Mind the Gap #7

Written by Jim McCann
Art by Rodin Esquejo

In this issue, Ellis, who is in a coma, has woken up in the body of Katie, a young girl who was just taken off of life support.  Her good friend Jo arrives, and they try to talk, but as is to be expected in this sort of situation, all hell breaks loose in the hospital.  Jo tries to get some rest, makes friends with the nurse that has been helpful, meets the assistant to a psychiatrist who is also in a coma, and tries to help Ellis escape when she sees the guy in the hoodie who attacked her in the hospital corridor.

In other words, a lot happens in this issue, and McCann handles the pace very well, so it never seems like there is too much happening.  More hints as to what is really going on are being dropped all over the place - Ellis's mother almost gives herself away as being involved, and I'm sure there are a number of hints being dropped in the analysis of the statements Ellis first made when she woke up.

One of those really stood out though, when the nurse attributed the phrase 'sleeping furiously' to "a long-dead guy, Chomsky".  When exactly did Noam Chomsky die?  And why doesn't the internet seem to know about it (I just checked my facts)?  Up until this point, no reference was made in this book that made it seem like it was taking place in the future.  Now, with a comic like this, I start to wonder if perhaps this isn't a mistake on Jim McCann's part, but is in fact a clue.  Or, conversely, perhaps no one needs to check facts on a book like this, since errors can just be treated as red herrings that ultimately don't lead anywhere.  Still, it confused me.

I like this comic, and am enjoying the mystery of what happened to Ellis.  I do find some of Jo's judgement to be pretty questionable in this issue, but McCann already explains some of that by showing us just how exhausted she is.  Rodin Esquejo's art is lovely, but in the scene where Jo finds Dane's father sitting by Ellis's bed, I had no idea who he was at first, as he looks like a few other people in this book.  Otherwise, a solid issue.

Sweet Tooth #40

by Jeff Lemire

I feel that there are way too many titles that I love ending these days, and I don't see clear replacements for them in the pipeline.  Scalped ended a few months ago, and while I loved its ending, I miss my monthly visits to the Prairie Rose Reserve more than I thought I would.  Now, I'm quite sure that I'm going to feel the same way about Gus.

Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth was always a bit of an odd comic.  Lemire made a name for himself with his amazing Essex County books, and when this monthly series about a hybrid deer-boy in a post-plague world started, it felt like quite a departure.  In no time though, Lemire sucked me into the story with his strong characterizations and his slightly wonky yet beautiful artwork.

As Gus and Jeppard grew into a strange type of family, and protected each other through encounters with angry militia men and the dangers of the road, my attachment to the story and these characters grew as well.  This series always told a solid story, and Lemire regularly experimented with layout and story-telling, to make it a reliably compelling read month after month.

This story borrows a page from other Vertigo endings, like Y the Last Man, by jumping ahead through the rest of Gus's life, and showing us what the character has done since his last fight with Abbot in Alaska.  It's a very satisfying ending, which is poignant, and complete.  I know that this title never lit up the sales charts, but it did lead to Lemire's being a 'big name' writer at DC, with titles like Animal Man, Justice League Dark, Superboy, and soon, Green Arrow, under his belt (although he doesn't draw any of them, which is too bad).

I'm thankful that Vertigo gave him the space to tell this story in such a complete manner, and I urge anyone who's never read this book to go back and give it a shot.  I'll miss Gus, but I am also looking forward to Trillium, which is the name of Lemire's next Vertigo book.

The Secret Service #5

Written by Mark Millar with Matthew Vaughn
Art by Dave Gibbons

I've found Millar's Secret Service to be a much more thoughtful and balanced comic than I'm used to reading from him these days.  Often in his Millarworld titles, he aims for a level of over-the-topness that puts him in league with contemporary Frank Miller or indie Garth Ennis, and that kind of turns me off.  I've stopped reading Kick-Ass or its spin-offs, and had no plans of picking up Nemesis 2 whenever it came out.

This book, though, is great.  Miller took a long time establishing the world in which young Gary, a London street thug, lives in, and as Gary is brought into a top-secret spy organization, we saw Gary's growth as a character.  With this issue, Gary reaches his final graduation, not so far as his training is concerned, but in his quest to become his own, better, man.  He finally confronts his step-father and his friends, and he also finally looks after his mother, who has been trapped in an abusive relationship for some time.

