  It's beautifully drawn.

Finally (I'm not going to mention the short humour strips, as they don't appeal to me at all), there's Love Hurts, Kim W. Anderson's strip about a woman who meets the perfect guy in the park.  There's a sinister side to his knowledge of all her favourite things though.  It doesn't help that the guy looks just like Steve Buscemi.

In all, a very satisfying heap of comics for a good price.

Dark Horse Presents #13

Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, John Arcudi, Carla Speed McNeil, Steve Niles, John Layman, Tim Seeley, Francesco Francavilla, Andrew Vachss, Mike Baron, and Dean Motter
Art by Phil Noto, Jonathan Case, Carla Speed McNeil, Christopher Mitten, Sam Kieth, Victor Drujiniu, Francesco Francavilla, Geof Darrow, Steve Rude, and Dean Motter

Sometimes I worry that this anthology is not always the best place for some of the comics that Dark Horse is presenting in it.  Lately, they've begun stories in DHP, and then spun them off into their own mini-series (such as Resident Alien) or on-goings (like The Massive).  In the latter's case, the stories were clearly serving an introductory role, and that was fine, but in the case of Resident Alien, the story was simply begun here, and then continued elsewhere, which makes it a tough story to follow for readers of this book, or for people who picked up the first issue, and would have had no clue what was going on (the DHP stories were printed again in a '0' issue).

I bring this up, because the 'concluding' chapter to Steve Niles and Christopher Mittens's Criminal Macabre story this month just stops; it doesn't really end.  At least the Occultist, which also concludes this month, more or less finished its story, while still setting things up to be returned to later down the road.

On the positive side, and worth the purchase of the book, is the new Finder story by Carla Speed McNeil.  She is continuing to examine the lives of Ascians in the region called Third World, as Jaeger and his new friend help an artist trying to sell her paintings.  At the contemporary museum, her work is too 'archaeological' and indigenous, but at the archaeology museum, her work is too contemporary, a trap which many indigenous and minority painters find themselves in.  There is a surprise return of an older character at the end of the story, which made me happy, but which would be utterly puzzling to a new reader.  I wish that McNeil was providing footnotes to these stories.

Also of interest this month is the continuation of Dean Motter's Mister X story, and John Arcudi and Jonathan Case's The Creep, which is excellent.  The Aliens story, by John Layman and Sam Kieth is a little better than its debut chapter, and Francesco Francavilla's Black Beetle is pretty, if also pretty standard.

The return of The Ghost, by Kelly Sue DeConnick didn't excite me too much, but it's an interesting story created by two very gifted comics creators; I'm going to see where it leads before I pass judgement. 

Andrew Vachss's prose story of child predators on the internet and the motley collection of freaks who hunt them down for profit was disturbing and weird, but not in a good way.  Nexus is boring.

Dark Horse Presents #12

Written by John Layman, John Arcudi, Carla Speed McNeil, Steve Niles, Evan Dorkin, Tim Seeley, Francesco Francavilla, Dean Motter, Mike Baron, Harlan Ellison, and Mike Russell
Art by Sam Kieth, Jonathan Case, Carla Speed McNeil, Christopher Mitten, Evan Dorkin, Victor Drujiniu, Francisco Francavilla, Dean Motter, Steve Rude, Richard Corben, Mike Russell, and Geof Darrow

A few new serials begin with this issue of Dark Horse Presents, which is always a good thing, as it shows that this title is constantly evolving and trying new things, or as is more the case with this issue, returning to its roots.

One of the new series is Mister X, Dean Motter's classic examination of the effect of architecture on weak minds, set in a Deco-styled environment.  I've been a fan of this series for a long time, so it's very nice to see it come back, even if this first installment is mostly just set-up for a new story involving the kidnapping of an heir to a pyschotropic pharmaceutical empire.

We also see the return of Aliens to DHP.  This property is one of the ones that Dark Horse made its name by publishing back in the day, but this first chapter didn't do much for me.  John Layman's writing was fine (if miles away from the tone he uses on Chew), but Sam Kieth couldn't make up his mind between drawing beautiful and detailed images (the first three pages) or aping Kyle Baker at his worst (the rest of it).

Also showing up for the first time in many years is Mike Baron and Steve Rude's Nexus, which I've never read before now.  I wasn't too impressed, really.  This reads like an Adam Strange story, and while Rude's art is always lovely, I wouldn't pursue this story into its own title.

There is also a prose story by Harlan Ellison, with a couple of illustrations by Richard Corben.  I've always admired Ellison more in terms of reputation than his actual writing, and this story did not hold my interests.  Likewise, I had to give up on Evan Dorkin's story about zombie cosplayers, which was way too wordy for me.

The new chapter of Finder, however, was brilliant once again.  Carla Speed McNeil has Jaeger examining the region called Third World, and this leads to some interesting conversations about class distinction, 'First World' ego, and the place of nomadic tribes like the Ascians in the world.  I miss her detailed footnotes, but am extremely happy whenever another chapter of Finder shows up.

