Myspace Dark Horse Presents Vol. 6

Written by Mac Walters, LeVar Burton, Mark Wolfe, Frank Stockton, Art Baltazar, Scott Morse, Andi Watson, Larry Marder, Stan Sakai, Ron Chan, Jaime Hernandez, Jason Little, Garaham Annable, Matt Kindt, Gabriel Bá, Mark Crilley, Justin Aclin, Simon Spurrier, Jackie Kessler, and Evan Dorkin
Art by Eduardo Francisco, David Hahn, Frank Stockton, Art Baltazar, Scott Morse, Andi Watson, Larry Marder, Stan Sakai, Ron Chan, Jaime Hernandez, Jason Little, Graham Annable, Matt Kindt, Gabriel Bá, Mark Crilley, Ben Bates, Christopher Mitten, Paul Lee, and Hilary Barta

I'll be completely honest - most of the comics collected in this book are completely skippable.  That's probably one of the main reasons why the whole Myspace Dark Horse Presents experiment failed (well, that and the fact that just about the whole world stopped using Myspace).  It was a commendable concept, and I believe it did lead to the resurrection of the monthly Dark Horse Presents, which has been a very good thing, but it's clear that Dark Horse was rarely coming through with their A-game on this thing.

Because I want to stay positive though, I will focus on what is good about this collection.  Scanning the credit list above, one name should immediately stand out to anyone who knows what I like - Gabriel Bá!  He provides a short piece called Fiction that could only work in comics.  A writer appears at a festival, where he grumbles about how his readers think they know him by reading his books, but they don't.  After a few pages though, Bá pulls a switch on the reader, and we find out that that character is a character in someone else's writing.  The whole thing has a very Borgesian feel to it, and is beautiful to boot.  Easily worth picking up this book for, as so far as I know, this story hasn't been collected anywhere else.

Among the other things I liked were the Giant Man story by Matt Kindt, a companion piece to his 3 Story: The Secret History of the Giant Man graphic novel.  I've read this before though - it was recently collected alongside two other stories in a one-shot.  It's still good though.

Likewise the Beanworld story by Larry Marder.  I think it was included in the recent Tales of the Beanworld collection.  Every day needs a little Beanworld in it though, so it's also all good.

I was also pleased to see a Bee story by Jason Little.  I read Motel Art Improvement Service a little while ago, and enjoyed it.  In this story, Bee spends a day in New York with her friend, and goes through some of the existential issues of Bá's story.

Simon Spurrier and Christopher Mitten provide a creepy horror story involving a man whose pregnant wife was killed in a car wreck, and who is visited by the fetus's ghost (in a really disturbing way).  Also of note are the collection of Brody's Ghost stories by Mark Crilley.  These aren't exactly my cup of tea, but I like the fact that Dark Horse gave over a fair amount of space to them, making them stand out a little more through sheer volume.

The rest of the book is a melange of licensed properties (Mass Effect, Buffy), children's comics (which never feels like a good fit), and stuff that just didn't resonate with me.

All Nighter #5

by David Hahn

All Nighter has been a difficult series to pin down.  My first take on it was that it was a slacker comic, in the vein of books like Scott Pilgrim and Pounded, but then David Hahn kept introducing other elements to the story that, while they worked, kept causing me to reassess what this comic was supposed to be about.

For a while, it seemed like a romance story, as Kit became ever closer to her housemates boyfriend, and spurned her previous relationship with Dwayne, who is a thief.  Then it seemed like the comic was more about Kit's relationship with Marta, the mousy new housemate who seemed to be fixating on her.  Then, with the fourth issue, Martha disappeared, and suddenly, the series finished with the group of friends searching for her.

This last issue is easily the strongest in the series, as Hahn does some interesting things, both with the plot and the art.  I love how three pages use a parallel format to explain just how Martha's case went from being a media story to a hipster trend.  Later, as the characters track her down, the story takes a final, tragic turn that was, while not unexpected, still pretty emotionally powerful.

Hahn is a very talented artist, and I'd be happy to read another comic he writes and draws on his own.  This series will make a nice trade - check it out.

Bite Club

Written by Howard Chaykin and David Tischman
Art by David Hahn

I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not exactly a fan of Howard Chaykin's work, but that usually applies to his art, and I've enjoyed his collaborator, David Tischman's writing on Fraction and Greatest Hits.  Plus, this book is drawn by David Hahn and the original comics had amazing covers by Frank Quitely, so I thought I'd check this out.

