#IReadsYou Review: HEY KIDS! COMICS! Volume 2: Prophets & Loss #1

HEY KIDS! COMICS! VOL. 2: PROPHETS & LOSS #1 (OF 6)
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

WRITER/ARTIST: Howard Chaykin
COLORS: Gustavo Yen
LETTERS: Ken Bruzenak
EDITOR: Thomas K
COVER: Howard Chaykin with Gustavo Yen
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (May 2021)

Rated “M / Mature”

Hey Kids! Comics! Vol. 2: Prophets and & Loss is a new six-issue comic book miniseries from writer-artist, Howard Chaykin.  Published by Image Comics, it is a sequel to Chaykin's 2018 five-issue miniseries, Hey Kids! Comics!, which was described as depicting “nearly a century of turbulence and and drama in the American comic book industry” and also telling “the stories of the men and women that created it (with names changed, of course).”  Chaykin returns to his history of comics, and the creative team on this new series includes colorist Gustavo Yen and letterer Ken Bruzenak, a longtime Chaykin collaborator.

Hey Kids! Comics! Vol. 2: Prophets and & Loss #1 opens in 1970.  Here, Tommy has a fateful encounter with the comic book collection of his pal Ronnie's older brother, Ira, who is currently stationed in Vietnam (along with his father).  The story moves back to 1951, an important year in American comic books.  Comic book sales have dipped because the enlisted men market of World War II has faded, and the children of these formerly enlisted men are more interested in television than in comic books.

Meanwhile, in the offices of Graham Woods Publications (GW Publications), owner Paul Gertz is about to risk everything on a new line of comics books, if he can keep his two editors, Arnold Grossberg and Dick Altman, from each other's throat.  However, copycats and a self-serving trio could take GW and comics down for the count.

THE LOWDOWN:  Hey Kids! Comics! #1 is told in scenes that take place in five different years (1945, 1955, 1965, 1967, and 2001).  Hey Kids! Comics! Vol. 2: Prophets and & Loss #1 opens in 1971, but focuses on the events of 1951 and on events connected to that year.

Like the first issue of original, Prophets and & Loss #1 offers a story that involves several characters, multiple employers, and lots of job changes.  In the first series, the shifts in time are jarring, as Chaykin introduces characters, plots, and settings without really focusing in on developing characters.  Thus, the first issue of the original series seems to be more about introductions than it is about examining the nitty gritty details of character, storytelling, and drama.

The shifts in Prophets and & Loss #1 are not about time, but do take the readers to different comic book publishing offices and studios.  These shifts are not as jarring as the ones in the original series, especially if you, dear readers, are somewhat familiar with American comic book history.  The places in Hey Kids! Comics! Vol. 2: Prophets and & Loss #1 are obvious stand-ins for EC Comics and National Periodicals (DC Comics).  This time, Chaykin is all about examining the nitty gritty details of character, storytelling, and drama

Several EC Comics creators, from Harvey Kurtzman and Al Feldstein to Wally Wood and William Gaines, make appearances under the guise of new characters.  Even Joe Simon and Jack Kirby make a cameo.  And my beloved trio of Ray Clarke, Benita Heindel, and Ted Whitman from the first series are also in Hey Kids! Comics! Vol. 2: Prophets and & Loss #1.

Hey Kids! Comics! #1 starts slow, although it tells an engrossing story.  Hey Kids! Comics! Vol. 2: Prophets and & Loss #1 is also engrossing, but does not have a slow start; it seems a lot more intense.  To me, after reading Hey Kids! Comics! Vol. 2: Prophets and & Loss #1, it feels like Chaykin has planted an improvised explosive device somewhere inside this series.  It makes me eager to read more.

I heartily recommend that readers get the trade paperback collection of the first issue, and then, enjoy Hey Kids! Comics! Vol. 2: Prophets and & Loss.  I already am, and I can't wait for more.  The Hey Kids! Comics! series is among Howard Chaykin's best work, and, though I revere American Flagg!, this sly and shameless history of American comic books might be his best work.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Howard Chyakin will want to read Hey Kids! Comics! Vol. 2: Prophets and Loss.

A
8 out of 10

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


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The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: GREEN ARROW: The Longbow Hunters: Book One

GREEN ARROW: THE LONGBOW HUNTERS: BOOK ONE (OF THREE)
DC COMICS

WRITER/ARTIST: Mike Grell
ASSIST: Lurene Haines
COLORS: Julia Lacquement
LETTERS: Ken Bruzenak
EDITOR: Mike Gold
COVER: Mike Grell
48pp, Color, $2.95 U.S., $3.95 CAN (1987)

Green Arrow is a DC Comics superhero.  Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 (cover dated: November 1941).  Green Arrow is Oliver Jonas Queen, a wealthy businessman and owner of Queen Industries.

