Tegami Bachi: Late Hire Chico

I read Tegami Bachi, Vol. 17

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

I Reads You Review: SILVER #3

SILVER #3 – CURSE OF THE SILVER DRAGON
DARK PLANET COMICS

CARTOONIST/CREATOR: Stephan Franck – @stephan_franck
COVER: Stephan Franck with Alan Bodner
32pp, B&W, $4.50 U.S. (2014)

Silver is a 12-issue miniseries created by Stephan Franck (a filmmaker in the American animation industry) and published by Dark Planet Comics.  Silver extends the fictional world of writer Bram Stoker, the author of the novel, Dracula (1897), into the 1930s.  The series stars con man James Finnigan, a thief extraordinaire who plans to steal silver from the living-dead.

Act 1 of Silver focuses on Finnigan's mission to assemble a crew that can help him pull off the biggest heist of the last ten centuries.  The series opens in New York City, 1931 at the Harker Foundation, a creation of the recently deceased Jonathan Harker and his late wife, Wilhelmina “Mina” (Murray) Harker.  That is where Finnigan crashes an auction of rare silver pieces from the Harkers’ private collection and accidentally stumbles into a crypt where he finds an ancient bar of silver.  He loses something during the heist-gone-bad, displeasing his partners, Ed Mullins and Brantley, but he sells them on a bigger heist, the Harker silver.  He recruits a new member of his heist team, Rosalynd Van Helsing a.k.a Rosalynd Sledge.

In Silver #3 (entitled “Curse of the Silver Dragon”), Finnigan continues to assemble his heist team.  He adds Mister Moineaux a.k.a. Maitre Moineaux the “French Touch,” and Hamilton “Ham” Morley, a washed-out actor who has become an “In n' Out” guy.  Now, Finnigan tells them the part of the story of Dracula that is not well known.  It is the story of “The Dragon,” a work of art that is a pyramid made of silver bars.  Not all of his team is buying this story.

I loved Silver after only reading the first issue.  I am always looking for comic books that remind me of the reasons why I love comic books so much:  the sense of adventure, of new worlds to discover, of strange new places to visit, and of peculiar new people to meet.  Of course, the most important reason is that they are fun to read.  When I find a comic book like that, I want to convince other readers, as both a comic book fan and reviewer, to try it, hoping that they will like it – even if they don’t like it as much as I do.  Silver is the kind of book I want to convince others to read.

In Silver, Stephan Franck recalls both the work and storytelling of such legendary comic book creators as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Will Eisner, and Harvey Kurtzman.  As the second issue did, Silver #3 has striking page layouts and imaginative storytelling.  Silver is a gripping narrative and a comic book series worth repeated readings.

A+

[Silver #3 contains a behind scenes look at Franck's artistic process for this issue and also an interview/preview with sculptor Troy Saliba.]

http://dark-planet-comics.com/

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

---------------------------------------------

Review: RESIDENT EVIL: The Marhawa Desire Volume 1

RESIDENT EVIL: THE MARHAWA DESIRE, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Naoki Serizawa
CONCEPT: Capcom
TRANSLATION: Joe Yamazaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Stan!
LETTERERS: John Clark
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7372-4; paperback (November 2014); Rated “M” for “Mature”
176pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire is a manga that serves as a prequel to the storyline of CAPCOM’s bestselling Resident Evil® 6 video game.  This manga was originally published in Japan in 2012 by Akita Publishing Co., Inc.; now, VIZ Media is publishing the manga in North America as a 5-volume graphic novel series.

Resident Evil 6 introduces the highly virulent C-virus, but where did this new outbreak begin?   Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 6) opens at Bennett University in Singapore.  There, Doug Wright is a professor in the Department of Sciences and Engineering, and he specializes in bacteriology.  He receives a letter from Marhawa Academy, Asia's largest and most prestigious school.  The letter is written by Marhawa's Headmaster, Mother Gracia.

The fact that she had some kind of relationship with Wright in the past is probably the reason that Wright rushes to the school, which is located deep in the jungle, a giant, self-contained and self-sufficient complex.  Wright takes his nephew, 20-year-old Ricky Tozawa, with him because he is failing at Bennett and could use some extra credit work.  Prof. Wright and Ricky find themselves caught in a deadly and growing tragedy and perhaps, epidemic.  Meanwhile, Chris Redfield and his B.S.A.A. ( Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance) is looking for Prof. Wright.

First, I have never played any Resident Evil video games.  I did not read the Resident Evil comics produced by Marvel and Wildstorm a long time ago.  I am a big fan of the Resident Evil live-action film franchise that began back in 2002.  When I received a press release announcing the Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire manga, I was excited by that news.  When my VIZ Media rep sent me a copy of Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 1 for review, I was thrilled.

I like this manga.   Naoki Serizawa, the writer and artist behind Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire, offers one of those horror stories that starts as a mystery about a conspiracy that a group of people are protecting.  Of course, this eventually leads to a horror bigger and worse than anyone realized.  I tore through this manga in one sitting.

