Dancer #2

Written by Nathan Edmondson
Art by Nic Klein

The title of this series is a little odd, as the dancer in question is a secondary character, who is used as much as a prop as an important character.

Instead, Dancer focuses on Alan, a former assassin or secret agent for the CIA.  We learned last issue that Interpol is after him, as is a sniper who looks just like him, only younger.  In this issue, Alan learns that the government cloned him back in the seventies, and that the clone that has been shooting at him has also killed another Alan in Brazil.

Now, the clone has Alan's girlfriend, and Alan finds himself reactivated, and on the hunt.  The problem is that the clone has all of his skills, talent, and knowledge, but is also younger and doesn't have a heart condition.

The set up is a good one for this type of action thriller, and Nic Klein is more than capable of making the book look terrific.  Storywise, this reminds me a great deal of Garrison, the Wildstorm series by Jeff Mariotte and Francesco Francavilla (which received no press and has never been collected).  On some pages, Klein's layouts remind me of Francavilla's.

This book does not have the level of sophistication I've seen in some of Edmondson's other comics, like The Light and Who Is Jake Ellis?, but it's still a decent read.

Dancer #1

Written by Nathan Edmondson
Art by Nic Klein

I didn't quite know what to expect when I picked up this comic.  I know that I've enjoyed Nathan Edmondson's writing on series like Who Is Jake Ellis?, The Light, and The Activity, and that Nic Klein's work on Viking blew me away, and that was enough to guarantee this comic would be purchased.  I don't really read solicitation information or previews of comics I know I'm going to buy, preferring to be surprised, but I'd decided that this comic was going to be about a ballerina who was also a spy, government agent, or assassin.  It's not that much of a stretch really - wasn't the Black Widow a ballerina at one point or another?

Anyway, that's not the case here.  The story is about a ballerina, but it's her boyfriend who is really at the centre of the story.  When the comic opens (after a bloody prelude set in Brazil), our Irish dancer is leaving rehearsal with her American boyfriend, and they go out for coffee in Milan.  The man decides that something is going on, and gets the girl moving, before they are accosted by some men in suits.

As it turns out, this guy used to do some work for the CIA, and now it looks like he's been burned, or is wanted for some other reason.  There's not a lot of exposition, and the book reads like a cross between Jake Ellis and the Wildstorm series Garrison (that's as close as I'll get to a spoiler).  This issue ends quite abruptly, and feels like it was written as a graphic novel and not as a series.

Klein's art is pretty nice, but he doesn't mix up his style like he did in Viking, which is a shame.  I'm interested enough to check out another issue (actually, I've preordered the next two), but I'm not exactly blown out of the water here.  The book is very familiar, and I would have preferred to see something a little more original.

Weird War Tales #1

Written by Darwyn Cooke, Ivan Brandon, and Jan Strnad
Art by Darwyn Cooke, Nic Klein, Gabriel Hardman, and Steve Pugh

What a shame that this is only a one-shot.  I love war comics, and have been eying the recent single issues that DC has been putting out.  I've ignored the others because of their price, but when I saw the line-up of creators on this one, I decided it was well worth buying.

The comic opens with a story by Darwyn Cooke set in some form of afterlife for soldiers, where their skeletal remains gather each year to engage in some Olympic-style games and some debauchery.  It's a funny little story, gorgeously drawn.

Brandon and Klein (the Viking team) have a story about a submarine crew that is close to running out of fuel in the Second World War.  It's an interesting tale, with great art.  Strnad (there's a name I haven't seen in a while) and Hardman have a pretty standard, but still effective, story about the loyalty of friends during a war.  As expected, it also has great art.

I would gladly buy a mini-series or anthology graphic novel of stuff like this.  I'm sure the recent rebirth of the various old war titles is a copyright-related thing, but I would like to think that DC is testing the market for material like this.  The other one-shots have not had the same caliber of artist and writer attached to it, but this one is a gem.

