#IReadsYou Review: DEATH SENTENCE #1

DEATH SENTENCE #1 (OF 6)
TITAN COMICS – @ComicsTitan

WRITER: Montynero – @montynero
ART: Mike Dowling
LETTERS: Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
COVER: Montynero
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S., £3.99 U.K. (November 2013)

Sometimes, first impressions are not everything.  I often find that out when I get a copy of a comic book for review.  I start reading, and immediately dislike it.  I dread the thought of writing a review that my dark side will fill with sarcastic and mean-spirited comments.  Then, something good happens.  I find that the story starts to come together, and I like that comic book much more than I did in the beginning.

That happened with Death Sentence, a new six-issue comic book miniseries from Titan Comics.  The series is written by Montynero, a writer and artist of computer games, and drawn by Mike Dowling, a comic book artist who has contributed to 2000AD and Mark Millar’s CLiNT.  Montynero also provides the covers for Death Sentence.

Death Sentence #1 introduces the sexually-transmitted G+ Virus.  Catch it and you have six months to live, and there is currently no cure or effective treatment for the virus.  Well, there is a plus side to having this virus.  It increases the sex drive, and the infected gain enhanced physical attributes.  They become smarter, stronger, or faster, and exhibit unusual or extra-normal abilities – meaning they gain superpowers.

Meet the newest G+ Virus victims:  graphic designer, Verity Fette; failing and flailing indie rocker, Danny Waissel AKA “Weasel;” and comedian and media personality, Monty.  Verity and Weasel are confused about their death sentence, while Monty sees it as an opportunity to diversify his booty call choices.  None of the three, however, realize that the spectre of death isn’t the only thing chasing them.

I wanted not to like this.  Mike Dowling’s art has that idealized gritty realism upon which Vertigo seems to be choking.  The concept and story seem like a gummy stew made out of Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis, Mark Millar, and Grant Morrison’s leftovers.  [The cover of Death Sentence #1 features a positive blurb from Millar.]  But, as I wrote earlier, first impressions aren’t everything, are they?

Dowling’s art expertly captures the running-on-fumes lives of Verity and Weasel, while giving Monty’s lecherous ways an engaging, humorous bent.  Montynero offers two intriguing characters in Verity and Weasel.  Verity’s predicament is surprisingly poignant.  I find something alluring in watching the train wreck that is Weasel.  He might seem like the kind of rock star that Miley Cyrus is destined to eventually date, not realizing that he is also destined to strangle her after a weekend bender.  But Weasel is not that bad.  He’s just a fool, and in fiction, fools can be fun.

Where is Montynero going with the character of Monty?  My inquiring mind wants to know.  I want to see where Death Sentence is going.  People looking for superhero comic books that don’t involve gimmick covers, but do involve intriguing concepts will want Death Sentence.

B+

www.Titan-Comics.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: MONSTER ON THE HILL

MONSTER ON THE HILL - (Original Graphic Novel)
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS – @topshelfcomix

CARTOONIST: Rob Harrell
ISBN: 978-1-60309-075-9; paperback (July 2013)
192pp, Color, $19.95 U.S.

Audience: All ages (10+)

Cartoonist and illustrator Rob Harrell is known for his former newspaper comic strip, Big Top (which was syndicated from 2002 to 2007), and the currently syndicated strip, Adam@Home.  Harrell enters the world of comic books with the original graphic novel, Monster on the Hill, which was recently published by Top Shelf Productions.  Monster on the Hill is the story of a sad-sack monster learning to become a real, scary monster with the help of an eccentric doctor and a sardonic newspaper boy.

Monster on the Hill is set in a fantastical version of 1860s England.  In this world, each quiet little township is terrorized by a ferocious monster, and the citizens love it, because its monster is a great source of local pride and tourism.  Yes, every town has its own monster except Stoker-on-Avon.

Well, Stoker-on-Avon has a monster, but he’s not really a monster.  He doesn’t do anything monstrous or even terrifying, and no tourists come to see him.  His name is Rayburn, and instead of scaring up some tourists, he lets loose enormous sighs and groans that shake the buildings in town.  And frankly, Rayburn’s attitude is a downer, man.

Enter disgraced doctor and scientist, Dr. Charles Nathaniel Wilkie.  The town fathers want Dr. Wilkie to “fix the monster.”  Wilkie gets some unexpected help from plucky street urchin and newspaper boy, Timothy.  The duo meets Rayburn and thus, begins an epic journey of self-discovery and redemption, guest-starring the awesome Tentaculor (a.k.a. “Noodles”).  Time is short, however, as something worse than a monster threatens to destroy Stoker-on-Avon and its people.

