#IReadsYou Review: STARSLAYER #10: Grimjack Begins

STARSLAYER #10
FIRST COMICS

STORY: John Ostrander
PENCILS: Lenin Delsol
INKS: Mike Gustovich
COLORS: Janice Cohen
LETTERS: Janice Chiang
EDITOR: Mike Gold
COVER: Lenin Delsol and Mike Gustovich
32pp, Color, $1.00 U.S., $1.25 CAN (November 1983)

Starslayer created by Mike Grell

“Bounty”

Starslayer was a comic book series published by First Comics in the mid-1980s.  It began as a six-issue miniseries, Starslayer: The Log of the Jolly Roger, created by writer-artist, Mike Grell.  Starslayer focused on Torin Mac Quillon, a Celtic warrior from the time of the Roman Empire, who is pulled into the distant future by Tamara, a descendant of his wife after she remarried.  Torin joins the crew of the spaceship, “the Jolly Roger,” in their fight against the oppressive regime that is ruling the Earth.

Starslayer #10 (“Bounty”) opens on the planet, Corindubar, where Torin and Tamara hope to obtain a replacement for the cracked “infinity unit” in the Jolly Roger's warp drive.  They also find bounty hunters looking to claim the bounty on their heads, but unbeknownst to them, an immortal bounty hunter named Black Thom McKuen, is also stalking them.

Later, “The Rapter” continues to hunt the Jolly Roger.  Then, Torin and Tamara get stuck with a new crew mate, Crayne, owner of the recently destroyed space port, “Tao VII.”  And Crayne believes that Torin and Tamara owe him.

Meanwhile, the original owners of the Jolly Rogers, an old-Earth blood family, the D'Orsinis, want the ship back.  And the D'Orsini matriarch, The Comtessa Lavinia, alerts all family members in this quadrant – report any sightings of Jolly Roger.

THE LOWDOWN:  Reading the adventures of the Jolly Roger isn't really the reason I bought a copy of Starslayer #10, but I did enjoy the story and the art.  It is a frivolous and fun space opera; imagine Star Wars if it focused on Han Solo and Chewbacca's adventures as smugglers.  I might even go back to Starslayers's beginnings; I am really enjoying it.  I second what the former magazine, Comics Scene, said at the times, Starslayer is captivating.

I also discovered an interesting bit of information about one on this series' creative team.  Starslayer's lead artist at this point in its run, the British-born Lenin Delsol, is now an art educator, fine artist, and portrait painter.

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

GRIMJACK
Created by John Ostrander and Timothy Truman

“Mortal Gods”
STORY: John Ostrander
ART: Timothy Truman
COLORS: Janice Cohen
LETTERS: John Workman
EDITOR: Mike Gold

The backup feature in Starslayer #10 introduces the character Grimjack, who would go on to appear in Starslayer issues #10 to #17.  Grimjack would later receive his own title in the summer of 1984.

“Grimjack” is the street name of John Gaunt, a sword-for-hire who is also ex-paramilitary, war veteran, and former child gladiator.  Grimjack operates from Munden's Bar in the Pit, a slum area of Cynosure, a pan-dimensional city that connected all the dimensions (or multiverse) that existed in titles published by First Comics.

The introductory Grimjack story is the two-part “Mortal Gods.”  It is written by John Ostrander; drawn by Timothy Truman; colored by Janice Cohen; and lettered by John Workman.  In the story, the followers of the god of blood and war, “Zago,” have invaded the forest lands of the people called the “Kyrians.”  Zago plans to have the sands of his desert overrun the forest lands.  The Kyrians' high priestess, Elvana, seeks the help of their god, Manwyyes.

Elvana's spell and chanting somehow transports her to Cynosure, the city where the multiverse meets.  Cross a street and you might cross a dimension.  Someone points her to Grimjack as the man who can help her find her god, and what he shows her is utterly shocking.  Manwyyes is living as “Manny Weese” alias “Weevil,” a drunk, who also happens to be a friend of Grimjack's.  What's left is for Manny to reveal how he became a god and for Grimjack to kill Zago, a god.

THE LOWDOWN:  I have read very few Grimjack comic books, but I have been planning on getting into this character for decades.  I finally forced myself to start.  The first thing that strikes me about “Mortal Gods” is how beautiful Tim Truman's illustrations are.  The page design carries the reader's eyes across the pages, and the art has so many layers and such rich textures that I found myself drawn into the world of Cynosure.  The characters' expression are varied and feel authentic, especially Grimjack's.  This is the work of a young artist raring to go.