With all the character stuff taken care of, Millar returns to the plotline about the big bad rich guy who has been kidnapping directors, actors, and animators since the first issue of this series.  We learn what this guy's big plan is, and Gary and his Uncle Jack split up to handle things.

The end of this book did surprise me, as I thought that Millar was giving in to his more romantic urges, looking to write a book with a nice happy ending.  Dave Gibbons is always wonderful, and he does not disappoint with the art in this issue.  I believe that there is only one issue left in this series, and I expect it shall be quite good.

The Infinite Vacation #5

Written by Nick Spencer
Art by Christian Ward

It was definitely a pleasant surprise to see this book show up in the shipping lists for this week (it was originally solicited for May 2011), finally finishing off the long-delayed mini-series.

Opening the book, it's not hard to see why this may have taken a while, as Christian Ward goes all out on the art, portraying some very complicated double-page spreads, incorporating photos into his work, and going into total psychedelia mode on multiple occasions. It's a lovely, lovely comic.

The story in this series has been more than a little hard to follow, which was not helped by the length between issues, but so far as I can tell, this issue wrapped the story up pretty nicely.  The Infinite Vacation refers to a company that has figured out a way for people to swap their lives with those of their counterparts on alternate Earths.  People use a bidding app on their smartphones similar to Ebay that allows them to transfer, for a certain amount of funds, between worlds.  Obviously the science is never made clear, especially when  these alternates are able to meet with each other, and occupy the same space on one world.

The concept behind this, shaky as it is, is pretty interesting, especially since Mark, our hero, has been targeted by the company that runs things for execution.  This issue has Mark finally taking charge of his own life, and turning the tables back on the corporate types.

It's confusing, but it's also very, very pretty.

Right State

Written by Mat Johnson
Art by Andrea Mutti

Right State is a unique political thriller that works well, but probably could have worked a lot better.  It's set at some unspecified after the Obama administration has finished its second term, and was met with some sort of disaster or fiasco which is not explained.  At the point where this book opens, Obama's successor, also a Democrat and also black, is in the midst of running for a second term.  America has become even more divided than it is now between 'red' and 'blue', and the militia movement has gained in strength to a great degree.

The story is centred on Ted Akers, a right-wing talking head who has spent most of his life fighting for veterans' rights on Fox News like cable channels, despite having never fought in a war.  Akers gets contacted by the Secret Service when they receive word that a militia group known as Roots of Liberty, run by a demagogue named Dutton, are planning something for the President's upcoming open-air address to the nation.

The Service figures that Akers would have a better chance of infiltrating the group, especially since the agent in charge is a Muslim, and that's basically the set up for this story.  It's not terribly plausible, is it? And therein lies one of this book's two big faults.  The second is that Akers's character is not developed very well before he gets sent off to crazy-land.  It's hard to understand why he'd be working to help an administration he's fundamentally opposed to, just as it is hard to understand why they would really want him (unless you figure out where things are going pretty early into the book, as I did).

As a Canadian, I do enjoy fiction that shows just how messed up American often is (while knowing we aren't all that much better, and increasingly so), and the Roots of Liberty crowd is pretty interesting.  My problem was that because I never bought into the plot or the main character, I never got all that wrapped up in the book.  Mat Johnson's first graphic novel, Incognegro, was riveting; this one felt a little rushed, like it needed to be out before the American election, and therefore didn't get workshopped or edited as stringently as it should have.

There was definitely a lot of potential in this story, and some of the sequences near the end get exciting, but this book just never gripped me as much as it could have.  Part of the problem is with Andrea Mutti's art - he's a talented artist, but often stiff in his layouts, and it's not always easy to tell which character is which.  I hope that Johnson's next book is something a little closer to home, and therefore perhaps as strong as his debut was.

20th Century Boys Vol. 2

by Naoki Urasawa, with Takashi Nagasaki

Partway through this second volume of 20th Century Boys, the very popular manga series by Naoki Urasawa, I was hit with the somewhat unwelcome realization that I would have to get all twenty-five or so volumes of this series, because I think I'm hooked.

This is a strange story, unfolding in a manner that is pretty unconventional, at least for Western comics, and which really adds to the mystique and wonder of the series.  A strange cult has popped up in Japan (I'm not sure when this series was begun in relation to the Aum Shinrikyo attacks) led by a mysterious 'Friend'.  The cult has members throughout society, and many connections to a group of friends who grew up together.