Readers, creators, publishers, retailers, etc:  everyone involved with American comic books on some level talks about the need for comic books for children or comics that can be read by everyone (“all ages”).  Monster on the Hill is not just a children’s comic book; it is an entire awesome children’s graphic novel, and it is a monster.  The story borrows from several genres; it is everything from a faux Victorian children’s story and grand adventure to a road trip story and plain old monster comic book.  Harrell summons the hoary ghosts of Marvel/Timely’s old monster comic books, complete with full-splash pages in order to depict epic battles between humongous monster foes.  It’s like Jack Kirby meets Japanese monster movies.

The characters are hugely likeable, and no one character dominates, which allows all the players to shine – even the dastardly villain.  Little Timothy provides easy-going, sarcastic one-liners, and Dr. Wilkie is the steady narrator.  The monsters are witty and surprisingly original; you will wish that other comic books had characters like these.

Obviously, I am big on this graphic novel.  I plan on introducing my niece and nephew to Monster on the Hill.  It’s monstrously good.

A

Neil Gaiman and Jeff Smith (Bone) provide cover quote blurbs for Monster on the Hill.

Public info on Monster on the Hill: http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/monster-on-the-hill/732

www.robharrell.com
http://www.topshelfcomix.com
http://twitter.com/topshelfcomix
http://facebook.com/topshelfcomix

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: THE SHADOW: Year One #4

THE SHADOW: YEAR ONE #4
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT – @dynamitecomics

WRITER: Matt Wagner
ARTIST: Wilfredo Torres
COLORS: Brennan Wagner
LETTERS: Simon Bowland
COVER: Matt Wagner (A), Alex Ross (B), Chris Samnee (C), Howard Chaykin (D)
The Shadow created by Walter B. Gibson
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

Rated T+

After some years, I’m finally reading a comic book starring seminal old-time radio and pulp magazine vigilante and crime fighter, The Shadow, and I’ve had some mixed feelings about it.  Now, I truly satisfied… at least, for now.

Dynamite Entertainment has brought The Shadow back to comic books.  Dynamite’s latest release featuring the dark avenger who knows what fear lurks in hearts of men is The Shadow: Year One.

Depicting the beginnings of The Shadow’s campaign against crime, The Shadow: Year One is written by Matt Wagner and drawn by Wilfredo Torres.  The adventure begins in Cambodia, 1929 and moves to New York City on October 30, 1929.  That’s when wealthy, world traveler and adventurer, Lamont Cranston, becomes The Shadow and begins a war on evil in America.

As The Shadow: Year One #4 opens, Guiseppe “Joe” Massaretti, top crime boss in New York City, forms some kind of union with the mysterious Dr. Zorn.  Meanwhile, a young newspaper reporter finds that the closer he gets to Lamont Cranston, the farther away the hard-to-find millionaire seems to be.

After being saved from Carlo Luppino by The Shadow, insurance salesman, Claude Fellowes, learns the price he owes the dark avenger.  At the same time, Lupino is the one who needs saving, as he goes on the run.  Plus, in case she misunderstood, The Shadow informs Margo Lane what her relationship with Lamont Cranston will be.

I saw The Shadow: Year One #3 as an improvement over the first two issues of the miniseries because it emphasized confrontation and violence, rather than only talk and character development.  I understand that, early on, writer Matt Wagner was trying to establish the plot, setting, and characters for the series.  However, the series just did not seem like a story that deserved to run under the banner of The Shadow.  It seemed as if the story were waiting for something to really happen.

Now, with this fourth issue, The Shadow: Year One offers the kind of explosive episode that deserves to be called The Shadow.  The gamesmanship, the intrigue, the mystery and suspense; it’s on now, baby!  Oh, I mean… this is most excellent writing indeed.

