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I wish you all the best and even better in the new year.

I Reads You Review: Millar & McNiven's NEMESIS

MILLAR & MCNIVEN’S NEMESIS
MARVEL COMICS/ICON

WRITER: Mark Millar
ARTIST: Steve McNiven
COLORS: Dave McCaig
LETTERS: Chris Eliopoulos
EXTRA ART: Leinil Francis Yu, John Cassaday, and Mark Millar
ISBN: 978-0-7851-4865-4; hardcover
112pp, Color, $19.99 U.S., $22.50 CAN

Nemesis is a four-issue comic book miniseries from the team of writer Mark Millar and artist Steve McNiven. Millar and McNiven produced two hugely popular Marvel event projects: Civil War, a six-issue series that was the impetus for a line-wide event, and the graphic novel, Wolverine: Old Man Logan (originally serialized in Wolverine Vol. 3 #66-72 and Wolverine Giant-Size Old Man Logan).

Nemesis is a creator-owned title that Marvel Comics published in 2010 under its Icon imprint. The four issues are collected in a hardcover volume entitled, Millar & McNiven’s Nemesis. This book has a dust jacket and includes Millar’s afterword from Nemesis #1, the variant covers from all four issues (including a cool one by Millar), a script-to-art comparison, and advertisements for two other Millar comic book projects (Superior and Kick-Ass 2).

The series focuses on two characters. The first is a Batman-like character, called “Nemesis,” who uses his skills, resources, wealth, and whatever super powers and abilities he has for evil rather than for good. Nemesis is very much like the Heath Ledger Joker in Christopher Nolan’s Batman movie, The Dark Knight (2008). What if a cool billionaire with all those planes, cars and gadgets, put on a mask and waged war on the forces of law and order, Millar asks.

The second character is Nemesis’ target and opponent, Chief Blake Morrow, the Chief of Police of Washington D.C. He is like Clint Eastwood’s “Dirty Harry” Callahan and Bruce Willis’ John McClane (from the Die Hard movies) blended into Commissioner James Gordon from the Batman comics. Plus, he is a staunch, conservative (pro-life, anti-gay) Catholic.

The story depicts Nemesis’ campaign against D.C. as part of a bid to be the winner in a small war he is waging against Morrow. Nemesis’ reign of terror leaves untold numbers of civilians dead and creates collateral damage (mostly among Morrow’s family, friends, and coworkers). Morrow believes Nemesis is seeking revenge against him because the villain claims to be Matthew Anderson, the only child of a couple whose depraved crimes where revealed by Morrow. As he gets closer to Nemesis, however, Morrow wonders what is true and what is just gamesmanship when it comes to Nemesis, the world’s only super-criminal.

I love a great villain – from Iago to Hannibal Lector: the conniving, brilliant, and/or genius types. I rooted for Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight, and it is hard not to love the X-Men’s Magneto.

Nemesis features a criminal genius and super-villain whose arrogance is as alluring as it is hilarious. In a series that offers some pretty deranged scenes, Nemesis’ best moments have the villain killing cops and other law enforcement and authority types. I don’t see Nemesis as a guilty pleasure or sinful delight because I don’t feel guilty about loving it so much, although if I am honest, perhaps it is a sin to take such delight in the depiction of cops getting killed by the dozens.

Millar paints the characters in broad strokes throughout the series, but the sharp dialogue makes them likeable, nonetheless. Steve McNiven’s art, from the standpoint of style, is acceptable, though it makes me wonder why he is so acclaimed. However, McNiven’s storytelling and page design are why this story is an action-packed page-turner that is tense even where there isn’t brutal action splashed across the page.

I read Millar & McNiven’s Nemesis in one sitting, flipping pages as if my life depended upon it. My life doesn’t depend on a sequel, but my life would be better in those moments when I’m reading a sequel.

A

Tenjo Tenge: The Natsumes

I read Tenjo Tenge, Vol. 4: Full Contact Edition 2-in-1

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has free comics).

Leroy Douresseaux Reviews JOE THE BARBARIAN: The Deluxe Edition

JOE THE BARBARIAN: THE DELUXE EDITION
DC COMICS/Vertigo

WRITERS: Grant Morrison
ARTIST: Sean Murphy
COLORS: Dave Stewart
LETTERS: Todd Klein
ISBN: 978-1-4012-2971-9; hardcover
224pp, Color, $29.99 U.S., $34.00 CAN

Sean Gordon Murphy is the New Hampshire-born, Brooklyn-based animator and comic book artist best known for his work with DC Comics, including the Batman/Scarecrow: Year One miniseries and Hellbazer. He has also had work published by Dark Horse Comics and Oni Press. I mention Murphy because he is ready to be a star. He should be a star, and a new hardcover comics collection testifies to that.