I think Professor Doug Wright and his nephew Ricky Tozawa are good characters.  The reason is because they are two-things necessary in mystery and even horror fiction – open to the mystery, adventurous, and fearless enough/foolish enough to run into the belly of the beast that will eat them or turn them into zombies.  I am surprised that this story can be contained in five volumes.  Once again, I will admit my love of the Resident Evil movies, as I heartily recommend the VIZ Signature title, Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire, to you, dear readers.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: DJANGO/ZORRO #1

DJANGO/ZORRO #1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT/Vertigo (DC Comics) – @dynamitecomics

WRITERS: Quentin Tarantino and Matt Wagner
ART: Esteve Polls
COLORS: Brennan Wagner
LETTERS: Simon Bowland
EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Reginald Hudlin
COVER: Jae Lee with June Chung
VARIANT COVERS: Francesco Francavilla (Cover B); Matt Wagner with Brennan Wagner (Cover C)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

Rated T+

Dynamite Entertainment, in association with DC Comics' Vertigo imprint, present an exciting new comic book miniseries based on licensed properties,  Django/Zorro.  Django Freeman, the hero of Quentin Tarantino's Oscar-winning film, Django Unchained, joins forces with Don Diego de la Vega, better known as Zorro, the legendary fictional character created in 1919 by New York–based pulp writer Johnston McCulley.

For almost a century, Zorro (the Spanish word for “fox”) has appeared in countless movies, television series, comic books, and stories.   Django/Zorro is the first new story starring Django Freeman since his film debut almost two years ago.  [Vertigo did publish a comic book adaptation of Django Unchained as a miniseries, beginning in 2013, so this isn't Django's first comic book appearance.]   Django/Zorro is written by Quentin Tarantino and Matt Wagner, drawn by Esteve Polls, colored by Brennan Wagner, and lettered by Simon Bowland.

Django/Zorro #1 opens several years after the events depicted in Django Unchained.  According to the back story to this series (provided by Dynamite), Django is still a bounty hunter.  He has settled his wife, Broomhilda, near Chicago, and is working in the western states to avoid the bounty on his head back east.  As the story begins, Django encounters the aged and sophisticated Don Diego de la Vega and his man-servant, Bernardo.  Django, of course, does not know that Don Diego is also Zorro.

After Django shows his shooting skills with a pistol, Don Diego hires him as a bodyguard.  Django is fascinated by this unusual older man, who reminds him of a deceased old friend (King Schultz).  Don Diego is also the first White man who seems unconcerned with Django's skin color.  Now, Django will follow his new boss on an adventure in which he will discover that slavery in these United States isn't just for Black folks.

First, I have to say that Esteve Polls is one of those comic book artists perfect for drawing comic book Westerns.  The Spanish artist's style and storytelling recall the late, great artist of Western comic books, John Severin.  In this first issue, Matt Wagner's script merely teases what his and Tarantino's story will offer in later issues, but still, it is a very good tease.  As first issues go, this is the kind that entices you to keep reading.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Voice Over: TrappedintheCloset with Senri Kudo

I read Voice Over!: Seiyu Academy, Vol. 7

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or on Grumble.

Review: PUNKS: The Comic #2

PUNKS: THE COMIC #2
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

CREATORS:  Joshua Hale Fialkov and Kody Chamberlain – @JoshFialkov @KodyChamberlain
COVER: Kody Chamberlain
VARIANT COVER: Jeff Lemire
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2014)

Rated T+ / Teen Plus

I have added a new comic book to my must-read list.  It's Punks: The Comic, and the second issue recently arrived.  This new series is actually a revival of writer Joshua Hale Fialkov (The Ultimates) and artist Kody Chamberlain's (Sweets) 2007 small press comic book, Punks.  Chamberlain produces Punks' “original art” by cutting up various photographic images and compiling them to create the characters, settings, and storytelling.  Punks may be part of what Wired Magazine called “cut-and-past” culture.  Punks: The Comic stars the screwy quartet of  Dog, Skull, Fist, and Abe Lincoln.

As Punks: The Comic #2 opens, Skull and Abe witness the arrival of “Superdog,” who drops from the sky like a falling star.  This new-fangled canine looks almost identical to Dog.  Perhaps, he will be a better roommate than plain-ol' Dog; at least, Fist agrees.  When Superdog's true colors are revealed in a yellow stream, the out-with-the-old Dog will have to stop the in-with-the-new Superdog.

[Punks: The Comic #2 includes some story pages from the original Punks comix.]

The cut-and-paste, do-it-yourself aesthetic of Punks: The Comics seems a little strange at first, but this is a comic book that gets better with each issue.  “Irreverent” does not seem to be a strong enough word to describe the kind of humor produced by Fialkov and Chamberlain.  And “witty” sure as hell doesn't hack it.

For me, the animations that Terry Gilliam created for Monty Python's Flying Circus and Monty Python, in general, come to mind when I read this comic book.  Punks is pungent and potent like British satire and as beguiling as the best of it.  Indeed, it is as if Fialkov and Chamberlain have formed their own surreal comedy troupe.  Punks certainly seems like the beast that will devour the staid yuck-yuck pamphlets that pass for humor in American comic books.

Readers looking for something truly different and truly good in comic books will want Punks: The Comic.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Read "Grumble: Chapter One" Page 3 for Free

PAGE 3 is here: http://www.comicbookbin.com/grumbleonepage003.html

This is a preview: