Review: X'ed Out by Charles Burns

X’ED OUT
PANTHEON BOOKS

CARTOONIST: Charles Burns
ISBN: 978-0-307-37913-9; hardcover (October 2010)
56pp, Color, $19.95 US, $22.95 CAN

Cartoonist and illustrator Charles Burns rose to prominence in the mid-1980s when his comics began to appear in RAW, the avant-garde magazine founded by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly. He went on to illustrate album covers, advertisements, and magazine covers. Burns is best known for his comics works, such as the 12-issue series, Black Hole, and graphic novels such as El Borbah and Big Baby.

X’ed Out is the first volume of a graphic novel trilogy from Burns. X’ed Out is published as a 9x12 hardcover, similar to the oversized format Fantagraphics Books used for its “Charles Burns Library.” Apparently, Burns has drawn inspiration for X’ed Out from Hergé (Tintin) and author William Burroughs (although film director David Lynch could also be an influence).

X’ed Out opens in the peculiar dream time of an unusual fellow named Doug, a photographic artist who has a head injury of some kind. Doug awakens to find his deceased cat, Inky, standing next to a hole torn in a brick wall. Inky walks through the hole, silently beckoning Doug to follow. Doug follows and finds himself near a putrid stream running through a crumbling badland. That leads to some kind of egg processing plant, full of huge white eggs with splotches of red on them (the Tintin reference?). Then, his journey and the narrative become a shifting reality and landscape of reptilian thugs, pills, fetal pigs, an Interzone-like market, and lots of Polaroid pictures. Will Doug find clarity? Can he?

I first encountered Charles Burns work in RAW, but I avoided reading it (much as I would do when I first saw Richard Sala’s comix). Something about that first story I encountered made me feel uncomfortable. Someone even gave me a copy of Big Baby or El Borbah after Fantagraphics Books published them, and I still didn’t want to read Burns. Somewhere, it happened, but I don’t remember when I first relented or why.

There is something disquieting about Charles Burns’ work. He is cryptic without being oblique, and the reader can always figure out that something wrong or some problem in a story. This must be what is known as creeping dread, and X’ed Out is filled with that.

This slim volume that is X’ed Out, however, merely asks a lot of questions that future volumes will hopefully answer. Only Burns could get away with offering relatively little in an opening salvo. It is the meticulous craftsmanship of his high-contrast art and his ability to make every single element on a page matter that engages the readers’ imaginations, and for the reader, that will have to do, here. Where is X’ed Out going? I don’t know, but I will follow.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden - Uruki and King Temdan

I read Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 10 (Fushigi Yugi (Graphic Novels))

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics).

Albert Avilla Reviews: Captain America and the Black Widow #637

Captain America and the Black Widow #637
Marvel Comics

Reviewed by Albert Avilla

Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist/Cover: Francesco Francavilla

Captain America and the Black Widow are two great characters with great histories. Let’s hope that this story won’t become a memorable part of those histories.

Vennema Multiversal is a criminal corporation made up of the same person from different universes, Kashmir Vennema. Who’s the leader of the corporation? How can the same person tell herself what she needs to do? I know a corporation of me would have a few problems. I would expect me to give me a well-paid cushy job. I couldn’t go to me and tell me that I was going to be the janitor. I would have to tell me that I was wasting my talent in such a low-level job. Once boss wouldn’t be around I would take my place and go around giving orders and enjoying all of my executive perks, because I would know that I was just as intelligent and capable as me. All of the other me’s would be doing the same thing. Eventually, I would say f…. me, and all of me would end up reading comics all day long. I think a corporation needs more than one skill-set and type of personality.

Cap and Widow discover that Vennema is selling heroes from across the multiverse as slaves. Once this is discovered, Vennema abandons the mission. Cap, Widow, and the slaves are transported to some random universe. They land on Garbage World; that’s the best description that I have for the place. Cap leaves to recon the area and finds that Garbage world is controlled by Hydra Tripods, yes tripods.

The art in the advertisements was fantastic. Look at the cover; the interior doesn’t get better.

I rate Captain America and the Black Widow # 637 Don’t Waste Your Time and Cash.

Albert Avilla Reviews: Wolverine and the X-Men #17

Wolverine and the X-Men #17
Marvel Comics

Reviewed by Albert Avilla

Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Michael Allred
Colors: Laura Allred
Cover: Michael and Laura Allred

Just the other day I was thinking, “Hey, the X-Books have not done a good humor issue in a while.” I like Wolverine, and I like the X-Men. Logic dictates that I should like Wolverine and the X-Men. I start reading: Deathlok is giving Wolverine an evaluation of the school. Tongue in cheek stuff is going on. I turn the page, and I have my first encounter with Doop. That page alone lets me know that I may have stumbled across a goldmine. Let the hilarity begin.

There was not a page that didn't make me laugh; some pages, every panel. Who can defeat the devil and a nun and every other menace in between in one issue? My boy Doop can. Doop is a pimp. I don't have enough words and time to describe every comic scene. Trust me, it is some good material. I'm not going to separate the art from the story, because everything works together in this riotous romp.

I rate Wolverine and the X-Men #17 Buy Your Own Copy.

Albert Avilla Reviews: Hit-Girl Issue 3

Hit-Girl Issue 3
Marvel Comics

Reviewed by Albert Avilla

Writer: Mark Millar Writer
Breakdowns: John Romita Jr.
Finishes/Ink Washes: Tom Palmer

You would expect the second miniseries to drop off like a second album or the second year of an NFL quarterback, but hell no. Hit Girl is bringing it. This series has the same style and tone of the first series. Merciless, vicious street violence remains the calling card of the series. The blood and gore are not spared; the timid need not read. The realism of the book is uncanny. I'll throw this oxymoron at you; it’s the best example of realistic heroic fantasy that I've read in years.

The Red Mist scene illustrates how Millar reminds us how unfeasible superheroes and supervillians are in the real world. No matter the outcome, Red Mist continues to embrace evil. That kind of evil requires determination. Mindy is blossoming socially; giving a new definition to hanging with your friend. The mob is leaning on Mindy's parents.

A furious finale is in the making; it’s going to hit the fan when the mob kills her mom or step-dad. The ruthless criminals are back; predators waiting for prey to slaughter. Millar continues to leave us with endings that make the months between issues that much longer. Waiting for the next issue is unbearable. Hit Girl falls down a chimney into the criminals' lair. We are left with Hit Girl lying on the floor at the mercy of the drug dealers. It’s on to the next issue.

If anything, I would say that the art is better than in Kick-Ass. It looks cleaner; the lines are smoother. The coloring is visually astounding. The facial expressions reflect what’s going on emotionally with the characters. Time was taken to make the art facilitate the story.

I rate Hit Girl Issue 3 Recommend It to a Friend.

One Piece: 100,000 vs. 10

I read One Piece, Vol. 64

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics).

Albert Avilla Reviews: Justice League #0

Justice League #0
DC Comics

Reviewed by Albert Avilla

Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Gary Frank

The Shazam back-up story has been introducing us to the character of Billy Batson. We know that he is no goody two-shoes. He is a tough street kid who has a good heart, but the world he lives in has made him compromise his true nature to survive. Finally, the moment we have been anticipating: Billy meets the wizard. Through the conversation Billy has with the wizard, we learn Billy's philosophy on life. The duality of human nature is exposed in Billy. The wizard is at the end of his time and out of options, and he sees enough good in Billy to grant him the power of Shazam.

Of course, Billy gets the warnings and life advice, which he ignores. We get to see a kid on a joyride in a super human body. With great power comes great irresponsibility. When the moment that a hero is needed arrives, Billy naturally rises to the occasion. The story alludes to the magical nature of Shazam; this should not be glossed over because it signals that what we have is not a Superman clone. Magic should be the cornerstone of the character, giving him a uniqueness all his own – the powerhouse wizard. Give Shazam his own book. Johns is taking the character in an electric direction.

The art was good comic book art; it was not the strong point of the book. The cover and the Shazam splash page were great; the electricity and the Jack Kirby-like energy flowing from the lightning bolt on Shazam's chest gave Shazam a magical appearance. I liked the hoodie, too.

I rate Justice League #0 Buy Your Own Copy.