Idol Dreams: Chikage v Yuko - Dawn of a Recording Contract

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Review: DARK KNIGHT III: The Master Race #1

DARK KNIGHT III: THE MASTER RACE No. 1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review originally appeared on Patreon.]

STORY: Frank Miller and Brian Azzarello
PENCILS: Andy Kubert
INKS:  Klaus Janson
COLORS: Brad Anderson
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Andy Kubert and Klaus Janson
VARIANT COVERS: Jim Lee and Scott Williams with Alex Sinclair; Frank Miller with Alex Sinclair; Dave Gibbons and Klaus Janson with Brad Anderson; Jill Thompson
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (January 2016)

Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (also known simply as The Dark Knight Returns) was a four-issue comic book miniseries starring Batman.  Published by DC Comics in 1986, this prestige-format comic book was written by Frank Miller; drawn by Miller (pencils) and Klaus Janson (inks); colored by Lynn Varley; and lettered by John Costanza, with the book covers drawn by Miller and Varley.

Individually, the books were entitled “The Dark Knight Returns” (Book One); “Dark Knight Triumphant” (Book Two); “Hunt the Dark Knight” (Book Three); and “The Dark Knight Falls” (Book Four).  The series takes place in a future in which Bruce Wayne is 55 and retired from being Batman.  Gotham City's ongoing troubles give Wayne the reason he uses to bring Batman out of retirement, but Batman faces opposition from the city government and the police force.  The series introduces a new Robin, a girl named Carrie Kelley; depicts Batman's final battle with The Joker; and culminates with a confrontation against Superman, which leaves the world thinking that Batman is dead.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (also known as “DKR”) yielded a three-volume sequel, The Dark Knight Strikes Again (also known as “DK2”), published by DC Comics from late 2001 into 2002.   DC Comics has spent the last four years reliving its mid to late 1980s glory days, so now, there is a second sequel to The Dark Knight Returns.  This is an eight-issue series entitled Dark Knight III: The Master Race (also known as DKIII).  It is written by Frank Miller and Brian Azzarello; drawn by Andy Kubert (pencils) and Klaus Janson (inks); colored by Brad Anderson; and lettered by Clem Robins.

Kubert and Janson will be the lead cover artists, but DC is publishing numerous variant covers, about 50 for the issue of DKIII.  Each issue will also include an insert entitled “Dark Knight Universe Presents” drawn by different art teams and written by Miller and Azzarello... apparently.

Dark Knight III: The Master Race #1 opens with the return (once again) of Batman, but this time, the authority in Gotham City is even less welcoming.  Commissioner Yindel and the rest of the Gotham City Police Department are ready to take-down Batman.  Meanwhile, Wonder Woman fights and a legendary small city wants help, while Superman remains in limbo.

Dark Knight III: The Master Race #1 is not as good as Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Book One.  Let's just get that out of the way.  DKIII colorist Brad Anderson is nowhere nearly as good as DKR colorist, the legendary Lynn Varley (Frank Miller's ex-wife), whose watercolor-like hues were both subtle and vivid.  There is nothing distinguishing about the work of DKIII letterer Clem Robins, certainly not in the way DKR's John Costanza's lettering was so distinctive.

DKIII's art team of Andy Kubert and Klaus Janson capture the spirit and some of the style of DKR's Frank Miller and Janson.  Kubert, however, does not match the imaginative page layouts and awe-inspiring design that Miller gave the original work.

There is a rumor that Frank Miller has contributed relatively little to the storytelling in DKIII.  Word is that DC Comics was developing DKIII independently of Miller and went to him after they'd already made the decision to produce the project.  At the very least, Azzarello is clearly writing the scripts.  It shows.  This is not bad work, but nothing about this suggests the imagination and inventiveness that Frank Miller has brought to all his work:  the good stuff, the bad stuff, and the ambivalent experimental work.  Azzarello, as good as he can be, cannot be like Frank Miller because he is not in Miller's league, no matter how much Jim Lee, Geoff Johns, and the powers at DC Comics pretend he is.

Things could change; I could be delightfully surprised.  But right now Dark Knight III: The Master Race #1 is no more special than any other Batman comic book that is a particularly good read.

B

Dark Knight Universe Presents: The Atom #1 (Insert comic book)
STORY: Frank Miller and Brian Azzarello
PENCILS: Frank Miller
INKS: Klaus Janson
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Frank Miller with Alex Sinclair

Frank Miller actually pencils Dark Knight Universe Presents: The Atom #1, with Klaus Janson inking.  And no, it does not remind me of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns or Frank Miller's run on Daredevil, on which Janson was Miller's most frequent collaborator and partner.

This has potential, but it lacks the spark of any of Miller's best work.

