Review: THE CURSE OF BRIMSTONE #1

THE CURSE OF BRIMSTONE No. 1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Philip Tan & Justin Jordan
SCRIPT: Justin Jordan
ART: Philip Tan
COLORS: Rain Beredo
LETTERS: Wes Abbott
COVER: Philip Tan with Rain Beredo
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (June 2018)

Rated “T” for Teen

The Curse of Brimstone created by Justin Jordan and Philip Tan

“Inferno” Part 1

DC Comics has launched a new superhero comics initiative, “The New Age of DC Heroes,” coming out of its Dark Nights: Metal event miniseries.  This line of comic books will consist of eight new comic book series:  Damage, The Immortal Men, New Challengers, Sideways, The Silencer, The Terrifics, The Unexpected, and the subject of this review, The Curse of Brimstone.

The Curse of Brimstone is created by writer Justin Jordan and artist Philip Tan.  The series is colored by Rain Beredo; and lettered by Wes Abbott.  The series focuses on a young man who would do anything to save his small town, even make a deal with the devil.

The Curse of Brimstone #1 opens in the small, forgotten rural town of York Hills.  Once it was a coal mining town.  Then, it was a factory town.  Now, it is neither.  Schools and businesses have closed, and many of its citizens have moved away.  Joe Chamberlain is trapped here in this no-nothing town, and he has no prospects of getting out.  He is too poor to move, and he cannot afford school.  However, Joe is determined that his sister, Annie, who is smart, not get trapped in York Hills.

Enter the mysterious Mr. Salesman.  He has an offer to make Joe Chamberlain, one that is supposed to save York Hills and give Joe a really good job... and the curse of Brimstone.

The Curse of Brimstone #1 is mostly set-up with some teasing, but what Justin Jordan and Philip Tan are offering with this first issue is quite intriguing.  I really know what is going on here.  I honestly cannot wait for the second issue, which I cannot say about all the “New Age of Heroes” titles.

Graphically, The Curse of Brimstone #1 looks like a Vertigo comic book and has more than a passing resemblance to the art of Steve Bissette, John Totleben, and Tatjana Wood for the 1980s iteration of Swamp Thing written by Alan Moore.  The last four pages of The Curse of Brimstone #1 are visually and graphically explosive and fiery, and they cast a spell on me.  I feel cursed to return for at least a few more issues.

7.5 out of 10

[This comic book contains a preview of New Challengers #1 by Scott Snyder, Aaron Gillespie, Andy Kubert, Klaus Janson, Brad Anderson, and Deron Bennett.]

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: RETURN OF WOLVERINE #1

RETURN OF WOLVERINE No. 1 (OF 5)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Charles Soule
PENCILS: Steve McNiven
INKS: Jay Leisten
COLORS: Laura Martin
LETTERS: VC's Joe Sabino
EDITORS: Mark Paniccia and Jordan D. White
COVER:  Steve McNiven and Jay Leisten with Laura Martin
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: John Cassaday with Laura Martin; Steve McNiven and Jay Leisten with Laura Martin; Todd Nauck with Rachelle Rosenberg; Leinil Francis Yu with Sunny Gho
40pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (November 2018)

Parental advisory

Chapter One: “Hell”

Four years ago, Marvel Comics published Death of Wolverine.  Written by Charles Soule and drawn by Steven McNiven (pencils) and Jay Leisten (inks), the four-issue miniseries saw Wolverine a.k.a. Logan die as a result of injuries and loosing his supernatural healing factor that was a result of him being a mutant.  The most famous version of the Wolverine character:  the one who has been a member of the mutant X-Men and the one that made his first full appearance in The Incredible Hulk #181 (after having appeared in the last panel of #180), was dead.

Now after a year of Marvel teasing, Wolverine/Logan is returning in the five-issue comic book miniseries, Return of Wolverine.   The Death of Wolverine creative team of Soule, McNiven, and Leisten return for this resurrection event.  Laura Martin on colors and Joe Sabino on letters complete the creative team.

Return of Wolverine #1 (“Hell”) opens.  Wolverine awakens.  We know who he is, but he does not know who he is.  He is in some unknown location.  There is a saber-tooth tiger and a mammoth in cages near him.  A grievously wounded man tells Wolverine that he should be dead.  A woman who wants Wolverine to find her son tells him that he is a hero.  They both want Wolverine to find some organization called “Soteira” and a woman named “Persephone.”  They both want him to kill and destroy the woman and her organization respectively.  Still unsure of who is he or what happened or is happening, Wolverine figures, why not.  What else does he have to do?