As Green Arrow, Queen wears a Robin Hood-like costume and is an archer who uses his skills to fight crime in the cities where he has lived.  Once upon a time, Green Arrow used a range of trick arrows or “specialty arrows” (explosive-tipped arrows, grappling hook arrows, and tear gas arrows, for instance).  The character has also been depicted differently over eight decades of existence by numerous creators.

Comic book writer-artist, Mike Grell, was first associated with Green Arrow over the period of 1974 to 1978.  First, Green Arrow was a back-up feature in Action Comics (1974-76) that Grell drew.  From 1976-78, Arrow was Green Lantern's partner in the comic book, Green Lantern, although the cover was titled "Green Lantern/Green Arrow."

Grell returned to the character in the 1987, three-issue, “prestige” comic book miniseries, Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters.  The Longbow Hunters began Grell's second association with the character, which ran for a little more than six years and which included an 80-issue run as writer of the Green Arrow (1988) ongoing series.  The Longbow Hunters finds an aging Oliver Queen haunted by both the life he has led and by the choices he did not make.  He is also hunting two brutal killers stalking the streets of his new hometown, Seattle.  The entire Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters series is written by Grell; drawn by Grell with his assistant, Lurene Haines; colored by Julia Lacquement; and lettered by the great Ken Bruzenak.

As Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters Book One: The Hunters opens, the city of Seattle, Washington is being plagued by a serial killer, known as the “Seattle Slasher,” who has been killing prostitutes.  As the story begins, the Slasher claims his eighteenth victim.  Meanwhile, Ollie Queen/Green Arrow relocates from Star City to Seattle, the home of his girlfriend, Dinah Lance, who is also the superhero Black Canary.

Queen is 43-years-old, and he has changed his Green Arrow costume and has abandoned the use of his trademark trick arrows for more traditional archery equipment.  Queen wants to make another change in his life.  He is suffering something of a mid-life crisis, and he ruminates on the life he has led and the paths in life he did not take.  He and Dinah are opening a flower shop, “Sherwood Florist,” but he would also like to have a baby with Dinah.  As Black Canary, Dinah is working undercover to investigate a drug racket, and she believes that she and Oliver live too dangerous a life to consider becoming parents when their activities could leave a child an orphan.

Meanwhile, Green Arrow is also trying to track down the Seattle Slasher.  During his investigation, Queen encounters a mysterious young female archer named, Shado.  She has an elaborate dragon tattoo on her left arm, and she may have ties to the Yakuza.  Shado is also executing a group of elderly men who would have been of age for service during World War II.  Oliver cannot figure out what connects these men that Shado is killing, but some of her victims may have something to do with Dinah's case.  And these connections could get them all killed.

THE LOWDOWN:  Three and half decades later, when people speak or write about Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters, they still talk about the gritty turn Mike Grell gave the character.  The truth is that from the year 1986 forward, DC Comics published science fiction and fantasy comics that were darker and edgier than any of their previous comics in those genres.  DC Comics titles took on more mature and adult themes, and some superheroes were grim, gritty, or grim and gritty or, in the case of Batman, grimmer than ever.

What Grell did with Green Arrow was different.  In Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters, he began the process of making Green Arrow an urban hunter – a vigilante who stalked violent criminals from the streets to the suites.  Arrow became a hunter and his prey was the worst of male humanity.  On the civilian side, Grell made Oliver face his mortality, be thoughtful about the choices he made and did not make, and think back on the important moments of his youth.

The two women in Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters essentially reflect or represent what Oliver can have and what he could have become.  Dinah Lance/Black Canary is his future, if Oliver accepts certain realities.  Shado, had certain moments in his past turned out differently, is what Oliver could have become … or might become, given the right circumstances.

Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters is certainly one of the most beautiful miniseries that DC Comics published in the 1980s.  Mike Grell, with the assistance of Lurene Haines, drew the story in illustrative textures that have a Film-Noir quality that is perfect for both the narrative's thoughtful, moody moments and for its violence.  The hints of realism and fantasy are balanced by Julia Lacquement's coloring, which is perfectly fashioned for each moment of the narrative.  Of course, letterer Ken Bruzenak is in top form.  His lettering conveys the tone and pace of the story, perfectly, every step of the way.

This recent reading is at least the third time that I have read Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters, but this is the first time in over twenty years.  Still, it never disappoints, so I plan to read it again … even if it takes me awhile to get back to it.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mike Grell and of Green Arrow will want to read Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters.

A
9 out of 10

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


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The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: THE SHADOW #1

THE SHADOW #1 (1986)
DC COMICS

WRITER/ARTIST: Howard Chaykin
COLORS: Alex Wald
LETTERS: Ken Bruzenak
EDITOR: Andrew Helfer
COVER: Howard Chaykin
32pp, Color, $1.50 U.S., $2.00 CAN (May 1986)

“Blood and Judgment”

The Shadow is a fictional character that debuted as a mysterious voice narrating a radio program.  It was July 31, 1930 that The Shadow began as the host of the radio program, “Detective Story Hour.”  Street and Smith Publications, publishers of Detective Story Magazine, hired writer Walter B. Gibson to create a character concept that fit The Shadow's name and voice and to also write a story featuring him.  The first issue of The Shadow Magazine went on sale on April 1, 1931.

Howard Chaykin is a long time comic book writer, artist, and writer-artist.  He is best known for drawing the first ten issues of Marvel Comics' original Star Wars comic book series and for his adult science fiction comic book series, American Flagg!, which began publication in 1983 via First Comics.

In the 1970s and 1980s, DC Comics held the license to publish comic books featuring The Shadow.  In 1986, The Shadow and writer-artist Howard Chaykin came together in a four-issue miniseries, simply entitled The Shadow.  Chaykin's creative team on The Shadow included colorist Alex Wald and letterer Ken Bruzenak (a frequent Chaykin collaborator).  Chaykin's Shadow re-imagined the origins of The Shadow and of his alter-ego, Lamont Cranston, and also updated the characters.  The miniseries has since been collected in book form as The Shadow: Blood and Judgment.

The Shadow #1 opens with a series of savage murders of elderly men and women.  Eventually, federal agent, Mavis Lockhart of the “Crime Statistics Bureau,” figures out that these elderly victims were former agents of the mysterious vigilante, The Shadow.”  Mostly focusing on the area in and around New York City, The Shadow waged a brutal campaign against the criminal underworld in the 1930s and 1940s before disappearing.

Mavis happens to be the daughter of Harry Vincent, a former agent of The Shadow, who is still alive.  Also living is Mrs. Donald Forsythe, formerly known as Margo Lane.  The Shadow's best known agent, Lane was one of the few agents who knew many of his secrets, and she was the lover of both Lamont Cranston and The Shadow.  As it turns out, Vincent is also a target the killers of The Shadow's agents, and the killers turn out to be a gang of “Punk-Sex-Ghouls.”

Although he left, The Shadow still has agents in America that keep him abreast of the situation in the country, and one of them is “Lorelei.”  The Shadow is now known as “Ying Ko” and lives in the legendary kingdom of Shambala with his two sons, Ching Yao Chang and Hsu-Tei.  Learning that his former agents are being targeted, Ying Ko and his sons travel to New York City.

Reunited with the bitter Harry and the even more bitter Margo/Mrs. Forsythe, The Shadow reveals his true origin to them.  His real name is Kent Allard, and via a series of criminal misadventures back in the 1920s, he would up in Shambala, a land of mysticism and super-science.  With him was someone else, Lamont Cranston, the wastrel son of a rich man.  After seemingly killing Cranston in self-defense, Allard assumed his identity and arrived in New York in the 1930s as The Shadow, a paladin of Shambala, with a body physically, mentally, metaphysically and cybernetically enhanced.  Allard returned to Shambala in 1949 as the kingdom prepared to hide itself away.  Thanks to the science of Shambala, Allard/Ying-Ko still looks like a 30-something man 35 years after he left.

It turns out that the real Lamont Cranston has survived and is now known as Preston Mayrock, a wealthy businessman whose interests include legitimate and criminal enterprises.  Now, wheelchair bound, Mayrock launches his ultimate plans, which include his son, Preston Mayrock, Jr., that the elder Mayrock paid twenty-five million dollars to be “specially bred.”  Mayrock wants Allard to take him and Junior back to Shamballa where, he believes, the super-science will transfer his brain into his son's body.  And if Allard/The Shadow refuses, Mayrock has a low-yield nuclear weapon that he will launch on New York City.

THE LOWDOWN:  Howard Chaykin's The Shadow was controversial at the time of its initial release.  The most noted critic of Chaykin's work on The Shadow was the late speculative fiction author, television writer, and essayist, Harlan Ellison.  Chaykin basically brushed off his critics as being childish, although his response to critics of his work on The Shadow and of his work in general tended towards being childish.