Bite Club is about a Latin American crime family in Miami, who happen to be vampires.  Vampires aren't exactly rare in this world (although, if you were to know our culture only through our popular entertainment, they aren't exactly rare here either), and people are generally accepting of them, which is kind of strange, and goes unmentioned throughout.

Anyway, the Del Toro family pretty much own Miami, although they've gotten someone mad at them, as their patriarch, Eduardo, gets killed in the first chapter.  After that, his family empire is in disarray, especially after it's discovered that he left everything to his son Leto, the only Del Toro who had left the family and entered the priesthood.  From here, the story is about Leto's wrestling with his new role, and the various problems of his two siblings, his mother, her lover, and their lawyer (it could be a Peter Greenaway movie).

The comic is entertaining enough, but I felt like the plot never gelled, and was stuck in a very episodic progression, with too many characters that needed their requisite screen time each issue, but who ultimately didn't contribute much to the story.  Hahn's a great artist, but even in his hands, this story stayed stiff and kind of artificial.  The First Second graphic novel Life Sucks covered similar ground, but with a lot more heart and heft.

All Nighter #4

by David Hahn

Hahn's slackerish college life drama series keeps taking some unexpected turns.  Where before, things were mostly about Kat, a girl who sometimes steals, feels responsible for her mother's death and is secretly seeing her housemate's boyfriend, now the comic is just as much about Martha, the mousy new housemate who we know very little about.

In this issue, Martha and Kat share a moment on the rough of the All Nighter diner, as Kat finally talks about how her mother died, and how she feels like it's her fault.  After that, Martha disappears.  Previously, she's claimed  be Kat's guardian angel, and was shown doing something that looks a lot like casting a love spell on her.

I've been enjoying this book.  Sure, it keeps defying my expectations, which is always a good thing, but it's also just a very well-drawn series with strong and consistent characterizations.  It's worth checking out.

All Nighter #3

by David Hahn

The more I read of this series, the more I like it and the characters that populate it.

In this issue, Kit gets closer to Martha, her new house-mate who has claimed to be her guardian angel, and is generally a little creepy, and also gets a lot closer to Jim Magirl, the boyfriend of one of her other housemates.  To be fair, they had a connection before he started to date Donna, but both of them know that it's wrong.  There are other things going on too - Kit has an argument with her friend and final housemate Sally-O, but we learn nothing more about how Kit's mother died.

Basically, this is just more of the usual slacker late teen/early 20s genre, but it's a genre I enjoy.  Hahn's art is always great, but this issue looks a little looser than I remember the other issues looking.  I'd have to dig out the first two to be sure, but I find that this light style works very well with this material.

I'm definitely interested to see what happens next, especially with Martha, the oddball girl.

All Nighter #2

by David Hahn

Hahn's little mini-series about late teen/early twentysomethings is moving along at a slow but enjoyable pace.  This issue explains how main character Kit knows her roommates new boyfriend, and introduces Martha, their mousey new housemate.  The crew goes to a party, and that's about it.  Except, of course, for the introduction of a strange little story element right at the end.

There's nothing too new about All Nighter, but that doesn't take away from my enjoyment of it.  Sure, anyone who's read New York Four, Wet Moon, Scott Pilgrim, the second series of Demo, and Pounded might find themselves on familiar territory.  Actually, what this most reminds me of right now is Ethan Rilley's Pope Hat, which needs to continue, but I digress.

I am starting to like the characters in this series, and am still very curious to learn about just how Kit caused her mother's death.  It's been mentioned in each issue so far, but nothing has been explained.  I do like these kinds of comics, and am happy to see that Hahn is working on his own book, especially since Murderland was so disappointing.

All Nighter #1

by David Hahn

I picked this up on the strength of David Hahn's name, and found it to be just about exactly what I expected.  All Nighter fits in the college kid slacker genre of indie comics, alongside books like Wet Moon, New York Four, and Forgetless, among others.

The series starts Kit, a girl about to enter art school who is living on her own (with friends) for the first time, and is looking to dump her long-time on again off again boyfriend Dwayne.  They hang out at a diner locally known as the All Nighter, and Dwayne convinces her to help him on a break-in job, which is something they used to do frequently.

Most of the issue is spent introducing us to Kit, her best friend Sally-O, her family, and other roommate.  Hahn sets up a few plot elements that will provide direction going forward, such as introducing a potential roommate, and having Kit refer a few times to how she is responsible for her mother's death.  This book is interesting, and Hahn's artwork is always nice to look at, but there's not much about it that makes it stand out yet.  I'm curious enough to stick around though, and I hope it does more to differentiate itself moving forward.

