Friday, April 26, 2013

#IReadsYou Graphic Novel Review: LOST IN THE WASH

LOST IN THE WASH OGN
CANDLE LIGHT PRESS – @candlelightpres

WRITER: John Ira Thomas
ARTIST: Will Grant
ISBN: 978-0-9766053-9-3; paperback (February 2013)
214pp, B&W and Color, $19.95 U.S.

About six years ago, writer John Ira Thomas (Zoo Force) and artist Will Grant (The Scrounge Was Here!) first presented Lost in the Wash, a graphic novel in progress. The duo had been publishing Lost in the Wash in chapters and segments in various single-issue editions since 2007. Some of the Lost in the Wash publications were also released as convention exclusives. Now, the gothic horror tale is complete.

Candle Light Press recently released Lost in the Wash as a complete, paperback original graphic novel. In the end, the story, spread out over 189 pages, comes together as an epic of fever dreams and surreal visions. Lost in the Wash is one of the best comic books of the year 2013, and it is also a most uncommon comic book. Readers are unlikely to have seen anything similar to it.

Lost in the Wash is set in the town of Francisco, Colorado, a name the residents changed to “Isco,” in order to remove the suggestion of “France” from the town’s name. As its lead character, Lost in the Wash offers Darin Miles, a down and out loser type who retuned to Isco, the site of hardship and tragedy for his family, looking for a new start. Darin works at his Uncle Sal Miles’ “Laundromat,” which Darin calls “Laundroma” because the light on the letter “t” has gone out. Sal Miles lives in an ominous castle just up the road from the Laundromat. The castle is like a Winchester House construction project onto which Sal keeps building.

Not only does Darin have to deal with his uncle (an unpleasant man, gleefully proud of his offensiveness), but he also has to put up with jerky customers. Then, one day, something wet, wicked, and monstrous pops out of a washer and devours a contrary customer. Darin wonders if this monster in the washers is a good thing, especially if it will rid him of rude customers.

Meanwhile, there are two people, watching from the sidelines. Terisa Salazar, owner of the Asp Motel (formerly Aspen Motel), has a past with Darin. What are her feelings for him, now? Walter “Walt” Arganbright owns the Phoenix and frightens tourists with his scary stories. What does he want and what does he know? It all heads for a showdown at the event called Gothic Colorado.

From the first time I read Lost in the Wash, I found that it reminded me of the horror comics published by Warren Publishing and, especially, by EC Comics. I could see John Ira Thomas and Will Grant as a 21st century iteration of a Harvey Kurtzman-Graham Ingels team-up. If EC Comics had published graphic novels, I think that they were more likely to look like Lost in the Wash than pretty much any horror or dark fantasy titles from Vertigo or IDW.

Thomas transports us into the mind of Darin Miles, an unreliable narrator (of sorts) and then, also makes the point of view of either of three other characters: Sal Miles, Terisa Salazar and Walt Arganbright just as important. However, Thomas doesn’t cheat the reader by confusingly focusing equally on four characters. Just the opposite, he challenges and engages the readers with necessary alternate perspectives of the situation and action and of all characters.

Will Grant, who is an unknown comic book creator, proves that he deserves to be known. In Lost in the Wash, Grant’s art is a testament to the fact that a comic book artist must understand design and page layout just as much as he needs to know how to draw figures and objects. Grant’s M.C. Escher-like graphics and “Ghastly” Ingels-like compositions are a series of mosaics that will challenge your mind into vertigo. However, it is worth the effort to find what’s what in this beautiful comic book art.

Obviously, I like this book… a lot. I’m somewhat mixed about the ending, because I think this graphic novel should only be the end of a chapter, not of the entire story. Lost in the Wash is the beginning of a beautiful fictional world.

I am surprised that neither Thomas nor Grant is producing comic books for DC Comics or Marvel or even the mid-majors like Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, and IDW Publishing. Perhaps, neither Thomas nor Grant is interested, or neither has been approached. Still, Lost in the Wash is the calling card; Thomas and Grant are ready, Mr. DeMille, for their close-ups.