Legendary comic book writer, Alan Moore, had a lot to say about DC Comics' announcement that it would produce prequel and sequel comic books based upon his and artist Dave Gibbons' also legendary, 12-issue comic book series, Watchmen.  As Moore has long disputed the contracts and rights issues between him and DC over Watchmen, he refused to participate in the eventual multi-comic book project, Before Watchmen (2012).

Moore described the comic book creators who signed on for the prequels as alternately “possibly halfway decent writers and artists” and people who don't even deserve the title of “creators.”  That irked some comics folks; I seem to remember Marvel Comics writer Jason Aaron being particularly miffed.  I think that Moore's comments can be accurately levied against quite a few comic book creators, past and present.

However, I think that it is not so much that comic book writers and artists are halfway decent; rather it is that they often produce halfway decent comic books, even when they are working on what is supposedly important, event comic books.

Return of Wolverine #1 is halfway decent.  I would say that the majority of the comic books written by Charles Soule that I have read I have really liked.  I halfway like Return of Wolverine #1, but not for the story, which. is halfway decent...   No., this is a poorly written comic book.  It is beneath a writer as highly-paid and as respected as Charles Soule is.  I hope future issues are better.

Meanwhile, I really like Steve McNiven and Jay Leisten's gorgeous artwork and goddess colorist Laura Martin's colors over those beautiful illustrations.  McNiven, Leisten, and Martin art recalls the art of Barry Windsor-Smith on the Wolverine origin story, “Weapon X,” which was originally published in Marvel Comics Presents #72 to 84 (cover dated:  March to September 1991).  Windsor-Smith infrequently produces comic book art; in fact, his last published comic book work may be the five-page section he drew for Wolverine #166 (cover dated:  September 2001).  So McNiven-Leisten-Martin's faux-Barry Windsor-Smith is the reason I will continue to read Return of Wolverine.

Thus, my grade for Return of Wolverine #1 is based on the art.  If it were based only on the story, it would get a failing grade.

5 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: AMERICAN GODS: My Ainsel #1

AMERICAN GODS: MY AINSEL No. 1
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Neil Gaiman
SCRIPT: P. Craig Russell
LAYOUTS: P. Craig Russell
ART: Scott Hampton
COLORS: Scott Hampton
LETTERS: Rick Parker
COVER: Glenn Fabry with Adam Brown
VARIANT COVER: David Mack
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 2018)

American Gods, written by Neil Gaiman, is a fantasy novel first published in 2001.  The novel won several fantasy-literary awards and has been developed into the current hit television series for the cable network, Starz Media.  American Gods blends Americana and also ancient and modern mythology to tell the story of a man caught in a war between the gods of the Old World and the new American gods.

American Gods is currently being adapted into a comic book by frequent Gaiman collaborator, P. Craig Russell, and publisher, Dark Horse Comics.  Russell is the guiding hand behind the American Gods comic book.  Russell writes the script adaptation of Gaiman's novel and provides the layouts for the art.  American Gods the comic book is drawn and colored by Scott Hampton and lettered by Rick Parker.

This comic book adaptation will yield 27 issues of three nine-issue arcs.  The first arc ended late in 2017, and the first issue of the second arc, American Gods: My Ainsel, recently debuted.

American Gods: My Ainsel #1 finds the protagonist, Shadow Moon, and his mysterious employer, Mr. Wednesday reunited after Shadow's time in Cairo, Illinois with Jacquel and Ibis.  Once again, Shadow is playing driver for Mr. Wednesday, and on Christmas Day, the duo stops in a small town for holiday meal at “Gus's Family Restaurant.”  Wednesday gives Shadow a new name, Mike Ainsel, but a new name is not the only new thing Shadow... er... Mike will experience.

In my review of previous issues of this series, I always inform you, dear reader that I am a big fan of American Gods, although I did not read it upon its original release in 2001.  I read the tenth anniversary edition which featured a longer text – the author's preferred edition.  I also feel that I must admit that I loved that book, and that “love” is not a strong enough word in this case.  American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition is one of my favorite books, and I consider the reading of that edition of American Gods to be a life-changing event for me in terms of my life as a writer.