Of that group, one member was killed in the first volume.  Now Kenji, who was the leader of the group as children but currently tries to keep a struggling convenience store afloat while caring for his missing sister's baby, is trying to figure out what happened to his old pal.  The series is arrayed in a bit of a kaleidoscopic fashion, as each chapter frequently features new characters or events that then become connected to the main story, sometimes unexpectedly.  We get to know characters like the only girl from Kenji's group, and a homeless man who seems to be able to predict the future in his dreams.  We also learn a fair deal about Kenji's missing sister, which only adds to the mystery.

Urasawa, in addition to being an excellent artist, is a strong writer of character.  We meet an older detective in this issue, close to retirement, and in the span of two chapters, come to care about him and his life's struggles.  There are hints of bigger problems to come, as we get glimpses of germ warfare using an ebola-like virus, and of course, the threat of giant robots rears its head.  Still, this is a series that is very grounded in the day-to-day life of its characters, and therein lies its greatest strength.

Fury MAX #5-8

Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Goran Parlov

It's a well-established fact that no one can write war stories like Garth Ennis, but there's something extra cool about him incorporating well-known Marvel characters into his stories, while still making them as gritty and historically grounded as is his work on titles like Battlefields.

I picked up these four issues of Fury MAX this week, and they bridge two story arcs.  The first has Nick Fury in Cuba during the Bay of Pigs invasion, with the goal of assassinating Fidel Castro.  This mission goes horribly wrong, and Fury and his two companions are captured.

The next arc moves forward in time to the Vietnam War.  Fury is sent to Laos to assassinate a Vietnamese General who Fury has met before.  His usual shooter is too old for the mission now (although, of course, Fury is not), and so he is partnered with a Marine by the name of Frank Castle.  Of course, this mission goes badly too, because that seems to be pattern of this title.

Ennis has a really good handle on Nick Fury as a character and as a force of history.  The book is not just about Fury and the missions he's sent on, it's also about a shady American senator and his wife, who is also Fury's girlfriend.  Ennis is quite upfront about the corruption in the American government and its involvement in foreign affairs, and that's always interesting to read about.

I especially like Goran Parlov's artwork.  He's drawing this series in a very European style, and it works well with the settings he portrays.  I'm kind of surprised that I haven't been buying this series all along, but now that I'm caught up with it, I'm going to get the remaining four issues for sure.

Prophet #32

by Simon Roy

I have loved the work that Brandon Graham had done with this series since relaunching it early last year.  He has moved the old Extreme character into the far future, and has created a myriad of strange races, worlds, and situations for Old Man Prophet, and his various clones who work for the Earth Empire, to adventure in.  This issue, however, is not by Brandon Graham, but is instead written and drawn by Simon Roy, the artist who drew the first few issues of Graham's run.

Simon Roy first caught my eye with his excellent self-published comic Jan's Atomic Heart, which I bought at TCAF a number of years ago.  For this issue, he keeps things within the formula established by Graham (Roy often gets a story credit on this series). John Ka is a Prophet clone who wakes up on Earth and spends a fair amount of time alone (aside from an insect which has bonded with her) until she discovers that a group of feral humans are living up on the side of a mountain.

These humans have more in common with Neanderthals, and are usually raised as meat by the races that now control the Earth, but this group has learned to wield tools, and are definitely sentient.  As it turns out, they are living with another Prophet, one who was reawakened a few years ago.  This John has to choose between her mission and her new lifestyle, in a story that echoes some of the best literature built up around missionary work (it kind of reminded me of At Play in the Fields of the Lord).

Roy is an excellent artist and a strong writer.  I like what Graham does with this book, but also enjoyed getting a bit of a break from his story to explore this world in a little more detail.

This issue also has a very good sci-fi back-up story by Daniel Irizarri, who I'm unfamiliar with.

Punk Rock Jesus #6

by Sean Murphy

Punk Rock Jesus has to be one of the best series Vertigo has published in years.  Unlike many of their other recent projects, this title best exemplifies what Vertigo was designed for - delivering intelligent, thought-provoking stories that didn't shy away from material that may make some people uncomfortable.