Joe the Barbarian is an eight-issue miniseries created and written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Sean Murphy with colors by Dave Stewart. Published during 2010 (cover date March 2010 to March 2011) by Vertigo, the DC Comics imprint, the series blended both high and epic fantasy with quest fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, and juvenile fiction. Vertigo recently published Joe the Barbarian: The Deluxe Edition, a hardcover book which collects all eight issues of the series with supplemental material (script sample, sketches, script breakdowns, art progression, etc.)

The title character of the series is Joseph “Joe” Manson, Jr., a teenage boy with Type 1 diabetes. When his blood sugar drops, Joe enters a state of hypoglycemia, which means the glucose content in his blood is abnormally low. When he is hypoglycemic, Joe begins to hallucinate, and his mind imagines a fantasy world that is actually based on the design and floor plan of his house. This world is populated by his toys and other fantasy characters (superheroes like Superman and Batman, knights, dwarves, and also a Transformer-like toy, among others). One of the characters is an anthropomorphic rat named “Chakk,” a warrior/paladin that is the fantasy version of Joe’s pet white rate, Jack.

Alone in his house during a lightning storm, Joe enters a state of hypoglycemia, and the hallways and doorways of his big, dark house become vast kingdoms, mist-shrouded landscapes, and sinister gateways. And Joe is now the Dying Boy. He is the one legends claim will restore the Light and overthrow King Death, the one who wants to cover the world in darkness and turn the living into the dead. Joe is confused as to whether he is really a hero, or just in need of a soda to stop a series of hallucinations. Still, he must complete some kind of quest or his first adventure will be his last. Either way, Chakk/Jack is by his side.

As with much of Grant Morrison’s comic book work, Joe the Barbarian is not lacking in imagination and inventiveness. Even with its Tolkien-esque qualities, Morrison’s clever and inspired flourishes (such as how the house’s infrastructure shapes Joe’s hallucinations) stand apart as unusual. Still, as a whole, this series is like empty calories because there isn’t much substantive or mentally nutritious like… say… The Invisibles. Even as a metaphor, Joe the Barbarian doesn’t resonate, as it doesn’t have much worth grappling with metaphorically. There are some interesting set pieces and some ingenious panels here and there. Yes, Joe the Barbarian is entertaining, but that’s about it.

If I have to say that something in Joe the Barbarian blew my mind, I would say that it is the art of Sean Murphy. The compositions surpass Morrison’s ideas in terms of imagination, because, visually, Murphy’s drawings are what give Joe the Barbarian the feel that the story is a “flight of fancy” with consequence and significance. In addition, Murphy’s sustained high level of draftsmanship over eight issues is only surpassed by Jim Lee when considering comic books published by DC Comics and Marvel Comics.

Over time, trade collections of this series will undoubtedly attract readers because Joe the Barbarian is a brainchild of Grant Morrison. The art and the supplemental material, however, make Joe the Barbarian: The Deluxe Edition a portfolio of and showcase for the art of Sean Murphy.

B

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Final Chapter

I read Fullmetal Alchemist 27.

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps and comics).

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for December 21 2011

DC COMICS

OCT110184 BATMAN #4 $2.99

MAY110305 BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE STATUE BY PAT GLEASON $80.00

