The Interman

by Jeff Parker

Jeff Parker has had an impressive comics career, with his run on the Thunderbolts being a highpoint for me, and I suspect that The Interman is one of his first published comics.  Until I picked it up, I didn't know that Parker drew as well as wrote.

The Interman is Van Meach, a young man who was created as part of the Interman project, a Cold War era attempt at creating a super soldier.  Funding for the project came from five Western nations, but Van was the only successful product of the experiment.

The project was sabotaged at an early stage, and Van was raised secretly by his adopted parents.  As he grew, he demonstrated an ability to adapt to his situation or circumstances, in a manner similar to Darwin of the X-Men.  Now an adult, Van is trying to live off the grid, working jobs that make good use of his abilities, but avoiding attention at the same time.  When the book opens, he is trying to retrieve a satellite from the bottom of the ocean.

This job has a higher profile than he is used to, and now 'messengers', assassins from the various countries involved in his birth, are coming after him.  He has no choice but to try to research his past and figure out what is going on.

Parker blends superhuman activity with espionage very well, giving this a Jason Bourne feel to it, while keeping Van a likeable and believable person.  There are places where the writing is not as clear as it could be, but the charm of this book wins out.  Parker's art is nice; his lines are a little thick, but it works well here.

I'd like to see more from Parker.  His talents have been wasted at DC lately, and I think I'd be happier to see him return to independent comics, especially since his series Underground was brilliant.

Meteor Men

Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Sandy Jarrell

I assumed that it was very likely that I would enjoy a graphic novel written by Jeff Parker, but I still came away from Meteor Men pleasantly surprised.

This OGN, beautifully illlustrated by Sandy Jarrell and coloured by Kevin Volo, is mostly set on a farm outside of a fair-sized town.  Alden Baylor is the teenage owner of the farm, inheriting it after his parents died.  He lives there with his uncle, and sometimes his uncle's friend (I like how Parker never quite nailed down the specifics of the relationship there), who is also an astronomer.

The book opens on the night that a comet is set to pass over the town, and Alden has invited anyone who wants to to sit out on his property to watch the show.  Everyone is a little surprised to see larger meteors crossing the night sky, and are even more surprised when one lands on the property.  It looks like a hollow shell that has split open.

Soon, Alden starts to see a strange-looking humanoid figure on his property, at the same time that we learn that hundreds of these meteors made it to Earth.  Eventually, as things get weirder, Alden, the adults around him, and the entire world realize that they have been visited by creatures from another world, although Alden sees their intent differently from the military or world leaders.

Parker has created an interesting character in Alden.  He's wise beyond his years, and a very capable teenager, but also very much a regular kid.  As things get stranger around him, his vision might be the only thing that can save people.

I liked this book a lot.  Jarrell's art, mixed with Volo's colours, looks terrific.  This book feels very much like a collaboration between people who have been working together for a long time, and much like Parker's series Underground, the story keeps you enchanted throughout.  This book didn't get a lot of press when it came out, but it deserves more recognition.

Planet of the Apes Annual #1

Written by Darryl Gregory, Corinna Bechko, Jeff Parker, and Gabriel Hardman
Art by Carlos Magno, John Lucas, Benjamin Dewey, and Gabriel Hardman

Last week Darryl Gregory and Carlos Magno's Planet of the Apes series ended without resolving everything in the story, but they are already revisiting those characters in this Annual, which has a prequel to their epic.  In this story, Sully, the eventual Mayor of the humans, and Alaya, the future Voice of the ape city of Mak, are still young girls and sisters, each adopted by the Lawgiver.  In a story reminiscent of the school desegregations that happened during the Civil Rights Movement in the States, Sully attends her first day of school with apes.  This story nicely underscores why Gegory's series has been so good - he finds parallels between human history and current events and how those same stories would play out in a PotA society.

The second story is by Corinna Bechko (co-writer of the upcoming Cataclysm series) and John Lucas.  It's a cute take on the standard 'boy and his dog' story.  Lucas's art reminds me a little of Mike Ploog's.

Jeff Parker is the only writer here new to the Apes universe, and he turns in a cool little story about life on the fringes of Ape civilization, where an outpost has developed its own rules and forms of entertainment.  Cool stuff, with terrific art by Benjamin Dewey, an artist I'm not familiar with.

To close off the comic, Gabriel Hardman gives us a prequel to his and Bechko's 'Betrayal' and 'Exile' series, featuring the young gorilla soldier Aleron, who would eventually become a celebrated general and lawyer, before becoming an exile.  This story shows us how Aleron lost his eye, and the beginning of his disenchantment with the way Ape society was run.  It's nice to see Hardman drawing his own stories again.

If you have been on the fence about Boom's Planet of the Apes stuff, I suggest you use this as a sampler to see what the two main series have been like.  You won't be disappointed.