Murderland #1

Written by Stephen Scott
Art by David Hahn

Here's the solicitation for the first issue of Murderland:

Artist DAVID HAHN joins newcomer STEPHEN SCOTT to tell a story of doomed romance, bloodshed and the outer limits of human potential, all unfolding on the "complicated" streets of Baltimore, Maryland. The Arabber is a reformed killer bent on bringing peace to his hometown. Method is his lover and partner in crime, but she may not be long for The Arabber’s crusade. The first of many genre-bending stories in the MURDERLAND universe. 

 As someone who has had all other television ruined for him by Homicide: Life on the Streets and The Wire, seeing a comic set on the streets of Baltimore, and centred around an Arabber, is immediately attractive.  However, the Arabber in this comic doesn't seem to be an Arabber (there is not a single horse or even piece of fruit in sight), and apparently the streets of Baltimore now include lush penthouses and mansions with armed guards.

The main character appears to be a girl named Method, who seems to be an assassin (or possibly a serial killer) who likes to seduce her victims before garroting them with razor wire.  She is a 'master of disguise', and might be in a relationship with our Arabber.  The two of them go to some rich guy's house (surrounded by the aforementioned armed guards), where some other dude with an eyepatch is creeping around.  Method and Eyepatch (his name is Precurseur, and they know each other) appear to have superhuman strength and agility, and Method can grow bones outside of her skin like the X-Men Marrow.  The Arabber can't be killed.

Beyond that, I have no idea what's going on.  Is this a vampire comic?  Why are we treated to so many panels showing what the old dude is watching on TV?  What are the cops at the end talking about when they talk about Sesame Street, Barney, and Howdy Doody? Why does the back cover have a barbarian bikini chick and a sabretooth tiger doing an homage to old school Coppertone ads? Am I the only one that's lost/disappointed/not that interested? 

Hahn is a capable artist, but his style is too light for this type of story.  It needs a grittier look.  And some story coherence...

Lucifer Vol. 6: Mansions of the Silence

Written by Mike Carey
Art by Peter Gross, Ryan Kelly, Dean Ormston, and David Hahn

Now this one is more like it.  I had a hard time with Volume 5 last week, but enjoyed Volume 6 a great deal more.  Perhaps it's just because of the fact that I read this one so soon after the last that I didn't feel lost in the number of characters or what they were up to (the recap page helped), but I feel like this story was a lot more focused than the previous one.

There are three main plotlines in this volume.  The one I liked most had Lucifer's varied supporting cast traveling to the titular Mansions of the Silence to retrieve the soul of Elaine Belloc, God's granddaughter.  The crew sailed the Naglfar, a ship from Norse legend, and faced off against long-dead angels and other strange threats.

While they were sailing, Lucifer and Michael travel to a pool made of God's thoughts, and Michael learns some stuff he doesn't like.  The volume ends with a story about Elaine, which works as a nice epilogue to the events of the book.

This is probably Carey's best work, and I like the way the art shifts from Gross and Kelly's pages on the Naglfar to Ormston's depiction of Lucifer's quest.  I'm looking forward to finishing off the rest of this series.

Red Herring #6

Written by David Tischman
Art by Phillip Bond and David Hahn

This was a very enjoyable series, and it ends quite nicely, with the various scams, schemes, and plots all being left out in the open. Having read the end, I am tempted to go back and start the whole series over again, as I'm sure there are plenty of hints that point towards the outcome.

The best thing about this issue is that Bond returns to full pencils. I liked Hahn's work on the title, but Bond is a terrific artist and the reason why I started reading this book in the first place.

This will be great in trade form, and I urge anyone who likes conspiracy stories to pick it up.

Red Herring #5

Written by David Tischman
Art by Philip Bond and David Hahn

This is another fun issue of Red Herring. Meyer Weiner and Penny Candy play strip poker while Paris burns, Damorge Channel breaks a new fixture, and Maggie MacGuffin decides to rejoin Red Herring and his partner while they enter the extermination business.

With only one issue left, there is a lot of stuff that still needs to be explained, but this comic has managed to keep up its frenetic pace. The art seems to be more balanced than it did when Hahn first took on an extended role. I still would have preferred to see more of Bond's pencils, but I can live with this level of compromise.