I have had mixed feelings, to put it mildly, about the art by Wilfredo Torres, but he’s hitting his stride at the midway point in the series.  Now, Torres’ art has a graphic sensibility that recalls Golden Age comic book art.  It’s a visual aesthetic similar to Paul Smith’s art for The Golden Age, a 1990s DC Comics miniseries.  Smith adapted his style in way that would recall Golden Age comic book art.  Torres, in a similar fashion, is doing that with his art for this series, with increasingly good results.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

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#IReadsYou Review: STAN LEE'S How to Draw Superheroes

STAN LEE’S HOW TO DRAW SUPERHEROES
WATSON-GUPTILL PUBLICATIONS/Dynamite Entertainment – @CrownPublishing and @dynamitecomics

WRITERS: Stan Lee with Danny Fingeroth, Keith Dallas, and Robert Sodaro
COVER:  Ardian Syaf; back cover by Alex Ross
ISBN: 978-0-8230-9845-3; paperback (July 9, 2013)
224pp, Color, $24.99 U.S., $28.99 CAN

Excelsior!  Stan Lee’s back!  And he is here to teach us about comic books – this time focusing on superheroes.  That is the case in the recently released Stan Lee’s How to Draw Superheroes.

This paperback book is the third in a series “how-to” books published under Stan Lee’s name by Watson-Guptill Publications (a division of the Crown Publishing Group).  Under a cover by Ardian Syaf, this 2013 book is co-written by Danny Fingeroth, Keith Dallas, and Robert Sodaro.  Stan Lee’s How to Draw Superheroes is a follow-up to Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics and Stan Lee’s How to Write Comics.

The stated purpose of Stan Lee’s How to Draw Superheroes is to give aspiring superhero creators information on just about everything related to the comic book superhero genre: from sidekicks and secret hideouts to super-villains and monsters.  The book also has 24 step-by-step exercises designed to help readers learn how to draw a variety of superhero types – from poses and powers to secret identities and secret bases.

I did not have to peruse through too many chapters of Stan Lee’s How to Draw Superheroes before I began to think that the book was about superheroes as much as it was a “how-to” art book, if not more so.  There are 13 chapters in this book, and all of them are basically written surveys of superheroes, costumed heroes, and super-powered humans and heroes, from Gilgamesh all the way to the new superheroes being introduced by Dynamite Entertainment.

With chapters devoted to “Sidekicks and Teen Heroes” and “Robots, Androids, and Cyborgs,” Stan Lee’s How to Draw Superheroes is a broad overview of the elements that make up and the ideas that shape and structure superhero comic books.  This book can either be a refresher course for those familiar with superheroes or a guide for those unfamiliar who want to enter the unique world of reading that is American superhero comic books.

As a book about superheroes, Stan Lee’s How to Draw Superheroes is good.  As a how-to art book:  well, there are better, and that includes Lee’s own How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way (1978), produced with the late John Buscema.  In fact, the earlier Watson-Guptill book, Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics, offers more about drawing theory and procedure than Stan Lee’s How to Draw Superheroes.  So buy this book for what it is (about superheroes) and not for what it is advertised as (a how to draw book).

B

www.crownpublishing.com
www.watsonguptill.com


Contributing artists:  Vinicius Andrande, Javier Aranda, Mark Bagley, Ed Benes, John Byrne, Tim Bradstreet, John Buscema, J. Scott Campbell, Jim Cheung, Chris Caniano, Will Eisner, David Enebral, Francesco Francavilla, Ale Garza, Phil Hester, Joe Jusco, Jack Kirby, Jim Lee, Adriano Lucas, Steve McNiven, Frank Miller, Ivan Nunes, Lucio Parillo, Paul Renaud, John Romita, Jr., Alex Ross, Tim Seeley, Joe Shuster

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#IReadsYou Review: SATELLITE SAM #1

SATELLITE SAM #1
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

WRITER: Matt Fraction
ARTIST: Howard Chaykin
LETTERS: Ken Bruzenak
COVER: Howard Chaykin with Jesus Aburtov
32pp, Color, $3.50 U.S. (July 2013)

Part 1: “The Big Fade Out”

Howard Chaykin was one of the signature comic book creators of the 1980s. He is practically a legend for his highly-influential science fiction series, American Flagg! (one of the greatest comic books of all time). Chaykin also produced two visually-striking, but controversial revamps for DC Comics, The Shadow and Blackhawk.

Now, Chaykin joins prolific Marvel Comics scribe Matt Fraction (Hawkeye, Iron Man) for Satellite Sam, a new comic book series published by Image Comics. Written by Fraction and drawn by Chaykin, Satellite Sam is an ongoing black and white series and murder mystery set in the 1950s during the Golden Age of Television.

Satellite Sam #1 opens in New York City, 1951, specifically the building that is home to upstart television network, LeMonde. Inside, cast and crew are in the middle of a live broadcast of the late-afternoon, kiddie sci-fi program, “Satellite Sam.” However, the star of the show, Carlyle White, is a no-show.