With that out of the way, I can say that I continue to enjoy this series.  I admire the patient way in which P. Craig Russell adapts the novel.  He captures both the details and spirit of this narrative through balance, knowing what text to retain and what to translate into illustrations.  Scott Hampton drawings and colors are eccentric and ethereal, but also quite solid in storytelling.  Letterer Rick Parker  hums along, capturing the magic with his stylish fonts and with the deftness in where he places exposition and word balloons.

So again, I implore you readers to set aside your four dollars each month so that you can buy this lovely comic book, dear reader.  I still think that American Gods may end up being on the short list of great comic book adaptations of a prose novel.

9 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: URUSEI YATSURA Signature Edition Volume 1

URUSEI YATSURA SIGNATURE EDITION, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Rumiko Takahashi
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Camellia Nieh
LETTERS: Erika Terriquez
EDITOR: Amy Yu
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0342-5; paperback (February 2019); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
416pp, B&W, $19.99 U.S., $26.99 CAN, £12.99 UK

Urusei Yatsura is a manga series written and illustrated by legendary mangaka, Rumiko Takahashi.  A comedy, it was her first ongoing manga series and was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday from 1978 to 1987.  Urusei Yatsura is comprised of 374 individual chapters, which were collected in 34 tankōbon (graphic novel or trade paperback) volumes.  Urusei Yatsura (which means “obnoxious people”) is the story of a Japanese high school boy and the ogre-alien princess who vexes him.

VIZ Media published Urusei Yatsura in English during the 1990s in various formats.  In 2018, VIZ announced that it had re-licensed the manga and that it would publish it in its 2-in-1 mini-omnibus editions that collect two graphic novels or tankōbon volumes in one paperback volume.  The Urusei Yatsura Signature Edition is being published under the VIZ Signature imprint with a rating of “‘T+’ for Older Teens.”  Volume 1 carries a print MSRP of $19.99 U.S. / $26.99 CAN, and future volumes will present 400 pages of content in the larger “VIZ Signature” trim size, with the complete series scheduled for English publication by VIZ Media on a quarterly basis.

Urusei Yatsura (Signature Edition), Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 17) introduces Ataru Moroboshi, a lecherous, lazy, always hungry, and girl-crazy high school boy.  He is randomly chosen by an alien computer to battle for the salvation of Earth.  That is how he meets Lum, the alien slash ogre princess.  Lum starts to insists that she is Ataru's wife after he accidentally proposes to her.

Ataru considers Lum a pest and a needless complication in his life.  His real girlfriend, Shinobu, is furious at Ataru for putting himself in this position.  Now, Ataru finds himself fending off Lum, trying to appease Shinobu, and constantly in conflict with all manner of alien beings and also figures from Japanese mythology.

[This volume includes “Urusei Yatsura Data File” 01 and 02, “My Lum” by Rumiko Takahashi, and “Notes.”]

I first learned of Urusei Yatsura as an anime because I read (where, I don't remember) that it had influenced film director Chris Columbus (who directed the first two Harry Potter films) when he created the cult Saturday morning animated TV series, “Galaxy High” (1986).  Years later, I was able to buy a few episodes of the anime on VHS and also purchase a few issues of VIZ's publication of Urusei Yatsura as an American monthly comic book series.

Urusei Yatsura Signature Edition Graphic Novel Volume 1, which collects the first seventeen chapters of the original manga, is the first time that I have been able to read a substantial portion of Urusei Yatsura.  The thing that surprised me the most about this first volume is how well-developed the humor is despite the fact that this was Rumiko Takahashi's first ongoing series.  I have always admired how Takahashi can make a single chapter in a serial manga seem like a self-contained episode that is able to be a complete story by itself outside the main narrative.  Thus, each chapter is a comic work, and one of the best things about Urusei Yatsura is that each volume seems like a collection of sitcom episodes.

Another element that I enjoy is how Takahashi uses creatures and beings from Japanese folklore and mythology, often known as yokai.  Takahashi delights in the first volume with an colorful menagerie of princesses of various mythological types, including a crow goblin princess, a snow goddess, and even a kappa princess who has a jealous, giant-sized boyfriend.

After decades of expectations on my part, I find that Urusei Yatsura lives up to the hype.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I heartily recommend this debut volume, which is worth the $19.99 (U.S.) cover price.

A
8 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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