A.D.D.

Written by Douglas Rushkoff
Art by Goran Sudzuka and Jose Marzan Jr.

Douglas Rushkoff can be a difficult writer to read.  His Vertigo series Testament was a clear case of ambition not being met by the material (it was about how Old Testament stories were living in a future where young people are under close government control).  With A.D.D., Rushkoff returns to some of the same themes, minus the Biblical aspect, but is more successful because the scope of the story is much more contained in this thin original graphic novel.

The words acronym ADD stands for Adolescent Demo Division, a team of video gamers who have been raised in isolation to be be experts in their fields, as well as media stars.  The ADD kids are beginning to show some special abilities, such as main character Lionel's ability to 'dekh' images that lie behind screen images.

When team leader, and Lionel's best friend, Karl, 'levels up', most of his teammates are jealous of him, but when he later turns up dead, Lionel and his few remaining friends spring into action to expose the truth behind Nextgen Inc., and the ADD's kids histories.

Rushkoff employs lots of futuristic slang that isn't always easily understood (I kept thinking of 'dekh' as meaning roughly 'grok'), but his message about media manipulation and corporate dominance of individual thought is pretty clear.

It was nice to see Goran Sudzuka's art on this book; I haven't seen much from this artist since his fill-in arcs on Y the Last Man, and I've always enjoyed his work.

In all, this is a decent read, which does raise some important points.

Strange Adventures #1

Written by Selwyn Hinds, Talia Hershewe, Peter Milligan, Lauren Beukes, Jeff Lemire, Ross Campbell, Kevin Colden, Paul Cornell, and Brian Azzarello
Art by Denys Cowan, Juan Bobillo, Sylvain Savoia, Inaki Miranda, Jeff Lemire, Ross Campbell, Kevin Colden, Goran Sudzuka, and Eduardo Risso

I wish that Vertigo did this type of thing more often.  This is a 75-page anthology of science-fiction themed short stories, by a nice blend of Vertigo all-stars (Azzarello, Risso, Milligan, Denys Cowan!), new comics royalty (Campbell, Lemire, Cornell, Miranda), and some up-and-comers who show that they deserve more of a spotlight.

The stories are pretty varied in their style and delivery, ranging from social commentary sci-fi through dystopian, and stopping off at alien abduction and weird alien space hero.  As with any project like this, not every story will work for every reader, but some of these stories were fantastic.

I think the Milligan/Savoia story about imaginary friends may be my absolute favourite.  It's not exactly science fiction, but it fits with the tone of this anthology quite nicely.  A pair of friends are no longer sure which of them is real and which is imaginary, and they go to great lengths to prevent finding out.


Beukes and Miranda have an interesting story about consciousness sharing and the Brazilian favelas, which is beautifully illustrated.  Jeff Lemire resurrects Ultra the Multi-Alien in a bizarre, nostalgia-twinged tale.  Cornell and Sudzuka (now there's an artist I've missed) give us a cool story about a writer who experiences alien abductions.

Surprisingly, Ross Campbell's story didn't work for me.  I love his work normally, but just like his recent story in an issue of Marc Guggenheim's Resurrection, this tale didn't actually end, and was therefore disappointing.  Likewise, I found Kevin Colden's story about genetically engineered creatures as disturbing as it was wordy.

Most of the attention this book draws will be focused on The Spaceman, the introduction to a new character by Azzarello and Risso.  As usual, Risso's work is brilliant, but I'm not sure I liked Azzarello's writing.  I hate stories that rely on a lot of 'future slang', so I was quickly turned off this.  Still, I'm going to be giving their new series a try whenever it comes out.  I learned my lesson by not jumping on 100 Bullets very quickly.

In all, this is a great anthology, even if DC ruined a lovely Paul Pope cover by putting a ridiculous Green Lantern banner across the top (purposely not pictured here).

The Secret History Book 3: The Grail of Montségur

Written by Jean-Pierre Pécau
Art by Goran Sudzuka and Geto

This is a little more like it, after the confusion of the last issue.

This time around, the battle lines are much more clearly defined: Reka is tight with the Pope and is attempting to influence the development of most of Europe, while her sister Aker is hooking up with the Holy Roman Empire, along with her brother Erlin, in an attempt to usurp her power, and to keep the Chalice runestone out of Dyo's hands.

A lot more happens this time around too, as the Chalice stone is recovered, and the Cathar order, which has been charged with its protection, is wiped out.

As with the last issue, this is a period of history I know very little about, and so many of the casual references go right over my head.  Still and all, it's an exciting story, and I enjoy the high level of planning that has obviously gone into it.

The art this time around is by Goran Sudzuka instead of Kordey, although he is drawing in a style very similar to Kordey's, so the transition is barely noticeable.  There are two sequences set within a 'magical' woods, which are drawn very differently, which was a nice effect.

Hellblazer #255

Written by Peter Milligan
Art by Goran Sudzuka and Rodney Ramos

This is a decent enough Constantine type of story, but in some ways, it feels like Milligan is just phoning this one in. Nothing momentous happens - Constantine goes to a supposed pit of plague victims, and ends up talking to one of their spirits - a phony plague doctor who went to extreme ends to keep his family safe from that horrific deed, and then doesn't help him. It's a good story, but it's on such familiar ground, that it causes deja vu.

I hope that the next arc brings back some of the energy that Milligan's first story arc had. It was nice to see Sudzuka's art again, but I found that I was really liking Camuncoli's look for this book. Good thing he's back next issue.

Hellblazer# 254

Written by Peter Milligan
Art by Goran Sudzuka and Rodney Ramos

Milligan is into his second story on Hellblazer, and I'm happy to see that Phoebe is still in the mix, as is the London Olympics, 17th century plague doctors, more dried skin, the next Banksy, and bird masks. In other words, it is definitely 'good Milligan' at work on this title, and it seems to keep getting better.

I really like seeing John get involved in local political protest action, even if he doesn't really have much choice in the matter. It works to balance his earlier involvement in breaking strikes in the last arc.

Sudzuku's pencils here make me nostalgic for Y The Last Man, and he does an admirable job, but overall, I think I prefer Camuncoli on this book now.