Janice Cohen rich colors make Truman's illustrations pop off the page and bring the world of Cynosure to life.  Readers familiar with Truman's work will recognize the artist's unique worm-inspired take on monsters and demons, and it all looks good under Cohen's colors.

Do I really have to say how wonderful the lettering by John Workman is?  No, I don't, because you already know that...

I do want to emphasize that Grimjack's debut is a 16-page story told over two issues, Starslayer issues #10-11.  This is the kind of serialized comic book story that will make some readers want to keep reading.  Combine Grimjack with the main Starslayer story, and the result is an off-beat, unique and delightful science fiction comic book … that I have waited too long to read.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Grimjack, Tim Truman, First Comics titles, and unique sci-fi comics will want Starslayer.

A
8 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2022 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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Review: JON SABLE, FREELANCE #1

JON SABLE, FREELANCE No. 1
FIRST COMICS

[This review originally appeared on Patreon.]

STORY/ART: Mike Grell
LETTERS: Peter Iro
COLORS: Janice Cohen
EDITOR: Mike Gold
32pp, Color, $1.00 U.S., $1.25 CAN (June 1983)

“The Iron Monster!”

Jon Sable, Freelance was a comic book series created, written, and drawn by Mike Grell.  In 1983, it was one of the first comic book series released by the then fledgling publisher, First Comics.  The series lasted 56 issues from 1983 to 1988.  There was a follow-up series (Sable) and a reprint series (Mike Grell's Sable).   After the demise of First Comics, Grell produced new comics either featuring or starring Jon Sable, including two miniseries over the last decade.

Jon Sable, Freelance focused on Jonathan Sable, a bounty hunter and mercenary who previously had been an athlete in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.  After living, working, and experiencing tragedy in Africa, Sable returned to the United States.  He became a freelance mercenary, but led a secret, double life as “B.B. Flemm,” children's book author.

Jon Sable, Freelance #1 (“The Iron Monster!”) opens with Sable as “B.B. Flemm” being interviewed by a New York City television station.  Returning home that night, he finds three intruders whom he quickly dispatches.  However, the men were a test from someone who wants to be Sable's latest client.

Although he is not addressed directly by name, President Ronald Reagan is that client.  The President is scheduled to speak before the United Nations the following evening, but he has information that there will be an assassination attempt on him.  Sable accepts the assignment to stop the assassin, who turns out to be someone with whom Sable once worked.

Jon Sable, Freelance, as I remember it, had some similarities to a television crime drama.  It was like a combination of CBS' “The Equalizer,” NBC's “Banacek,” and a little of ABC's “Hart to Hart.”  The series read like a weekly drama, even when the story ran over more than one issue.  There was a soap opera quality to Jon Sable, Freelance, but instead of melodrama, there is a sense of mystery.

I think what made the series such an attractive read was Mike Grell's lush artwork.  His solid draftsmanship was defined by tight compositions, smooth brushwork, and delicate feathering.  The art often had a painterly quality, so the graphical storytelling sometimes seemed like narrative painting.  Every panel informed the reader than Jon Sable, Freelance was a labor of love by Grell.

I found Jon Sable, Freelance #1 at the Louisiana Comic Con in Lafayette, LA (October 17th and 18th, 2015), and it only cost me one dollar.  I hope I encounter the retailer, Big M Comics (?), at another convention.  He had lots of issues of Jon Sable, Freelance.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

I Reads You Review: THE FLASH #1 (1987)

THE FLASH #1 (1987)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

WRITER: Mike Baron
PENCILS: Jackson Guice
INKS: Larry Mahlstedt
COLORS: Carl Gafford
LETTERS: Steve Haynie
EDITOR: Mike Gold
32pp, Color, .75¢ U.S. (June 1987)

Wally West is a DC Comics character.  Created by writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino, West was introduced in The Flash #110 (cover date: December 1959).  West is the first Kid Flash and the third version of The Flash, following the Golden Age Flash (Jay Garrick) and the Silver Age Flash (Barry Allen), to whom West was a sidekick.

West becomes the Flash after Flash-Barry Allen is killed in Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 (cover dated: November 1985).  In 1987, DC Comics debuted a new comic book series, The Flash (cover dated: June 1987), starring Wally West as the Flash.

