Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards

Written by Jim Ottaviani
Art by Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon)

I remember that this historical graphic novel was promoted in a Free Comic Book Day giveaway back when it was first published, and it caught my attention as entertaining and original, but I never got around to buying a copy until not that long ago.

Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards: A Tale of Edward Drinker Cope, Othniel Charles Marsh, and the Gilded Age of Paleontology is a book that looks at the (un)professional rivalry between two giants of the field of Paleontology at the end of the nineteenth century.  Edward Drinker Cope is an obsessive collector of dinosaur fragments, constantly looking to expound on his theories (even to German-speaking fellow coach passengers) and promote his ideas, well beyond his meagre financial capabilities after losing most of his money in some bad mining investments.  Othniel Charles Marsh is a fatuous gasbag whose inheritance and social position has provided him great privilege in bending the ears of influential people in Washington DC.

To say that these two men hate each other is to minimize the extent of their feelings for one another.  Marsh plants fake fossils in the badlands in hopes of discrediting Cope, and has him removed from his lucrative position in the US Geological Survey.  Cope never misses a chance to put down Marsh, and carries around documents that disprove his rival's theories that he has sewn into the front of his pants for safe keeping.  Along the way, we meet some of their other colleagues or acquaintances, including Charles R. Knight, the artist whose dinosaur paintings were responsible for constructing the public attitude towards dinosaurs to today.

Ottaviani does a great job of exploring these two eccentrics, and carefully documents the places in his story where fact is stranger than fiction.  I'm always attracted to well-sourced historical fiction, and so found the notes in the back almost as enjoyable as the story itself.

What really struck me was the casual, dismissive attitudes of both scientists towards their lives' work.  They were more interested in mashing pieces together to form their preconceived idea of the larger puzzle, and were usually much more interested in showing up the other than conducting proper scholarship.  This is a book about ego more than anything else.

The Cannon brothers do fine work in this black and white comic.  I started to get a real feel for these characters based upon their appearances and facial expressions.

In all, this is a very enjoyable book.  It might be a little hard to track down, but it's worth it, especially for anyone with an interest in the intersections of history, science, and paleontology.

Fables #113

Written by Bill Willingham
Art by Rick Leonardi, Ron Randall, P. Craig Russell, Zander Cannon, Jim Fern, Ramon Bachs, and Adam Hughes

Every once in a while in Fables, we get the equivalent of a clip show.  In this issue, Willingham works with a number of highly talented artists to give us a few short stories about some of the lesser-known characters that make up the gigantic ensemble cast of this series. 

We're given the classic story (drawn by P. Craig Russell!) of an adulterous princess who is transformed into a turtle, destined to always carry her homeland in a teacup on her back.  Later, we're given a story about some of the people who live on the islands that float in that cup (drawn by Ramon Bachs).

Zander Cannon and Jim Fern (a very nice combination) draw the longest story, about a sorcerer who casts a spell on Gepetto and the Emperor back in the homelands which has a long-lasting positive effect on Fabletown centuries later (and helps explain some ancient plot points in the earlier days of this series). 

Finally, we are given a short piece explaining the reason for the amorous interest of a porcupine in human women.  This story is drawn by Adam Hughes - when is the last time he drew the interiors of anything?

This is a fun issue, but ultimately rather forgettable.  I suppose Mark Buckingham needed a break or something, and I'm not going to begrudge that, but I would like to get back to what is happening at the Farm, and the eventual return of our favourite Fables to New York.

Lucifer Vol. 11: Evensong

Written by Mike Carey
Art by Zander Cannon, Peter Gross, Aaron Alexovich, Dean Ormston, Ryan Kelly, and Jon J. Muth

There was a stretch of time, through the second half of Carey's 75-issue long Lucifer series, where I was becoming less and less impressed with the book.  The art was always lovely, and Carey's writing was pretty strong, but I found that I was starting to lose interest in the plot, as it became more and more about the second war in heaven, and was losing its focus on the supporting cast that made this comic so good.

At the core of my displeasure was the fact that Lucifer, as a character, was never very interesting.  I never found myself caring about his plans, or his rage at his father.  What I liked were the creatures he'd surrounded himself with.

This final volume, which collects the last five issues of the series, wisely spends less time with Lucifer than it does with his crew, and for that reason, I found it to be an excellent send off.  Elaine, taking on her new role in the universe, spends a little time saying good-bye to her companions.  The book starts with her visiting a Centaur storytelling contest, where she meets an old acquaintance, and gains some positive human experience (I can't think of a better artist than Zander Cannon to tell this story).  Later, Elaine has a 'girls' night' with Mazikeen, Spera, Jill Presto, and Mona that is poignant and funny, and helps bring all of these characters' arcs to a close.  There is also a final Gaudium story, which is always a nice addition.