However, the negative reaction to The Shadow is a classic pre-World Wide Web example of the insistence by a small group of fans that stories featuring particular fictional character are not just fiction, but those stories are also that characters' mythology.  And that mythology is holy writ.  Even if a fictional character is not featured in any story for decades, when that character is revived, the tellers of the new stories must treat the previous stories with reverence.  For instance, if the old stories said that a particular character loved ice cream, the new writer cannot make him lactose intolerant.  To do so would be an unforgivable violation of the (fictional) character and a betrayal of the fans who believe that they are the ones who have kept said character “alive” so that he could be revived.

When I first read Chaykin's The Shadow I had heard of the character, but had never read a word of the old pulp stories that Walter Gibson had written.  I have read The Shadow: Blood and Judgment, as it is now known, a few times at different points in my life, and I have always enjoyed it.  Whether it is dated on not is a matter of personal opinion.  I love that it is gleefully violent, over-the-top, and ruthlessly sarcastic about what was then the contemporary culture of New York City.

I like Chaykin's drawing style, but his sense of page design and the graphic design in his compositions are what always drive me to his work.  A Chaykin comic book is page after page of visually striking graphics, including Ken Bruzenak's dramatic lettering and spectacular sound effects.  Bruzenak is so good at what he does that he seems to create a soundtrack for Chaykin's comics, especially the action sequences.  Colorist Alex Wald makes the best of the techniques available to him at the time of this comic book's publication.  His rich coloring makes Chaykin's illustrations pop.

There have been a few times when I have been asked about The Shadow, and I do not hesitate to recommend The Shadow: Blood and Judgment, as a comic book or as a trade paperback.  I think that it is an excellent example of Howard Chaykin's work, and it is probably the best modern take on The Shadow.  I think I'll read it again, soon.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Howard Chaykin and of The Shadow will want want to read the miniseries now known as The Shadow: Blood and Judgment.

A
9 out of 10

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

[This comic book includes the essays, “The Shadow's Agents: From the private annals of the Shadow as told to Anthony Tollin” and “The Man Who Created The Shadow,” both written by Anthony Tollin.]


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The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: HEY KIDS! COMICS! #1

HEY KIDS! COMICS! No. 1
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER/ARTIST: Howard Chaykin
COLORS: Wil Quintana
LETTERS: Ken Bruzenak
EDITOR: Thomas K
COVER: Don Cameron
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2018)

Rated “M / Mature”

Hey Kids! Comics! is a new comic book from writer-artist, Howard Chaykin.  This comic book depicts nearly a century of turbulence and and drama in the American comic book industry, and tells the stories of the men and women that created it (with names changed, of course).    Chaykin's creative team on this series includes colorist Wil Quintana and letterer Ken Bruzenak, a longtime Chaykin collaborator.

Hey Kids! Comics! #1 opens in 1967 with an encounter between a comic book mogul and one of his former comic book creators slash freelancers... on Broadway!  Moving back to 1945, we meet Ted Whitman, recently discharged from the Navy, and Ray Clarke, recently discharged from the Army.  Whitman, a rare black man working in comics, and Clarke, who had some work before military service, are both looking to get back to work in the comics biz.  But things have changed since they last worked for a comics publishing firm, and they seem to be changing still... and not for the best... when it comes to the rank and file.

Hey Kids! Comics! #1 is told in scenes that take place in five different years (1945, 1955, 1965, 1967, and 2001).  The story involves several characters, multiple employers, and lots of job changes.  The shifts in time are jarring, and Chaykin introduces characters, plots, and settings without really focusing in on developing characters.  Thus, this first issue seems to be more about introductions than it is about examining the nitty gritty details of character, storytelling, and drama.

Still, I find Hey Kids! Comics! #1 hugely engrossing.  I have been a fan of both fiction and non-fiction books that take readers behind the scenes of comic book publishing.  My favorites are Michael Chabon's 2000 novel, The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a work of fiction, and two recent non-fiction works, Sean Howe's Marvel Comics: The Untold Story (2012) and Larry Tye's Superman: a High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero (2012).

Chaykin also began his comic book career working as an assistant for Gil Kane and Wally Wood, two comic book legends who started working in American comic books in the 1940s.  Chaykin also worked as an assistant for Neal Adams, who emerged in the 1960s and early 1970s as a superstar.  From anecdotes I have both read and been told, Adams' manner of working and his graphics style may have irritated comic book artists who had been working in comic books long before Adams.

So I am really looking forward to future issues of Hey Kids! Comics!  I will always recommend Chaykin's comic books to people who are already fans of his, but I think that readers interested in the history of comic book publishing will also want to take a look at Hey Kids! Comics!