Wally takes on his fallen mentor’s identity and wears his costume, but he is less powerful than his predecessor.  An example of his diminished powers is that Wally West-Flash can only run as fast as the speed of sound (instead of being able to reach the speed of light like Allen).  Wally also has to eat vast quantities of food to maintain his metabolism.

The Flash #1 opens in March 1987 on the day of Wally West’s 20th birthday, and he has just bought several candy bars and lottery tickets.  Waiting for him in his Brooklyn apartment are his girlfriend, Francine, and his former teammates from the Teen Titans:  Nightwing, Wonder Girl, Cyborg, Starfire, and Changeling.  They are throwing a surprise birthday party for Wally, who doesn’t seem to be in the partying mood.

The festivities are interrupted when Wally has to transport a heart to Seattle to save the life of science fiction author, Eugenie Hegstrom.  His predecessor could have gotten the heart there in an instant, but for the new Flash, the trip will take at least three hours.  It is an arduous journey for Wally and gets tougher after he meets Vandal Savage.

Before The WB (which would become The CW) television network gave us the fantasy/teen soap opera mash-up (examples include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Smallville, “The Vampire Diaries”), writer Mike Baron turned The Flash comic book series into a 20-something, post-teen soap opera drama.  Recently, I had been having the urge to read the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths relaunch of The Flash, and, thanks to a Mile High Comics sale, I was able to get a copy of the first issue.

I found it an odd read.  I can’t remember what I thought of The Flash #1 after the first time I read it ages ago.  Strangely, I now find that it has a timeless quality or is at least timely, with its look at a single young man struggling to acclimate to adult life.  I think that DC Comics could take Baron’s script, have another artist draw it, and, with few if any changes, publish it as a new work.  I doubt many readers would think of it as an old school comic book, even those familiar with it.

This first issue is not so much a superhero story as it is a drama featuring a guy with fantastic powers.  In fact, it is an appealing drama, as I found myself engaged by every page.  However, I don’t like that it takes a classic superhero and turns him into someone who, if not pathetic, is pitiable.  Wally West seems so adrift, more than Peter Parker ever seemed (as far as I can remember).  That said, I plan on trying a few more issues.

Regarding the art, Jackson Guice (also known as Butch Guice) was not ready for prime time at the time he got this assignment.  His awkward figure drawing, inelegant compositions, and gawky drawing style yields some unattractive and sometimes ugly comic book art.  Larry Mahlstedt’s inking cannot change that.  On the other hand, the cover by Guice and Mahlstedt is actually quite nice.  Go figure.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

Leroy Douresseaux on THE ORIGINAL JOHNSON Book Two

THE ORIGINAL JOHNSON BOOK TWO

IDW

 

CARTOONIST: Trevor Von Eeden

ADDITIONAL INKS: Don Hillsman II
COLORS: George Freeman, Glenn Hauman
LETTERS: Marc Alan Fishman
AFTERWORD/EDITOR: Mike Gold
ISBN: 978-1-60010-664-4; paperback
136pp, Color, $19.99 US

The Original Johnson was first published as a webcomic at the site Comicmix.com. Written and drawn by Trevor Von Eeden, a comics veteran of over three decades, The Original Johnson is a comic book biography about John Arthur “Jack” Johnson (1878-1946). An American boxer, Jack Johnson was the first Black man to win the “World Heavyweight” boxing championship, a title he won in 1908 and held until 1915.

IDW recently published the second of two trade editions collecting Von Eeden’s 240-page graphic novel. The Original Johnson Book Two can be described as the education, maturation, triumph, and fall of a great boxer and of a greater man. Early in Book Two, Jack reaches the turning point in his career that takes him to the next level as a true professional boxer. He faces his first opponent who, rather than rely on brute force, has developed a science and system to boxing, Joe Choynski. Book Two also details Jack’s complicated relationship with women and his reasons for preferring white women as his mates. The story recounts his triumph as world champion and also makes a case for why he chose to lose the world title in 1915.

I found that The Original Johnson Book One presented Jack Johnson’s life (from the age of 13 to 22) as being like a coming-of-age story about a young superhero – a kind of Black Superboy/Superman. Book Two is more a straight biography, but it is also an essay and treatise on racism, both national and internationally, against Black people.

With his pencil art, Von Eeden captures the physicality and musculature of Jack Johnson. With his inking, he depicts power and dynamism that marries Burne Hogarth’s love of anatomy and the intensity of Michelangelo’s David. At times, Von Eeden turns Jack Johnson’s figure into a blunt instrument to batter his bigoted opponents and the virulently racist spectators at boxing matches. At other times, Von Eeden transforms Johnson and his perfect physique into a precision machine, undulating waves of ecstasy into the white women he frequently beds (Mandingo!).