I also enjoyed the new chapters of Francavilla's Black Beetle and Seeley and Drujiniu's The Occultist.  Arcudi and Case's The Creep was also very good.  The Criminal Macabre story held my interests more than it usually does too.

In all, another successful issue for this meaty anthology comic.

Myspace Dark Horse Presents Vol. 3

Various creators

To be honest, there's not much to say about this volume that would be different from my thoughts on the first two.  Dark Horse appears to be using their Myspace digital platform as a way of advertising existing properties or upcoming series through short pieces that work as a sampling menu of the greater Dark Horse line.

Anything with a Beanworld story in it can't be too bad, and while this is a nice little bit about recycling, it doesn't add much to the Beanworld mythos.  I also liked Becky Cloonan's (I know, shocking that I liked this) short story about a man plagued by nightmares, Chris Onstad's Achewood piece, and the Serenity and Buffy the Vampire Slayer shorts.

Some other pieces had potential, but didn't go very far.  The Mister X piece and the Applegeeks story are good examples of this.  One piece that stood out for weirdness and originality was the Creepy: Om Nom Nom story by Andrew Mayer and Lukas Ketner.

Overall, this book is enjoyable, but not particularly memorable.

Noir: A Collection of Crime Comics

This slim book contains thirteen black and white short stories of remarkably consistent quality.

The 'noir revival' of recent years in comics has been a very welcome thing.  Books like Criminal have reinvigorated interest in the genre, and many top talents are beginning to write and draw stories that can be considered 'noir'.  This book is not simply an attempt to cash in on the whole thing (like Marvel has with their Noir line), but is instead a sampling of creators already working in the genre, or are otherwise up and comers or big names in the crime comics category.

This book does feature some established properties, such as a Criminal short by Brubaker and Phillips that is completely stand-alone in terms of characters and plotting.  There is a Mister X story by Dean Motter, a Kane story by Paul Grist, and a Stray Bullets story by David Lapham (featuring Virgina Applejack, no less!).

The rest of the book features work by personal favorites such as Jeff Lemire, who returns to a farm setting for a dark-hearted little tale; MK Perker (from Air); and Brian Azzarello, Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá retell a familiar story about a heist and a necklace from the thief's perspective.  

Also included in the book is a story by Rick Geary (of course - it wouldn't be a Dark Horse compilation if he wasn't in it) and Eduardo Barreto, Stefano Gaudiano, Kano, Gary Phillips, and others.  This book makes me pine for the days of Dark Horse Presents (the non-Myspace version), where I could revel in a collection of short stories that were almost always at this level of quality.

This book is only $13 - that's one dollar per story.  I highly recommend picking it up, and hope to see more produced in this fashion.

Mister X: Condemned #4

by Dean Motter

I've enjoyed this series, yet at the same time, I feel like Motter was trying to squeeze too much into these four issues. I just found that the scene jumps were a little too jarring, and I wasn't always sure of who characters were. I really feel like this title will read better in a trade format, or in one sitting.

That said, I like the ideas in this series a lot - and the concepts of Mechanitectonics and Kinetecture are very interesting ones.

I'm not sure if there are plans for more Mister X stories after this one - it would be interesting to see Motter continue to play with Radiant City.

Mister X Condemned #3

by Dean Motter

One of the things that I like best about this series is the way in which Mister X, the central character, gets so little 'screen time'. Instead, Motter tells the story through the supporting characters, using a number of different plot-lines to reveal the entire story.

There's a cool escape by the title character at the beginning of this issue, and some great scenes of the Memory Bank, a re-imagined Internet run using switchboards and 'internettes' (I love that word).

I'm looking forward to this series concluding next issue.

Mister X Condemned #2

By Dean Motter

The first issue of this series spent most of its time setting up its plot and characters, but now that all of that is out of the way, Motter has the opportunity to start running with his story, creating a much more fast-paced, but still character-driven, issue.

Mister X's return is explained briefly, but there is no mention of where he has been during his absence from the city he created. He is seeking out his plans, which have been hidden throughout the city, including in the offices of Zamora, the local crime boss.

This series is quite enjoyable, and any comic including dialogue like "Law enforcement isn't the answer. Achitecture is!" is a must-buy in my books.

Mister X Condemned #1

by Dean Motter

It's good to see this back. I remember reading a trade of some of the Los Bros. Hernandez issues back when I was in my early teens, and being fascinated with the idea that architecture can influence peoples' mental state to that degree (this was years before I'd heard of feng shui).

Now Motter has returned to Radiant City, and it's buildings are being torn down as a part of the New Broom initiative. Motter makes this issue very accessible to new readers - spending most of the book establishing characters and motivations, but also re-creating the feel of this futuristic city.

I've always appreciated Motter's style of retro-futurism. Sure, cars fly here, but journalists also have pneumatic tubes dropping off assignments at their desks. One character name drops Terminal City - another Motter classic.

Motter's art here is beautiful. His lines are thick and solid, and his buildings and giant robots convey a consistency of design principles. I think I may have to go buy the new archive edition Dark Horse has put out.....