Underground #5

Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Steve Lieber
Underground has been one of the better mini-series I've read in the last couple of years, and the ending is just about perfect. As the two rangers are chased through the cave system, the rescue effort starts to discover the bodies of the men who had been chasing them and perished in earlier issues. This lends an urgency to the scenes, as Wes and Seth take some extreme steps to find the way out of the caves (and discover some really old moonshine in the process).

Parker has graced this story with a lot of strong character development, and has a feel for how people would react in and to these types of situations. Lieber's art is fantastic throughout.

I've praised this book enough that it's difficult to find new things to say, but perhaps the highest form of praise I have is that this issue reminded me of some of the earlier issues of Concrete, in its ability to marry a compelling and exciting story with a non-preachy message of ecological awareness. This is a title that seriously deserves some awards.

Mysterius the Unfathomable #1-6

Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Tom Fowler
When this series came out, starting last spring, I squarely ignored it. It got a lot of push at my comic store, but something about it caused it to never exactly catch my eye. It did get lots of positive press though, and I figured if I ever got the chance to grab it all in one go, either as a trade or as a set, I would. That chance came last week, and I'm quite thankful for it.

Mysterius is Zatarra and Zatanna done properly. It's the story of an old magician - the real kind - who kind of bumbles his way through life, never getting too caught up in things, either his surroundings or the consequences of his actions. As the series opens, he is conducting a seance for a rich New York society type, except the seance goes horribly wrong, and the guy's spirit gets left behind in Hell. It's not all a loss, as Mysterius gets a new assistant, or Delfi, as they're called, out of the bargain.

From there, the book diverges into a whirlwind tour of magic in Jeff Parker's world. We get witches covens, celebrity endurance magicians, and enchanted children's books. The writing of this comic is wildly inventive and funny, as Parker has people react to Mysterius in a variety of ways.

Fowler's art was probably the main reason why I didn't pick up the book in the first place, but it has grown on me quite a bit. At first, I was put off by the bulbous noses and generous paunches that abound in this comic, but Fowler's aesthetic really grew on me. The Dr. Seuss knock-off scenes are fantastic.

Wildstorm should be commended for publishing this type of work - a book that is never going to be a top seller, but that garners critical acclaim and improves the overall intelligence of their back catalogue.

Underground #4

Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Steve Lieber

Parker's Underground continues to be a very exciting and rewarding title. His story of park rangers being chased through a massive cave by employees of a local businessman who wants to open the cave for tourism deftly balances strong characterization, ecological sensibilities, and a suspenseful rhythm.

Lieber's work is great throughout. As Wes and Seth have to travel through deep water, with only a narrow pocket of air along the roof of the cave available for breathing, his art becomes very claustrophobic, helping the reader feel the tension of the moment.

Ron Chan's colours work exceptionally well - the underground scenes are monochromatic, but the establishing shots and scenes involving the people outside the cave are so brightly coloured that the reader feels as if he has just come out of a dark cave himself.

Underground #3

Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Steve Lieber

This issue of Underground is just about perfect. The two rangers are being chased through the cave by the bad guys, and most of the issue has them fighting while tied to ropes and descending into a giant cavern. The scene is a technically difficult one to show in a comic, and Lieber manages in such a way that the action is not only clear, it is palpably exciting. Were this a made into a movie, I doubt the director would be able to create the same sense of tension and suspense.

The choice of printing a comic that is mostly set underground in the dark is a wise, if at first less than obvious one. The few pages set above ground are a sharp contrast to the monochromatic cave scenes, giving the reader the effect of having to wait for his eyes to adjust.

This is now my favourite comic being published.

Underground #2

Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Steve Lieber

Parker and Lieber are basically conducting a master class in independent, non-super hero comics with this title. Their story of a crooked store owner's illegal attempts to open up a cave for tourism, and the park rangers who expose him, has all the best qualities of a good movie. The heroes are likable, the plot moves quickly, and things stay grounded in the realm of the plausible.

This is a great comic. It seems to be compared most frequently with Whiteout, which makes sense, as these two comics share an artist and have an exotic locale in common. However, this is a very different creature. It's a much smaller story, in terms of stakes and scale, and therein lies its strengths.

I'm loving this book. I already can't wait for the next issue.

Underground #1

Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Steve Lieber
This is shaping up to be one of the best new series of the year. This is everything a first issue should be - strong character development, a good sense of place, and a suspenseful and interesting hook.

Wesley Fischer is a park ranger opposed to a local business man's plans to 'renovate' a cave system to make it suitable for tourism. The town of Marion has been depressed for years (apparently suffering from a "long economic draught" - you have to love Image's lack of editors), and the people are behind the businessman, Winston Barefoot (played, apparently, by Lincoln Red Crow, on lone from Scalped).

Wesley, and her fellow ranger Seth, having just spent the night together, run into Barefoot at the local diner, before heading off to work. Seth discovers a pair of locals dynamiting the same cave that is at the centre of so much controversy, and this book is off to the races.

Parker has been commanding a lot of acclaim for his work at Marvel on titles like 'Agents of Atlas', but it is here that he really shows that he is an amazing writer. Lieber's work here is excellent as usual. This is a title that deserves a lot of attention.