Meanwhile, LeMonde’s head honcho, Doc Ginsberg, is trying to gather investors for a nationwide expansion. Carlyle’s son, Michael, is about to take a big step in his television career, but then, daddy is found dead in a filthy flophouse. Now, Michael White has to stay sober long enough to clean up the mess his father left behind and to solve the mystery surrounding his death.

Some months ago, I received a press release from Image Comics announcing the arrival of Satellite Sam. I have to admit that I am interested in any project that involves Howard Chaykin, especially when he’s drawing it. I don’t really care about Matt Fraction, one way or the other. Still, I was excited to receive a PDF copy of Satellite Sam #1 from Image.

The following is a two-paragraph selection from Image’s press release announcing this series:

"It's a detective story, a history of television, and a record of addiction, sex, and depravity during a time when the antiseptic shine off Ozzie and Harriet obscure what was really happening in the world,” said writer Fraction. "And these are just a few of the many joys that come from telling a story about television while it was being invented as a mass medium in New York City.”

The creative team researched television's early days in preparation for the series, getting a feel for the era and for the people who lived real lives while inventing an idealized — and fictionalized — image of families and relationships.

What is discussed in those two paragraphs, I didn’t really get from reading Satellite Sam #1, which is not to say that the first issue is low quality. This first issue is really a prologue, but it promises some intriguing hints at what lies ahead.

What this first issue offers in full is a chance to see Howard Chaykin the artist and storyteller at work. He is one of the most imaginative page designers ever to work in American comics. His sense of graphic design impresses. His skill at art direction and set building (as content within his art) rarely produce comic book art that is not a wonder to behold.

Honestly, Satellite Sam is not Chaykin’s best work, but it is still quite good. In coming issues, we will see if Fraction’s ambitions deliver an ambitious story or yet another tired-ass tale about the darkness behind idealized, shiny White America.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

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Review: STAR WARS: Legacy Volume 2 #1

STAR WARS: LEGACY VOLUME 2 #1
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

SCRIPT: Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman
ART: Gabriel Hardman
COLORS: Rachelle Rosenberg
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Dave Wilkins
EDITOR: Randy Stradley
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (March 2013)

Prisoner of the Floating World Part One

Dark Horse Comics recently launched a new Star Wars comic book series. Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is written by Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman, drawn by Hardman, colored by Rachelle Rosenberg, and lettered by Michael Heisler.

In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Legacy is a time period that begins 40 years after the end of the original Star Wars (or Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) and continues to some indeterminate time. There was a long-running comic book series, Star Wars: Legacy, which Dark Horse Comics launched after the release of the film, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is a new series set in the Legacy era. The events of Legacy Volume 2 take place “approximately 138 years after the events in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.” [Of note, the previous series began 130 years after A New Hope.] This new series focuses on the character Ania Solo, who is the great-great granddaughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo and who also owns a junkyard.

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #1 opens as Imperial Knight Yatla Val leads a mission to the Carreras System in the Outer Rim. This is part of a larger effort by the Triumvirate, which is a unity government made of the Jedi Council, Imperial Court, and Galactic Alliance, to connect the galaxy. The mission meets an unexpected snag.

On an ice mining platform in the rings of Carreras Minor, Ania Solo shows her latest finds to her friend, Sauk, a refugee from Mon Calamari. The young junkyard owner has recovered a lightsaber and an Imperial communications droid, and both will mean trouble for her.

Sometimes, I review books and don’t give a thought to revealing spoilers; if I spill a secret, it either does not bother me much or I wince a only a little. Other times, I am fastidious about saying too much, to the point that my review ends up being a timid paragraph dedicated to secret-keeping.

In this new review, I’m definitely being the latter. I want to be tentative and persnickety about my review of Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #1. Co-writer Corrina Bechko and co-writer/artist Gabriel Hardman give this first issue so many layers, such depth, and rich texture that it seems more like the first chapter of a prose novel than the first issue of a comic book. In Ania Solo, they have the potential to create one of the truly exceptional and great Star Wars Expanded Universe characters.

The art by Gabriel Hardman recalls the art Al Williamson produced for Marvel Comics’ adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back in the publisher’s long-running Star Wars comic book series. I don’t know anything about the quality of Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman’s previous work on Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes, but Dark Horse should chain them in the company dungeon and keep them working on Star Wars comics.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

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