B

[Retailer variant cover artists and art teams:
Dave Johnson; Sean Gordon Murphy; Lee Bermejo; Klaus Janson; Rafael Albuquerque; Jae Lee with June Chung; Eduardo Risso; Jock; Walter Simonson with Laura Martin; Ivan Reis with Marcelo Maiolo; Aaron Lopresti; Tyler Kirkman with Tomeu Morey; Brian Bolland; Paul Pope with Jose Villarrubia; Gabriele Dell'Otto; John Cassady with Laura Marin; Tony Daniel with Tomeu Morey; Matt Wagner with Brennan Wagner; Michael Allred and Laura Allred; Brian Stelfreeze; Amanda Conner with Paul Mounts; Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson; Jason Fabok with Brad Anderson; Darwyn Cooke, Josh Middleton; Gary Frank with Brad Anderson; Howard Porter with Hi-Fi; Kevin Eastman with Varga Tamás; Bill Sienkiewicz; Dave Dorman; Greg Capullo with FCO Plascencia; Stanley “Artgerm” Lau; Marc Silvestri with Alex Sinclair; Kelley Jones; Dale Keown with Jason Keith; Neal Adams with Alex Sinclair; Simon Bisley; Tony Harris; David Finch and Scott Hanna with Brad Anderson; Scott Williams with Alex Sinclair; John Romita, Jr. and Danny Miki with Dean White; Adam Hughes; Francis Manapul; J. Scott Campbell with Nei Ruffino; Tim Sale; Bruce Timm; Babs Tarr]

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


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Komomo Confiserie: My Boyfriend's Girlfriend

I posted a review of Komomo Confiserie Volume 3 at the ComicBookBin.

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Hayate the Combat Butler: Nagi Wants to Be a Mangaka

I read Hayate the Combat Butler, Vol. 27

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Book Review: LOVECRAFT COUNTRY

LOVECRAFT COUNTRY
HARPERCOLLINS – @HarperCollins

AUTHOR: Matt Ruff – @bymattruff
ISBN: 978-0-06-229206-3; hardcover (February 16, 2016)
384pp, B&W, $26.99 U.S.

Lovecraft Country is a 2016 fantasy novel from acclaimed cult novelist, Matt Ruff (Fool on the Hill; The Mirage).  Blending fantasy, historical fiction, Lovecraftian horror, and weird fiction, Lovecraft Country focuses on a Black man, his father, his uncle, and a small circle of Black friends and relatives who take on sorcery and Jim Crow-era secret occult societies.

It's 1954.  22-year-old African-American, Atticus Turner, recently received a letter from his estranged father, Montrose Turner.  The letter was a summons for Attitcus, a Korean War Army veteran, to return home to Chicago.  When he arrives at his father's apartment, Atticus learns that Montrose left several days earlier in the company of a young White man.  His destination – a mysterious, small village named Ardham, deep in the Sabbath Kingdom Woods of Devon County, Massachusetts.

Atticus embarks on a road trip to New England to find Montrose.  He is accompanied by his Uncle George Berry, his father's brother and the publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide, a periodical that informs African-American travelers which hotels, restaurants, and business serve “Colored” people.  Letitia Dandridge, a childhood friend of Atticus', insists on tagging along.

Shortly after arriving in Ardham, they find Montrose in chains, held prisoner by Samuel Braithwhite, the leader of a secret cabal known as the Order of the Ancient Dawn.  Braithwhite and his fellow conspirators plan to orchestrate a bizarre ritual that requires Atticus' participation.  To escape, Atticus and company will need the help of Braithwhite's son, Caleb, who has his own need of the Turner clan.

Late last year, I saw the movie, American Ultra, which basically failed at the box office and received mixed reviews from film critics.  I, however, loved it, and I had a blast watching it.  American Ultra reminded me of why I watch so many movies:  no matter how many bad or disappointing movies I watch, I will always find movies that thrill me, spark my imagination, inspire me to make a difference, or just make me happy.

Lovecraft Country does all those things.  I am embarrassed to admit that I seem at a lost to completely and accurately describe how much I enjoyed this book and what it did to me.  There are so many shocking and amazing things about Lovecraft Country.

For one thing, author Matt Ruff is a White man.  His depiction of how African-Americans had to live in segregated, racist, Jim Crow America match what other authors have detailed in non-fiction books written by Black and White Americans, who lived in that America or researched it.  What boggles the mind, however, is that a White man captures the indignities heaped on Black people and the dangers they faced during Jim Crow with such intensity that you might think that he is a Black man.

And let's be honest, Jim Crow may have lost a lot of feathers, but he is still alive.  There are quite a few things that Ruff depicts in this book that I have experienced in our allegedly more enlightened times.  Ruff gets it, so much so that he must be a secret Negro, or he has some kind of telepathic connection with a lot of Black folks – past and present.

The copy on the back of the book jacket calls Lovecraft Country a “...brilliant and wondrous work of the imagination....” and “...a devastating kaleidoscopic portrait of racism—the terrifying specter that continues to haunt us today.”  That's the triple-truth Ruth.  Lovecraft Country blends the modern fantasy inventiveness of writers like J.K. Rowling and Neil Gaiman with the inspired pulp fiction imaginations of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard and their contemporaries.