A

www.candlelightpress.com

http://candlelightpress.com/litw.html

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

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A Devil and Her Long Song: Enter Shintaro Kurosu

I read A Devil and Her Love Song, Vol. 8

I posted a review at ComicBookBin.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Comic Book Review: JUPITER'S LEGACY #1

JUPITER'S LEGACY #1
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

CREATORS: Mark Millar and Frank Quitely
WRITER: Mark Millar
ARTIST/COVER: Frank Quitely
COLORS/LETTERS: Peter Doherty
VARIANT COVERS: Bryan Hitch, Dave Johnson, Phil Noto, J. Scott Campbell, Christian Ward
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (April 2013)

There is a new comic book series from superstar writer, Mark Millar, the creator of Kick-Ass and Wanted, both of which were adapted into films. It is entitled Jupiter’s Legacy, part of his “Millarworld” line, and Millar’s co-creator is artist Frank Quitely. The series focuses on the children of the world’s first superheroes and their struggles to live up to a legacy that is practically poisonous to the new generation.

Jupiter’s Legacy #1 opens in 1932 in Morocco. The story’s first focus is Sheldon Sampson, the heir to a fortune wiped out during the Wall Street crash of 1929. He has convinced his friends to follow him on a journey to a place he has seen only in his dreams. Called The Island, Sampson believes that the place will offer gifts that can save the United States of America, which is in the midst of the Great Depression.

A little over 80 years later, the great superheroes have achieved even greater things, but there is trouble. The world’s first superheroes have grown old, and their children cannot live up to their parents’ remarkable legacies.

I enjoyed reading Jupiter’s Legacy #1, but I cannot really render a final or whole judgment after reading one issue. That’s the curse of modern comics storytelling. A scant twenty pages of text plus decompression – spreading a storyline over four to six issues (if not more) and that combination forms a truncated chapter, if not a woefully incomplete episode.

I will say that there are some interesting ideas here. As intriguing as this take on superheroes is, Millar’s allusions to the current real world political and financial climate are the most attention grabbing material. Millar draws parallels between the 21st century and the 1920s and 30s in a brash way – as if to say that he does not care whether anyone agrees or disagrees to any extent.

Jupiter’s Legacy is not Frank Quitely’s best work, although, as usual, it is more attention-grabbing than the work of most other artists. For me, the best of Quitely remains New X-Men. Still, Quitely’s visual style is so unique and iconoclastic that I’d be interested in his art even if he were only producing still-life drawings for an extension course at the local junior college. Plus, Quitely’s compositions for Jupiter’s Legacy give off an unsettling vibe. Something bad is coming, and Quitely does something bad quite well.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

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Dorohedoro: Memory-Go-Round

I read Dorohedoro, Vol. 9

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Review: THE ANSWER! #4

THE ANSWER! #4
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

STORY: Dennis Hopeless and Mike Norton
SCRIPT: Dennis Hopeless
ART/COVER: Mike Norton
COLORS: Mark Englert
LETTERS: Crank!
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 2013)

Part 4 of 4

The final issue of The Answer! does provide some answers. It also made me ask a lot more questions.

The Answer!, a four-issue comic book miniseries created by writer Dennis Hopeless (Avengers Arena) and artist Mike Norton (Battlepug), comes to end. The series focuses on Devin McKenzie, a research librarian, and The Answer!, an odd, masked crime fighter with a giant exclamation point on his face mask. Both characters are embroiled in a conspiracy surrounding a mysterious motivational speaker and a secret organization.

As The Answer! #4 opens, the director of the Brain Trust shows his crazy side. That is, however, not the biggest crazy. Chip Carney, the motivational speaker, reveals how he is tied to the Brain Trust. He even reveals his connection to Devin’s past. Now, Carney confronts Devin with the Anaximander Codex. Will The Answer! save the day? Can the mystery man save himself? Or will Devin have to save herself before Chemical X turns her brain to mush?

This comic book review of The Answer! #4 first has to say that the series offers an enjoyable ending and an explosive conclusion. In fact, there are actual explosions. Also, the strangeness, that the first issue of the series offered, returns, both in the execution of the story by the artists and in the story itself.

I noticed, particularly in this final issue, that Mike Norton’s art has a quality similar to John Byrne and Jerry Ordway’s Fantastic Four art back in the 1980s. That is fitting, as there is a vibe to The Answer! that suggests past comics. In the end, the best thing that I can say about The Answer! is that I certainly want another miniseries.