Red Herring #4

Written by David Tischman
Art by Philip Bond and David Hahn

A lot of things get cleared up in this issue, such as the truth behind the alien invasion, and we learn a lot more about Red Herring's intentions, if not yet his motivation. Damorge wants a divorce, and Maggie gets her nails done.

Tischman has set up a very interesting story in this comic, and by keeping things so close to the vest, he has kept the readers wondering, while still maintaining interest in the storyline.

No one could pick this series up in the middle and have a clue what was going on, but I'm sure this will read quite well in trade. (I still wish Bond was doing full pencils, and not just lay-outs, but I like Hahn's work in this issue much more).

Red Herring #3

Written by David Tischman
Art by Philip Bond and David Hahn

While I'm enjoying Red Herring, I was quite disappointed to find out that Philip Bond only provided layouts for this issue. While Hahn's art is still very nice, it's because of Bond that I first started buying this title in the first place. I hope to see him penciling subsequent issues.

The story keeps chugging along, as one of Herring's fraud victims catches up to him and MacGuffin. Meanwhile, there is testimony in a closed Washington hearing to the existence of an alien beachhead in the Middle East, and Meyer Weiner pops the big question.

This has been a fun title, although I'll admit to being a little bit lost in it. I'm going to have to sit down and re-read it from the beginning I think.

Red Herring #2

Written by David Tischman
Art by Philip Bond and David Hahn

I knew this title was going to be worth coming back to after a slightly disjointed first issue. This time around, a lot more gets explained, as we learn that there was no alien incident in Roswell back in the day; instead, a group of businessmen pulled a fast one on the government, and have been, ever since, raking in defense dollars to prepare America for the aliens' return.

Somehow, this has put Maggie MacGuffin in trouble, as her Congressman boyfriend is one of the politicians being strung along. She's hanging out with Red Herring now, because people are looking to kill her. As most of the story is coming at us from Maggie's point of view, we know little more than her about what is happening, and revelations are unfolding slowly.

This is a smart, funny, and gorgeous series of the type that was found regularly at Wildstorm a few years ago. I'm glad to see it's being published, and hope that it is successful for them.

Red Herring #1

Written by David Tischman
Art by Philip Bond and David Hahn

Alright, I'm going to need to read this again. I like the story, I'm interested in where it goes, but I'm quite certain that I missed a lot of things reading this first issue. Let me reconstruct my thinking on this comic.

I love Philip Bond's work. That was the main reason why I bought this book, without reading the solicitation text or anything. Bond's work on "Shade the Changing Man" was great, even if he suffered from the problem of not being Chris Bachalo. I also enjoyed him on Vimanarama, Kill Your Boyfriend, and other odd things.

David Tischman I only know from Greatest Hits, which I enjoyed after a rocky start.

So, this issue. The book opens with Maggie MacGuffin, and a lot of second-person narrative. Both are strange choices. I'm not usually a fan of 2nd person. Furthermore, the name MacGuffin carries a lot of literary suggestion; but then, the title is referring to a character's name, so that's clearly where Tischman is going with this.

From there, we see some political intern sexual indiscretion, some shady government types meeting a man named Weiner on the Washington Mall, an alien body in the past, and other strange hijinks. More than enough to get me hooked, even if I have no clue how it all connects.

Maggie's character is the only one developed here, but she's a strong one. I'm going to make sure I read this again before the next issue comes out, but I am looking forward to it.

Fables #82

Written by Bill Willingham
Art by David Hahn and Peter Gross

This is a transitional issue of Fables, as Willingham wraps up some of the events from the Dark Ages arc, and gets things set for the Great Fables Crossover, beginning next issue.

In the wrapping up category, we see some of the emotional fallout from Boy Blue's death last issue, as Flycatcher, Pinocchio, and Rose Red grieve in their different ways. Mowgli's story is wrapped up as well, in another excellent back-up featuring art by Peter Gross.

In terms of set up, there is an interesting conversation between Frau Totenkinder and Stinky the Badger about the nature of Fable-ness, as Stinky starts talking about Kevin the Literal, without realizing it. I'd wondered before how Willingham was going to tie the action in this title to what's been going on in its spin-off book. Between that and the fight brewing at the end of the main story, the Crossover looks to be a very interesting tale.

The art on this issue is handled by David Hahn, an artist I'm not very familiar with. He captures the look of the Fables quite well, and draws Pinocchio as a believable child (this is my only complaint about Buckingham's work on this comic). The cover art is by Mark Buckingham, a suitable replacement for James Jean.