Viking #5

Written by Ivan Brandon
Art by Nic Klein

To start off, this comic is beautiful. The 'golden age' size is used to great effect (unlike in Cowboy Ninja Viking, where the extra page space is just used to cram more confusion into each page), and the colours are gorgeous.

The issues with this comic all lie in the story. Basically, I find this comic very hard to understand. Maybe it will read better in trade, but I find it very hard to follow, as the plot and themes of the book seem to shift all over the place. Characters and their arcs are left stranded (the big guy wanted money before, but now he's just going to stay in the woods hugging dying deer?), while other story elements just disappear - like the cat from the last issue.

I feel like there could have been a lot to say in this comic - Brian Wood has proven that Viking comics can be awesome - but a lot more editing and story workshopping was needed. I don't know if there will (or even could) be a 'season two', but I hope it is better planned and executed.

Viking #4

Written by Ivan Brandon
Art by Nic Klein

Image's version of Northlanders returns with a pretty violent issue. The guys make their attempt to kidnap the Lord's (King's?) daughter, and as with most plans in stories like this, things don't go as they expect.

As with previous issues of Viking, it's the art that's the big draw here, as Klein uses different styles on the same page, and generally puts together a beautiful package, even if in places the storytelling can be a little hard to follow.

Viking #3

Written by Ivan Brandon
Art by Nic Klein
While this issue is not as good as the previous one, it does do a lot more to move the story forward, and set up what I assume is going to be the main purpose of this title.

Finn and Egil get pretty drunk in this issue, win a brawl, and hook up with Orm, and set out on a robbery that will link their story with the king and princess we've been seeing since the first issue. There's also some stuff with the king's servants.

This is a slow-moving book, and I sometimes find it difficult to follow some of the action, but it is a beautiful book, and I'm buying it more for the art than the story (which is rare with me). I especially like the drinking scene, where the two drunker guys take on an aura.

Viking #2

Written by Ivan Brandon
Art by Nic Klein
With the first issue of Viking, it was all about the format and the art for me. I read the story, and had to re-read it to really get a full sense of what was going on, and it left me with a number of questions.

This second issue is a much more superior comic. It is still at that inviting size, and is still beautifully drawn and coloured. If anything, the art is much improved in this issue, as it is a lot easier to figure out who the characters are, and in what way the action is taking place.

But it is the story that makes this comic so much better. Finn and Egil are now separate characters to me, and I understand why the grandfather is so frosty towards one of them (even before they return with the news they bear). The sub-plot with the king, his daughter, and his headsman still hasn't connected to the main story, but I can appreciate that Brandon is going for the slow build.

This is a very interesting comic, and I'm very glad to see that, despite similar subject matter, it's not swimming in the same water as Northlanders.

Viking #1

Written by Ivan Brandon
Art by Nic Klein

Before even talking about the content of this comic, the packaging needs to be discussed. This comic is about an inch wider than a standard comic, and the cover has two different types of finishes - the background has a matte finish, while the two figures are glossy. The paper inside is also matte, and it absorbs the colours in such a way as to make them warm and luminous. It is a beautiful book, and it is only priced at $2.99. In a comics environment where the standard book is now sometimes going for $4 a pop, this is the bargain of the week.

The comic is good too. I have to say I found the story a little confusing at first, as I wasn't quick to be able to recognize individual characters, but it still kept me intrigued enough to want to read it again, and to buy subsequent issues. There are a couple of Viking brothers, who I suppose are Viking criminals, and some other people want revenge on them. There's enough to work with there.

The big draw here is the art. Klein's pencils remind me of Ryan Kelly (very apt, as this book reminds me a lot of Northlanders), but he also has some pages that appear to be watercolours, and his colouring is fantastic. I love the use of zip tones (that's what you call the dotted stuff, right?) and the scratchy look to the art in places.

I think this title has a lot of promise, and I'm glad to see such a unique project on the stands.