7 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 reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THE RUFF AND REDDY SHOW #1

THE RUFF & REDDY SHOW No. 1 (OF 6)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Howard Chaykin
ART: Mac Rey
COLORS: Mac Rey
LETTERS: Ken Bruzenak
COVER: Howard Chaykin with Wil Quintana
VARIANT COVER: Mac Rey
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2017)

Rated “T+” for “Teen Plus”

Ruff and Reddy: A Cautionary Tale in Six Parts Part One

“The Ruff and Reddy Show” (also known as “Ruff and Reddy”) was an animated television series made by Hanna-Barbera Productions (H-B Productions) for NBC.  It was also the first animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera.  “The Ruff and Reddy Show” premiered in December 1957 and ran for fifty episodes until April 1960, comprising three seasons.  “Ruff and Reddy” followed the adventures of Ruff, a smart and steadfast cat, and Reddy, a friendly and brave (but not too bright) dog.

DC Comics has been reinventing and re-imagining classic Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoons in new comic book series since early 2016, the best example being Scooby Apocalypse, which is “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” with an apocalyptic twist.

“The Ruff and Reddy Show” is the latest classic H-B series to get a DC Comics re-imagining.  The Ruff & Reddy Show is a six-issue comic book miniseries.  It is written by Howard Chaykin; drawn and colored by Mac Rey; and lettered by Ken Bruzenak.

The Ruff & Reddy Show #1 opens in the 1950s and finds America caught between communist/Russia hysteria and the comfort of post-WWII economic prosperity (which white people who are of the Silent Generation or are Baby Boomers call “the good old days”).  On television, “The Ruff and Reddy Show” is a hit, but its stars are not necessarily in the best place.  Ruff and his comedy partner, Reddy, are “celimates,” and neither guy really likes the other.  When everything falls apart, are they ready to try something new to get back to the top of the entertainment mountain?

Considering that this is written by Howard Chaykin, it is surprisingly unimaginative.  The Ruff and Reddy Show also shares a setting that is similar to Satellite Sam (Image Comics), the series Chaykin produced with writer Matt Fraction.  I was somewhat interested in Satellite Sam, but not enough to really seek out the series past the first issue.  I am even less interested in The Ruff and Reddy Show; it just seems like DC Comics is really reaching in its (forced?) effort to re imagine the Hanna-Barbera library.  It seems as if Chaykin favors the lost potential or possibilities of the past (this series and his other work set post-WWII) while holding the actual potential and possibilities of the present in disdain?

Also, the story is lost in all the dark colors and black space created by artist Mac Rey.  Rey's art looks like the work of someone who misunderstands Maurice Noble and uses illustration software to make ugly Maurice Noble-inspired art.  I don't know if I will read the second issue, but I do know that The Ruff & Reddy Show #1 is not worth its $3.99 cover price.

3.5 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THE DIVIDED STATES OF HYSTERIA #2

THE DIVIDED STATES OF HYSTERIA No. 2
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER/ARTIST: Howard Chaykin
COLORS: Jesus Aburtov
LETTERS: Ken Bruzenak
COVER: Howard Chaykin with Wil Quintana
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2017)

Rated “M / Mature”

The Divided States of Hysteria is the controversial new comic book series from renowned comic book creator, Howard Chaykin (American Flagg!, Midnight of the Soul).  Chaykin's collaborators include colorist Jesus Aburtov and Chaykin's longtime letterer, Ken Bruzenak.  Published by Image Comics, The Divided States of Hysteria is set in an America that is steadily being destabilized after the assassination of a sitting President and a worst-case terrorist attack that follows.

The Divided States of Hysteria #2 opens after seven pregnant women launched a terrorist attack using nuclear devices and a biological weapon that left much of New York City in ruins.  Ambitious, ladder-climbing, CIA field officer, Frank Villa, is being blamed for the attack because he was supposed to prevent just such a thing from happening.  New President of the United States, Michelle Taylor, fires Villa and contemplates having the Navy SEALs kill him.  Even worse, Villa's wife, two children, and mistress are all dead because of the attack.

Now, Chandler Vandergylt, CEO of private prison corporation, River Run, Inc., is giving Villa a chance to help President Taylor help the country.  And four mass killers: Henry John Noone, Christopher Michael Silver, Paul Evan Berg, and Cesare John Nacamulli, are going to help Villa help the President pull the country back together!