Matt Ruff does these writers one better, however.  His fantastic fantasy invention does not leave out the true darkness and terror, and that is the real malevolence of venomous racial hate, bigotry, and prejudice.  By making his characters Black people living under the yoke of oppression, Ruff dares to imagine a world of magic that is as poisonous as it is wondrous.

Readers are always looking for great books.  Some want the kind of novels that are usually called the “best of the year.”  Well, they should travel to Lovecraft Country.

A+

http://www.bymattruff.com/

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

Review: SHURIKEN AND PLEATS Volume 1

SHURIKEN AND PLEATS, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Matsuri Hino
TRANSLATION: Katherine Schilling
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-4215-8525-3; paperback (March 2016); Rated “T” for “Teen”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Matsuri Hino created the bestselling manga, Vampire Knight.  Her other popular series include Captive Hearts and MeruPuri.  Her latest series is Shuriken and Pleats.

It focuses on teenager, Mikage Kirio, a skilled ninja.  After the master that she is sworn to protect is killed, Mikage moves to Japan to start a new, peaceful life for herself.  Soon after she arrives, Mikage finds herself fighting to protect a man being attack by two ninja.

Shuriken and Pleats, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 5) finds Mikage totally dedicated to her master, James G. Rod, who has already lost family members to assassins.  Despite her best efforts, James is killed.  In Japan, Mikage hopes to enjoy the life James had planned for her.  Mikage enrolls in high school, where she finds other teenagers, especially Kotaro Suzuki, to be curious.  Soon, however, Mikage is drawn into the machinations of a powerful family, after she saves a man named Mahito Wakashimatsu.

The Shuriken and Pleats manga is another of those manga that are tailored made for me to love.  I am a fan of ninja manga, such as Tail of the Moon and especially the recently completed Naruto.  Shuriken and Pleats is a different kind of ninja manga, which is what I would expect from Matsuri Hino.

Shuriken and Pleats Volume 1 offers plenty of action involving ninja and also lots of intrigue.  I find it odd that Hino fills the first five chapters of this manga with so much back story, plot twists, plot lines, etc.  It is as if Hino is hurrying to finish this story.  In fact, there were times when I thought that the story was racing to its conclusion because it was a single-volume manga.

I have to admit that I am a little confused about the protagonist or antagonist status of several characters.  Perhaps, that is how Hino intends it, so I hope that Shuriken and Pleats reaches it potential because I do like my ninja manga.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

Review: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2015) No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review originally appeared on Patreon.]

WRITER: Brian Michael Bendis
ART: Valerio Schiti
COLORS: Richard Isanove
LETTERS: VC’s Cory Petit
COVER: Art Adams with Dave Stewart
VARIANT COVERS: Valerio Schiti with Richard Isanove; Jason Latour; Shawn Crystal with Chris Brunner; Mike and Laura Allred; John Tyler Christopher; Contagious Costuming and Judy Stephens
28pp, Color, $3.99 (December 2015)

Rated “T”

The Guardians of the Galaxy are a Marvel Comics superhero team.  Created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Gene Colan, the team first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #18 (cover dated: January 1969).  However, the best known version of the Guardians of the Galaxy first appeared in 2007.  Created by writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, the team's initial roster included Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Quasar, Adam Warlock, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, and Groot.

Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, and Groot would go on to be the stars of Marvel Studios' surprise 2014 hit film, Guardians of the Galaxy.  With the launch of the “All-New, All-Different Marvel,” there is a new Guardians of the Galaxy comic book.  The series is written by Brian Michael Bendis; drawn by Valerio Schiti; colored by Richard Isanove; and lettered by Cory Petit.

Guardians of the Galaxy #1 features the team of Kitty Pryde as Star-Lord, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, The Thing, and Venom.  A run-in with the Chitauri leaves the group with a mysterious item and no knowledge of how powerful or dangerous that object is.  Meanwhile, on Planet Spartax, Peter Quill, the original Star-Lord, finds his new life as King to be an utter bore.  He does not realize that excitement is bound to return in many ways...

I last read Guardians of the Galaxy during the story arc, “The Trial of Jean Grey,” a crossover event with All-New X-Men.  Then, I didn't find a reason to keep reading.  I am not sure that this first issue gives me a reason to keep reading this new series, now.  It is not as if this new Guardians of the Galaxy #1 is awful or anything; besides, I am a fan of writer Brian Michael Bendis.  New series artist Valerio Schiti delivers some pretty art and solid storytelling.

I guess it is just that I got this first issue because I am trying to read as many #1 issues in the “All-New, All-Different Marvel” as I can.  I don't plan on reading as many #2 issues, I can tell you that, dear reader.  This is not a bad comic book... I reiterate.  I think fans of the modern incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy will enjoy this comic book.  It is just that if money is tight for you, dear reader, this comic book is not worth $3.99 if you are not a fan.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.