Of course, the central part of the book is the last meeting between Lucifer and Jahweh, after Carey gives us a retrospective look at Lucifer's existence.  This meeting is a big deal, but I found that the quieter moments were of more importance.

Also included at the end of this book is a one-shot painted by Jon J. Muth, and published in the early days of this title.  I found that it was jarring to read this so quickly after finishing Lucifer's story, and it's addition (beyond being beautiful) did nothing to add to my enjoyment of these characters.

I'm glad I finally got around to reading this series.  It demonstrated how well Carey and Gross have worked together in the past, and was a reminder of the days when there was some form of continuity among some of the Vertigo books.

Top 10 Season Two Special #1

Written by Zander Cannon
Art by Daxiong

I really like having Cannon continue with Alan Moore's Top 10 universe. The original series and graphic novel that Moore wrote were so full of ideas and potential that they could easily sustain a few monthly titles for years without getting played out.

That said, I find it strange the approach that Cannon and Wildstorm are taking with this book. This special comes out two weeks after the end of the four-issue Season Two series, which left many many plot lines unresolved. I thought that this was Cannon's way of finishing up what ended up being too much story for four issues. Instead, this is a completely self-contained book that helps continue two characters' arcs, but doesn't touch on any of the other plot-lines from before.

This issue focusses on Girl Two, who has left Top 10 for a job as a public defender. She's new at the job, and having as much difficulty with it as she did being a police, but she is working hard at demonstrating to herself that she's up to the task. She's also dating Pete Cheney, who is unemployed after being removed from the force a couple of weeks ago. The story revolves around a murderer she's defending, who she believes is innocent, even though he has confessed. The courtroom drama plays out quite well, involving tons of Top 10 weirdness.

The art is by Daxiong, over Cannon's layouts. I'm not familiar with his work, and he's no Gene Ha, but he has a good feel for this title. His characters have large eyes, and very expressive faces. He's also packed the panels with background, just as Ha does on this title.

While I enjoyed this book very much, I hope there are more specials coming our way, especially one that will resolve Peregrine's situation. In her short appearance in this book, she doesn't appear to be pregnant any more, and while she refers to her husband, nothing is cleared up regarding his possession.

Top Ten Season Two #4

Written by Zander Cannon
Art by Gene Ha

Okay, so Season Two of this series ends, but without resolving about six or seven plot-lines. We have no idea what's going on with Peregrine's husband, the murder of the people in the fountain in the first issue is barely mentioned, and many other things are just left out completely.

Much of this issue centres on Pete, who is apparently having all sorts of problems, but we don't really get a sense of what those problems are, or where he's going from here. The commissioner from another parallel gets taken out of the picture mostly off-panel. Something's up with Slipstream, but we don't know what.

In short, as an issue of an on-going series, this is a very good one. As the end of a mini-series, this issue is very frustrating. I know there is a Special coming out in a couple of weeks, which according to the solicitation text, looks to resolve the Girl Two storyline, but I don't think it can possibly conclude the multitude of new plot-lines that Cannon has begun with this series. I feel like he should have been given six or eight issues to play with. But then, this is Wildstorm, and the one thing they are very good at is bungling the endings of their better comics (Stormwatch: Team Achilles, Wildcats 3.0, Winter Men, etc.). I hope this comic is going to continue as a series of specials or small mini-series.

Cannon has done a great job of playing in Alan Moore's backyard. He shows an affinity for these characters and the weirdness of the Top Ten universe (I love the department shrink in this issue), and clearly has a lot of story ideas in his head. Ha's artwork is beautiful as always, and this is over-all a great book. I just wish it would be allowed to finish properly.

Top 10 Season Two #3

Written by Zander Cannon
Art by Gene Ha

I was a little nervous at the thought of this book coming out again without input from Alan Moore, as the 'Beyond the Farthest Precincts' series was only okay, but when I read the first issue, all concerns were gone. This new series is written and drawn by Cannon and Ha, the team that worked with Moore on the original series, and they seem to have a good handle on his characters.

It's good to get books that are this filled with content. Most pages have a 9-panel grid, reminiscent of Giffen's Legion, and a lot happens in a single issue.

What I like best about Top 10 is the way that it manages to marry the better police procedural TV show (Homicide, The Wire) to super-hero comics in a way that mostly makes sense. Similar to these types of shows, new plotlines develop late into the series. Most 5-issue mini-series are well-entrenched by their third issue, but this one continues to develop new characters and situations. And of course, the art by Ha is fantastic.