In his afterword to the second issue, Howard Chaykin says (basically) that if you don't like what he is doing in his new comic book, The Divided States of Hysteria, don't buy “the fucking book.”  Ah, if only it were that easy.  People are drawn to controversy, and this comic book is controversial.  Just recently, Chaykin and Image Comics had to withdraw the cover art for the as-yet-unpublished fourth issue of this series after releasing an image of it as preview material for North American comic book distributor, Diamond Distributors.

See... this is not the 1980s when fannish comic book reviewers like Don and Maggie Thompson and R.A. Jones ran interference for Chaykin when people criticized Chaykin's legendary 1980s comic book, American Flagg! for, among other things, violence, racism, and objectifying women.  [I think R.A. Jones even said he wished someone would objectify him.]  Now, we have what we did not have in the 1980s, social media.  Social media can amplify the voices of critics to the point that even the baddest, do-what-the-fuck-I-want comic book creator has to back down more than he ever thought he would.  The Divided States of Hysteria is not going to get the honeymoon American Flagg! got.

All that aside, The Divided States of Hysteria is a surprisingly, really good comic book.  It has a plausible, near-future, semi-dystopian scenario, and the second issue is a little more clear on who the players are, what's going on, and what might happen going forward.

I do think that Chaykin and (judging by this issue's letters' page) some of his readers are a bit naive about the divided state of America.  America is a place divided by race, class, ethnicity, religion, etc. in its foundation.  The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution may say a lot of things, but at the end of the day, a lot of people don't believe that people whom they don't like are equal to them, nor should they be treated that way.  There may have been times when the majority of White people in America were united.  There may indeed have been times when a few Black people joined them, but the truth is that certain people were not allowed by the majority to join in on this unity.

The continuation of the bondage of African slaves and their descendants; the displacement of native tribes and the theft of their lands; and the limit of the franchise all basically established divisions in this country from its beginning.  Billy Joel is right:  we didn't start the fire.  The divided states of hysteria is not an accident.  It was a deliberately laid foundation.  Rewriting history and pretending that there was a time when ALL of us were united as a county is not a reality; it is a part of an agenda.

I am not really interested in the points behind The Divided States of Hysteria... for now.  I choose to enjoy it as near-future science fiction comic book with potential, rather than as a declaration of how we should be.

8.5 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THE DIVIDED STATES OF HYSTERIA #1

THE DIVIDED STATES OF HYSTERIA #1
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER/ARTIST: Howard Chaykin
COLORS: Jesus Aburtov
LETTERS: Ken Bruzenak
COVER: Howard Chaykin with Wil Quintana
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (June 2017)

Rated “M / Mature”

The Divided States of Hysteria is a new comic book series from renowned comic book creator, Howard Chaykin (American Flagg!, Midnight of the Soul).  Chaykin's collaborators include colorist Jesus Aburtov and Chaykin's longtime letterer, Ken Bruzenak.  Published by Image Comics, The Divided States of Hysteria is set in an America that is being destabilized by catastrophic terrorists attacks.

The Divided States of Hysteria #1 opens one month after the elected President of the United States and most of the cabinet were assassinated in an aborted coup d'etat.  The narrative focuses in on Washington D.C. where we meet an ambitious, ladder-climbing, CIA field officer, Frank Villa.  Frank is trying to warn his superiors, including the new President, that a worst-case terrorist attack on D.C. is imminent, but the decision makers would like to analyze the data on Frank's claims before they make big decisions.  Meanwhile, four mass killers: Henry John Noone, Christopher Michael Silver, Paul Evan Berg, and Cesare John Nacamulli, are arrested.

In his afterword to the first issue, Howard Chaykin says (basically) that he thought his new comic book, The Divided States of Hysteria, was dark, but that, in the year since he first announced it, real-world America had turned darker.  Chaykin is obviously referencing a number of events, in particularly that celebrity/public figure/businessman Donald Trump is now President of the United States.  He blames both sides of the left/right political divide.  I tend to blame the fact that the levers of power in this country are mostly attainable through a rigged election system, but let's not talk about that now.

I cannot give The Divided States of Hysteria a grade rating at this time, but I am interested in it.  It is the philosophical, if not spiritual, heir to Chaykin's seminal mid-1980s comic book series, American Flagg!  The Divided States of Hysteria #1 suggests that this series will be an epic narrative told through multiple characters in multiple settings and involving multiple plot lines – like American Flagg!

Chaykin divides the space on each page into three or four rectangles, and those rectangles are sometimes divided by borders or by objects, and sometimes inset panels are added.  Even the word balloons and caption boxes are rectangle-shaped.  Those rectangles are crowed with information (via balloons and boxes) and illustrations and graphics.