With Punk Rock Jesus, Sean Murphy has created a science fiction epic that examines the role of Christianity in our modern, science-fuelled culture.  It also touches on issues as diverse as the Irish Troubles, and environmental collapse.  This issue runs thirty-two pages, without ads (still for only $2.99!), and wraps up the story wonderfully.

We open with Thomas McKael's arrest for his involvement in an IRA bombing of a police station, which reveals some information about his childhood that we didn't know.  From there, we rejoin Chris, the supposed clone of Jesus Christ, and his band, the Flak Jackets, as they travel to perform in Jerusalem.  As expected, this doesn't go well, and they are attacked by terrorists almost immediately.

In the wake of this violence, many questions are asked back in America, and Rick Slate, the producer of J2, the reality show based on Chris's life, has a lot of questions to answer.  Later, the New American Christians attack a television studio in an attempt to kill Chris.

I have been completely blown away by the quality of Murphy's writing for this series.  I already knew he was a phenomenal artist, but the depth of the story he told in this series, both in terms of the questions in raises, and in the way in which he wrote these memorable characters, has impressed me.  I wish that Vertigo, or any company really, was able to produce books this good more often.  Very highly recommended.

American Vampire #34

Written by Scott Snyder
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

When I heard that American Vampire was going to be going on hiatus following this issue, it didn't bother me one bit.  I'd really enjoyed the early days of this Vertigo series, but I'd felt that it was starting to lose its way a little bit, amid the spin-off mini-series, the arcs that introduced new characters who were never seen again, and the general decompression of the last story arc, which was wrapping up the arcs for many of the main characters.  I'd also felt that the book had kind of lost the edge that made it Vertigo in the first place.  I wasn't surprised by that - since this book debuted, writer Scott Snyder has become a bit of a golden boy at DC, and I wondered if among all his New 52 projects, he still had time for this title.

Then I read this issue, which I expected to be an epilogue, and now I really want more.  Where the last ten issues have felt a little bloated, this one is lean, mysterious, and dark, just like the early days of this series.  Gene Bunting, the new Bookkeeper for the Vassals of the Morning Star (the vampire- and monster-hunting organization that has featured prominently in this title) has travelled out to the middle of nowhere to find Abilena Book, the mother of Felicia Book, the new director of the VMS.  He believes that Abilena has some limited prophetic abilities, and he wants her to peer into the future to discover if the VMS needs to be concerned about someone called The Gray Trader.

It's been ages since we've seen Book in this series, and Bunting is a new character, but Snyder manages to develop them both very well in a short amount of space.  He also establishes this new threat very effectively, and reveals another secret about Book right at the very end that can be open to a few different interpretations.

Albuquerque has always done a wonderful job on this title, and this issue is no exception.  He also seems a little reinvigorated by the prospect of a new, darker storyline.  It's very nice to see that this book is getting back on track, and now I hope that the hiatus is not going to be a very long one.

Glory #31

Written by Joe Keatinge
Art by Ross Campbell and Ulises Farinas

According to the latest Previews, Glory is set to end with issue 34 in March.  I hope this is because Joe Keatinge's story will be finished then, and is not because the book is being cancelled due to low sales, because it really is a terrific comic, and alongside Prophet, has been the best of the Extreme comics renaissance of 2012.

In this issue, Glory, her vicious sister Nanaja, and their friends, make ready for their assault on Glory's father's stronghold in the woods of Oregon.  Opting for the most direct approach possible, the group crash Nanaja's private jet, and parachute in, expecting fierce resistance.  What they don't expect is to be offered waffles and quiet breakfast conversation.

It seems that Lord Silverfall, Glory's father, is pretty much without an army now.  He shares the story of what happened immediately after the last time he did battle with his daughter, and there are a couple more family surprises, which leads to a wonderful last splash-page.

The back-ups in this issue are drawn by Ulises Farinas, who I've only just learned about through his story Gamma, in Dark Horse Presents.  I've been enjoying that strip, but was surprised to see him use a much more detailed art style in this book, making his pages pretty consistent with the wonderful work that Ross Campbell has been doing here monthly.

I know it's difficult to recommend a book once its conclusion has been announced, but Glory has been a terrific series, and I encourage anyone who likes their superheroics to be a little left-field, or anyone who is sick of the way women are usually portrayed in comics, to check this out.