Much of Book Two is both philosophical and even informative about the racism African-Americans and Black people faced in the United States and abroad in Johnson’s time. The reason for the hate was because many people who did not have black skin refused to see Black people as anything other than less than white people. Black people were subservient half-citizens who were often beasts of burdens. Not only does Von Eeden present the story of Jack Johnson the boxer, but he also uses Jack Johnson as a fictional paladin through which Von Eeden boxes against racism.

The over-arching theme of The Original Johnson is that of taking freedom no matter what others may say or do. That permeates Trevor Von Eeden’s comic book. This is the work of a free man unafraid to speak his mind and to present his work as he sees it. The graphical style, the design, the formats, the compositional qualities, the storytelling feel as if these are all Von Eeden’s choices, made free of other’s prejudices and expectations.

The Original Johnson doesn’t read as if it followed the rules for comic book writing that fans and critics think Alan Moore established in Watchmen. Nor does the art slavishly ape Jim Lee or some photorealist. Jack Johnson was a man, and Trevor Von Eeden is man enough to tell his story the way he wants. Johnson and Von Eeden did it their way, and the result of each man’s effort is greatness.

A+

http://www.trevorvoneeden.com/
http://www.comicmix.com/

Leroy Douresseaux on THE ORIGINAL JOHNSON Book One

THE ORIGINAL JOHNSON BOOK ONE

IDW

 

CARTOONIST: Trevor Von Eeden

ADDITIONAL INKS: Don Hillsman II
COLORS: George Freeman
LETTERS: John Workman, Marc Fishman, Glenn Hauman, and Carrie Wright
EDITOR/INTRODUCTION: Mike Gold
ISBN: 978-1600106385; paperback
128pp, Color, $19.99 US

Boxing aficionados know the name John Arthur “Jack” Johnson (1878-1946). Jack Johnson was an American boxer, and he was the first Black man to be the “World Heavyweight” champion, a title he won in 1908 and held until 1915.

Others may be familiar with Jack Johnson through Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, which was Ken Burns’ Emmy-winning, 2005 PBS documentary about Johnson. The documentary was based upon the 2004 book by Geoffrey C. Ward of the same title. Some readers may have even seen the 1970 film, The Great White Hope, starring James Earl Jones, which was a fictional account of Johnson’s life.

The Original Johnson is a webcomic originally published by the website, Comicmix. Written and drawn by longtime comics veteran, Trevor Von Eeden, The Original Johnson is a biographical graphic novel about the life of Jack Johnson.

IDW has published Von Eeden’s 240-page graphic novel, The Original Johnson, in two paperback volumes. The Original Johnson Book One depicts Johnson’s life, mostly from the age of 13 to 22. Von Eeden portrays Johnson’s early encounters with physical violence, his teenage wanderlust, his introduction to boxing, and the virulent racism he saw and experienced during his travels, particularly in and around his hometown of Galveston, Texas during the late 19th century.

Von Eeden’s narrative, at least the first half, is not just about Johnson’s life. The Original Johnson, Book One juxtaposes the young Jack Johnson’s struggle to define himself as a man of accomplishment with the desire of white racists to destroy any sense of accomplishment on the part of black people. Von Eeden presents Johnson’s youth as metaphor for a black awakening to the possibilities of what being strong and independent could bring black folk.

Von Eeden makes The Original Johnson more than just a straight biography or historical document about racism. A veteran of superhero comics, Von Eeden presents Johnson’s journey and the setting in which that journey takes place as a heroic epic, so he uses the visual language and graphic cues of superhero comic books. He combines the compositional raw power and majestic figure drawing of Jack Kirby with the enthusiastic page design of Neal Adams. In that way, Von Eeden can emphasize passion, emotion, and symbolism. In this way, he can also draw the reader into the narrative by presenting the elements he wants to emphasize in visual appealing ways.

That is the one thing that I can say for certain at this halfway point in The Original Johnson: for all the ways that Von Eeden tells this story, he presents this in a comic book language that is familiar to readers. This is a good and interesting way to introduce a historical figure, especially someone like Jack Johnson, a transformative figure in American history. This is a superhero story about a man who, in hindsight, was a hero to many.

A-

http://www.trevorvoneeden.com/
http://www.comicmix.com/