To me, graphic and page design create not so much a sense of hysteria as a sense of things being out of control and careening down hill, without breaks.  That is why I'm intrigued at the possibilities of The Divided States of Hysteria, which could be an excellent comic book full of socio-political commentary, satire, and/or criticism, like the great American Flagg!  Or it can end up ambitious but obtuse like Chester Brown's Underwater.

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


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.


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Review: MIDNIGHT OF THE SOUL #1

MIDNIGHT OF THE SOUL No. 1
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

WRITER/ARTIST: Howard Chaykin
COLORS: Jesus Aburtov
LETTERS: Ken Bruzenak
COVER: Howard Chaykin with Jesus Aburtov
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S. (June 2016)

Rated “M / Mature”

Midnight of the Soul is a new comic book miniseries from Howard Chaykin.  The series is set in 1950 and is written and drawn by Chaykin; colored by Jesus Aburtov; and lettered by Ken Bruzenak.

Midnight of the Soul #1 opens in New York City, 1950.  Joel Breakstone is a former G.I. who served in World War II and was one of the liberators of the infamous internment camp at Auschwitz.  Joel is also a pile of seriously damaged good, formerly addicted to morphine and currently addicted to alcohol.  He recalls his wartime experiences as he struggles to be a writer of alternate-universe science fiction.  With his life cratering, Joel is ready for change.

As a youngster, I was a fan of Chaykin's seminal and influential 1980s science fiction comic book series, American Flagg!!  I also fell hard for Chaykin's other 1980s work, especially The Shadow, a four-issue reboot of the classic pulp magazine hero for DC Comics.  To a lesser extent, I also enjoyed Blackhawk, his re-imagining of the Golden Age, adventure comic, Blackhawks (also for DC Comics).  I also read and re-read Chaykin's noir-infused, black and white, porno-mystery comic, Black Kiss.

After those classics, I found other Howard Chaykin comic books to enjoy, but none brought me the sheer joy I got from his 1980s comics.  I have not gotten around to reading his recent output, especially the work published by Image Comics.  I only read one issue of his murder mystery comic book series, Satellite Sam (created with writer Matt Fraction).  I read the entirety of Blade, which stars Marvel's vampire-killin' Black dude, which Chaykin drew, but did not write.

This is the long way of saying that I never stopped being interested in Howard Chaykin and still read his comics when I can find them.  So I am curious about Midnight of the Soul.  Chaykin buries the reader in the morass that is Joel Breakstone, and, in my case, I am ready to take a journey into or to wherever he is going.

After four decades of producing comic books and graphical storytelling, Chaykin still has it.  He has mastered the medium, creating a unique graphical language with its own captivating rhythm.  Graphic design, page layout, and composition create panels that are individually striking and collectively intriguing.  I don't know if Midnight of the Soul will ultimately be an ambitious misfire or a standout, but the creator is exceptional.  That makes reading this comic book worth the time.

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


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

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I Reads You Review: ROCKET RACCOON #1 (1985)

ROCKET RACCOON (1985) #1 (OF 4)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER:  Bill Mantlo
PENCILS:  Mike Mignola
INKS:  Al Gordon
COLORS:  Christie Scheele
LETTERS: Ken Bruzenak
EDITOR: Carl Potts
EiC: Jim Shooter
32pp, Color, .75¢ (May 1985)

Rocket Raccoon created by Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen

Rocket Raccoon is an outer-space based Marvel Comics superhero.  He was created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Keith Giffen and first appeared in Marvel Preview #7 (cover dated: Summer 1976).  The character was initially known as “Rocky Raccoon,” and it was later revealed that “Rocky” was short for “Rocket.”  Rocket Raccoon is an intelligent, anthropomorphic raccoon and is an expert marksman and master tactician.

Apparently, fondly remembered by fans, the character made very few appearances in comic books during the first three decades of his existence.  In 2008,  Rocket Raccoon appeared in the relaunch of the superhero comic book, Guardians of the Galaxy.  Rocket is a prominent member of the Guardians of the Galaxy team, and is now a breakout star thanks to the 2014 live-action film, Guardians of the Galaxy.  In the film, Rocket is a CGI character and his voice is provided by Oscar-nominated actor, Bradley Cooper.

I was a fan of the 1985, four-issue, Rocket Raccoon comic book miniseries, written by Bill Mantlo, drawn by Mike Mignola and Al Gordon, colored Christie Scheele, and lettered by Ken Bruzenak.  I am not sure if I had heard of the character before the miniseries.  I think one reason I wanted to read it was because the creative team, especially Bill Mantlo (who co-created the character) and then-emerging artist, Mike Mignola.