Fatale #11

Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

I love the fact that Ed Brubaker has decided to make Fatale an on-going series instead of limiting it to the sixteen or so issues he'd originally intended, mostly because it gives him the space to tell stories like the one in this issue.

This is kind of a 'Times Past' one-off, checking in with Josephine back in 1936, at a time when she still hadn't figured out everything about herself and her abilities.  When the book opens, she's convinced a police officer in Texas to take her across the state, ruining his own life in the process.

Jo goes to visit Alfred Ravenscroft, a writer of mystical pulp stories, who Jo thinks may know something about her and her situation.  Ravenscroft's story is a strange one, encompassing his own brush with the otherworldly as a boy in Mexico in the 1890s, which has had a lasting effect on him and his mother.

This is a strange issue, and while it doesn't reveal a whole lot more about Jo, it does suggest that there is a lot more to Fatale than its central character.  We start to get a sense of the larger forces at work in this series, and this story provides Brubaker the chance to include the pulps that this series is a love letter to.

Godzilla: The Half-Century War #4

by James Stokoe

With this, the penultimate issue in his mind-blowing Godzilla mini-series, James Stokoe asks the question that many monster-hunters are probably afraid to ask themselves - how do you retire when you've never been able to accomplish your mission?

This issue is set in India in 1987, and Ota, the man whose story we've been following since the end of the Second World War, is starting to feel both his age and the futility in his mission.  Just about the only two constants in his life have been Godzilla and failure, and he's getting a little tired of both of them.

Of course, this is the 80s, so science has progressed to the point where the people in the AMF have built their own Mechagodzilla, a Shogun Warriors style giant robot to fight the lizard.  Ota has almost nothing to do on this mission, until he happens to notice Deverich, the bad guy with the monster-luring device we met last issue.  The device brings a new type of Godzilla to the sub-continent, and things get pretty crazy.

Stokoe is so good at books like this that it could be illegal.  His hyper-detailed art looks fantastic here, as it has in every issue of this series, but I'm noticing that his writing is really growing as well.  I've mentioned before how difficult it is to make anyone care about anything in a monster comic, but now I'm quite looking forward to seeing how Ota's half-century war with Godzilla ends next issue.

The Manhattan Projects #8

Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Nick Pitarra

Last issue, the combined leadership of the American Manhattan Projects and the Soviet Star City initiative decided to join forces and pursue their own scientific ends separate from their respective masters' wishes.

This issue, the Americans decide to put a stop to them.  The comic opens on a meeting between President Harry S. Truman and his advisors, which appear to include a man in a luchadore mask, someone who only speaks in Egyptian hieroglyphs, and most surprisingly, the AI of former President FDR, who we thought was firmly entrenched in the Projects' ranks.

What follows is a bit of a bloodbath, while FDR-controlled robots attack Los Alamos, Star City, and the Singularity, the orbital space stations the Russians had built.  Much of the comic focuses on Wernher Von Braun, the former Nazi rocket scientist who drives much of what happens in the Projects, as he has to escape Star City and make his way to Los Alamos to shut off the FDR AI.

This is another very entertaining issue in a series that has surpassed all expectations I had going in to it. Hickman has consistently written a crazier, freer flowing story than I've seen him do before, and Nick Pitarra has been there every step of the way backing him.  This is a terrific comic.

The Originals

by Dave Gibbons

I only saw Quadrophenia once, years ago, and so can't remember to what degree Dave Gibbons's graphic novel The Originals matches the story note for note, but the homage does run pretty deep.

Lel and Bok, two British teens, dream of becoming Originals. They already dress the part, with jackets that go down to their ankles, but they haven't been able to get together enough money for hovers, the Originals version of the scooters the Mods rode.  After meeting some Originals, and helping them in a fight with some Dirt, the boys get invited in to the gang.

The story moves along pretty predictable lines.  The presence of a girl strains the boys' friendship, and conflicts with the Dirt escalate after Warren, a wannabe, takes things too far one day.

Still, as much as I knew how this would end before I'd read five pages, I enjoyed the way that Gibbons drew and told the story.  The gleaming and very complicated hovers were the only real futuristic element to this book - everything else looked much as it would have back in the late 60s and early 70s, aside from the clothing, where Gibbons really let himself go nuts.

Gibbons has always been a wonderful character artist, and that continues to be the case here.  This is an entertaining book.