Readers wondering if they can find a superhero comic book that is both offbeat and fun to read have The Answer!

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for April 24 2013

DC COMICS

FEB130191 ALL STAR WESTERN #19 $3.99

FEB130200 ARROW #6 $3.99

JAN130308 BATMAN ILLUSTRATED BY NEAL ADAMS TP VOL 02 $24.99

FEB130146 BATMAN INCORPORATED #10 $2.99

FEB130149 BATMAN INCORPORATED #10 COMBO PACK $3.99

FEB130157 BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #19 $2.99

DEC120168 BEFORE WATCHMEN COMEDIAN #6 (MR) $3.99

DEC120170 BEFORE WATCHMEN COMEDIAN #6 COMBO PACK (MR) $4.99

JAN130299 BLUE BEETLE TP VOL 02 BLUE DIAMOND (N52) (RES) $19.99

FEB130127 FLASH #19 $2.99

FEB130134 FURY OF FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MAN #19 $2.99

FEB130188 I VAMPIRE #19 $2.99

FEB130240 INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US #4 $3.99

FEB130183 JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #19 $2.99

FEB130117 KATANA #3 $2.99

FEB130177 RED LANTERNS #19 (WRATH) $2.99

FEB130132 SAVAGE HAWKMAN #19 $2.99

FEB130141 SUPERMAN #19 $2.99

JAN130316 SUPERMAN BEYOND MAN OF TOMORROW TP $16.99

FEB130236 SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES #12 $2.99

FEB130155 TALON #7 $2.99

FEB130196 TEEN TITANS #19 $2.99

FEB130250 UNWRITTEN #48 (MR) $2.99

Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for April 24 2013

MARVEL COMICS

FEB130539 A PLUS X #7 NOW $3.99

FEB138321 ALL NEW X-MEN #8 2ND PTG IMMONEN VAR NOW $3.99

FEB130501 AVENGERS #10 NOW $3.99

FEB130509 AVENGERS ARENA #8 NOW2 $2.99

FEB130646 CASTLE TP RICHARD CASTLES DEADLY STORM [DIG] $14.99

FEB130645 DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER TP $19.99

FEB130555 DEADPOOL #8 NOW2 $2.99

FEB130591 DEADPOOL KILLUSTRATED #4 $2.99

FEB130523 FANTASTIC FOUR #7 NOW2 $2.99

FEB130524 FF #6 NOW $2.99

FEB130603 FURY MAX #11 (MR) $3.99

FEB130590 GAMBIT #11 $2.99

FEB130512 GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #2 NOW $3.99

FEB130528 JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #651 NOW2 $2.99

FEB130588 MARVEL UNIVERSE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #13 $2.99

NOV120760 MMW INCREDIBLE HULK HC VOL 07 $69.99

FEB130621 MMW MIGHTY THOR TP VOL 04 $24.99

FEB130538 MORBIUS LIVING VAMPIRE #4 NOW $2.99

FEB130505 NEW AVENGERS #5 NOW $3.99

FEB138322 POWERS BUREAU #1 2ND PTG OEMING VAR (MR) $3.95

FEB138323 POWERS BUREAU #2 2ND PTG OEMING VAR (MR) $3.95

FEB130560 SCARLET SPIDER #16 $2.99

FEB130644 SQUADRON SUPREME TP NEW PTG $34.99

FEB138324 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #5 2ND PTG CAMUNCOLI VAR NOW $3.99

FEB138325 THOR GOD OF THUNDER #5 2ND PTG RIBIC VAR NOW $3.99

FEB130630 TWELVE HC $39.99

FEB130576 ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #22 $3.99

FEB130487 UNCANNY AVENGERS #7 NOW2 $3.99

JAN130755 UNCANNY AVENGERS PREM HC VOL 01 RED SHADOW NOW $24.99

FEB138326 UNCANNY X-MEN #3 2ND PTG BACHALO VAR NOW $3.99

FEB130547 UNCANNY X-MEN #5 NOW $3.99

FEB130593 WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #28 $3.99

FEB130648 X-MEN FALL OF MUTANTS TP VOL 02 $34.99

FEB130649 X-MEN LONGSHOT TP NEW PTG $19.99

FEB130601 X-TERMINATION #2 XT $3.99

FEB130534 YOUNG AVENGERS #4 NOW $2.99