OCT110190 BATMAN INCORPORATED LEVIATHAN STRIKES #1 $6.99

OCT110194 BATMAN ODYSSEY VOL 2 #3 (OF 7) $3.99

OCT110193 BIRDS OF PREY #4 $2.99

OCT110230 BLUE BEETLE #4 $2.99

OCT110169 CAPTAIN ATOM #4 $2.99

SEP110208 CARTOON NETWORK 2 IN 1 BEN 10 GENERATOR REX TP $12.99

OCT110196 CATWOMAN #4 $2.99

OCT110236 DC COMICS PRESENTS THE KENTS #2 $7.99

APR110282 DC UNIVERSE ONLINE STATUE HARLEY QUINN $90.00

OCT110172 DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #4 $2.99

OCT118112 DETECTIVE COMICS #1 4TH PTG $2.99

OCT110276 END OF NATIONS #2 (OF 4) (RES) $2.99

OCT110293 FABLES #112 (MR) (NOTE PRICE) $3.99

OCT110205 GREEN LANTERN CORPS #4 $2.99

OCT110287 HELLBLAZER #286 (MR) $2.99

MAY110307 HEROES OF THE DCU WHITE LANTERN SINESTRO BUST $70.00

OCT110159 JUSTICE LEAGUE #4 $3.99

OCT110162 JUSTICE LEAGUE #4 COMBO PACK $4.99

OCT110233 LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #4 $2.99

OCT110200 NIGHTWING #4 $2.99

OCT110199 RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #4 $2.99

FEB110287 STARCRAFT PREMIUM SER 1 JIM RAYNOR AF PI

FEB110288 STARCRAFT PREMIUM SER 1 ZERAUL AF PI

OCT110183 SUPERGIRL #4 $2.99

OCT110218 THUNDER AGENTS VOL 2 #2 (OF 6) $2.99

OCT110270 TINY TITANS #47 $2.99

SEP110204 TINY TITANS TP VOL 06 THE TREEHOUSE AND BEYOND $12.99

OCT110290 VERTIGO RESURRECTED SGT ROCK HELL HARD PLACE #2 (MR) $7.99

OCT110165 WONDER WOMAN #4 $2.99

OCT110272 YOUNG JUSTICE #11 $2.99

Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for December 21 2011

MARVEL COMICS

OCT110631 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #676 $3.99

AUG110680 ANITA BLAKE CIRCUS DAMNED SCOUNDREL #3 (OF 5) (MR) $3.99

OCT110597 AVENGERS #20 $3.99

OCT110720 AVENGERS DEFENDERS WAR TP NEW PTG $19.99

OCT110715 CAPTAIN AMERICA AND BUCKY PREM HC LIFE OF BUCKY BARNES $19.99

OCT110686 DAKEN DARK WOLVERINE #18 $2.99

OCT110644 DAREDEVIL #7 $2.99

OCT110692 DEADPOOL MAX 2 #3 (MR) $3.99

OCT110747 DEFENDERS BY TERRY DODSON POSTER $8.99

OCT110585 DEFENDERS COMING OF DEFENDERS #1 $5.99

OCT110586 DEFENDERS STRANGE HEROES $4.99

OCT110744 ESSENTIAL FANTASTIC FOUR TP VOL 03 NEW ED $19.99

OCT110648 FANTASTIC FOUR #601 $2.99

OCT110724 FANTASTIC FOUR BY WAID & WIERINGO ULT COLL TP BOOK 04 $24.99

OCT110584 FEAR ITSELF FEARLESS #5 (OF 12) $2.99

OCT110614 FORMIC WARS SILENT STRIKE #1 (OF 5) $3.99

OCT110673 GENERATION HOPE #14 XREGB $2.99

OCT110654 HULK #46 $2.99

OCT110595 INCREDIBLE HULK #3 $3.99

OCT110596 INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #511 $3.99

OCT110619 JOHN CARTER A PRINCESS OF MARS #4 (OF 5) $2.99

OCT110727 JUBILEE BY ROBERT KIRKMAN TP $16.99

OCT110668 LEGION OF MONSTERS #3 (OF 4) $3.99

JUL110713 MMW GOLDEN AGE USA COMICS HC VOL 02 $64.99

JUL110714 MMW GOLDEN AGE USA COMICS HC VOL 02 DM VAR ED 172 $64.99

OCT110683 NEW MUTANTS #35 XREGB $2.99

OCT110693 PUNISHERMAX #20 (MR) $3.99

JUL110719 SIEGE HC $39.99

OCT110638 SIX GUNS #3 (OF 5) $2.99

OCT110738 SPIDER-MAN CHAPTER ONE TP $34.99

OCT110667 THUNDERBOLTS #167 $2.99

OCT110733 ULT COMICS SPIDER-MAN TP VOL 03 DOSM PRELUDE $19.99

OCT110734 ULT COMICS SPIDER-MAN TP VOL 03 DOSM PRELUDE DM VAR ED $19.99

OCT110620 ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #5 $3.99

OCT110678 UNCANNY X-FORCE #19 XREGG $3.99

SEP118162 UNCANNY X-MEN #1 2ND PTG PACHECO VAR XREGB (PP #997) $3.99

OCT110635 VENOM #11 $2.99

OCT110748 VENOM EVENT BY STEFANO CASELLI POSTER $8.99

OCT110685 WOLVERINE #20 XREGG $3.99

OCT110672 WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #3 XREGG $3.99

OCT110732 WOLVERINE BY GREG RUCKA ULTIMATE COLLECTION TP $39.99

OCT110656 WOLVERINE PUNISHER GHOST RIDER OFF INDEX MU #5 (OF 8) $3.99

OCT110688 X-23 #19 $2.99

OCT110682 X-FACTOR #229 XREGG $2.99