Rocket Raccoon #1 is a humorous comic book set in a walled-off section of space known as the “Keystone Quadrant.”  The story opens in Spacewheel, a toy manufacturer that is a division of Dyvynicies, Inc., owned by Lord Dyvyne.  We meet the Chief Toysmith, who is soon killed a murderous clown.  The blame falls on Dyvyne's rival, Judson Jakes, who oversees Mayhem Mekaniks, a toy-making corporation.

The story then moves to Halfworld, where we meet Rocket Raccoon, Llyla (Rocket's lady, who is an otter), and Wal-An (a walrus).  Rocket's main concern is making sure that there is a steady flow of toys for the humans of Cuckoo's Nest.  Now, it seems as if Dyvyne and Jakes are about to go to war, but they want more than just control of the toys.  Rocket and his friends are also targeted.

I lost my original copies of the Rocket Raccoon miniseries, but I managed to replace them about a decade ago during a sale at Mile High Comics.  I got them for next-to-nothing; in the wake of the hit Guardians of the Galaxy movie, I think it might cost at least $100 or more to buy a complete set.

I remember liking this miniseries when I first read it, but I wonder if I really understood it.  Decades of reading comic books later, I think I have a better grasp of it.  This is a humor comic book that is a bit satirical, and the first issue has some pop culture references, especially regarding the Oscar-winning film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (which was based on on Ken Kesey's 1962 novel of the same name).

In a way, Rocket Raccoon the miniseries is similar to crime fiction, as it features Rocket as a kind of cop who has to stop a war between two mob bosses before they destroy the city.  The difference is that this comic book features anthropomorphism and juvenile science fiction and space opera elements.  I don't know if I'd recommend it to anyone but fans of Rocket Raccoon.  This miniseries is such an odd-duck that it is hard to figure out what the target audience for it is.  I guess that back in the mid-1980s, Marvel's target for Rocket Raccoon was the “Marvel zombies,” readers who bought practically everything that Marvel Comics published.

B

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: THE SHADOW: Midnight in Moscow #1

THE SHADOW: MIDNIGHT IN MOSCOW #1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT – @dynamitecomics

WRITER/ARTIST: Howard Chaykin
COLORS: Jesus Aburto
LETTERS: Ken Bruzenak
COVER: Howard Chaykin with Jesus Aburto
VARIANT COVERS: Howard Chaykin
The Shadow created by Walter B. Gibson
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

Rated T+

In the beginning, The Shadow was as a mysterious radio narrator.  Then, pulp writer Walter B. Gibson fully developed the character into the iconic and mysterious crime-fighting vigilante with psychic powers.  The Shadow became a pop culture icon and is no stranger to comics, having debuted in a daily newspaper comic strip in 1940 and also starring in a comic book series that ran during the 1940s, entitled Shadow Comics.

In 2012, Dynamite Entertainment returned The Shadow to comic books with a new ongoing series.  However, The Shadow once prowled about DC Comics, including a stint in the mid to late 1980s.  It began with The Shadow #1 (cover dated: May 1986), the first issue of a four-issue miniseries.  Written and drawn by Howard Chaykin, the series (eventually known as The Shadow: Blood & Judgment), was a revamp and modernization of The Shadow for the sublimated sex and consequence-free violence that was pop culture in the 1980s.

Howard Chaykin returns to The Shadow in a new miniseries, The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow, from Dynamite Entertainment.  The series features the classic Shadow, but looks at him about 20 years into his crime-fighting career.

The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow #1 (Part 1) opens in New York City, late December 1949.  With the help of his agent, Jericho Druke, The Shadow stops a gold-heist masterminded by Benedict Stark, the self-proclaimed “Prince of Evil.”  As the 1940s prepare to give way to the 1950s, however, Lamont Cranston/Kent Allard is ready to put The Shadow to rest.  Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, a plot that threatens the world begins to formulate in London.

For a time, I was a huge fan of The Shadow.  I read the books that collected the old pulp stories.  I read the comics.  I even found a few cassette recordings of the old radio series.  Last year, I read part of The Shadow: Year One, the miniseries by writer Matt Wagner and artist Wilfredo Torres that took readers back the very beginnings of The Shadow’s crime-busting career in NYC.

Chaykin’s 1980s miniseries began with a bang and lots of blood.  The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow #1 is a molasses-slow setup for the series.  There is nothing here that stands out except Jesus Aburto’s colors, which make even dour London seem like a hoppin’ place.  The colors make the Big Apple sparkle with magic and potential.  I am going to come back for the second issue.

I would probably give The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow #1 a “C” or “C+” grading.  However, I will hold off because there isn’t enough here to really praise or condemn it.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

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