Rin-ne: I Don't Know You, Man...

I read RIN-NE, Vol. 19

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.  Follow me on Twitter and Tumblr or at Grumble.  Support me on Patreon.

Review: FROM UNDER MOUNTAINS #1

FROM UNDER MOUNTAINS No. 1
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was first posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Claire Gibson and Marian Churchland
SCRIPT: Claire Gibson
ART/COLORS: Sloane Leong
MISC. ART: Brandon Graham
COVER: Marian Churchland
36pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2015)

Rated M / Mature

From Under Mountains is an ongoing fantasy comic book series published by Image Comics.  The series is from the creative team of Claire Gibson (story and script), Sloane Leong (art and colors), and Marian Churchland (story and cover art).  From Under Mountains is set in the world of Akhar and will focus on the partnership of a lord's daughter, a disgraced knight, and a runaway thief – a union that will change the course of a world in turmoil.

From Under Mountains #1 opens with a magical summoning.  Then, the story sets about introducing the main characters.  In Karsgate (a northern land in Akhar), Elena, the daughter of the Lord of Karsgate, wishes to have the freedom to roam the world that her brother, Marcellus, has.  Her father has other plans for her, plans he believes will secure his family's future.

Elsewhere in Karsgate, Tova, a young thief, plans to steal her way into Karsgate Keep.  However, it is at the keep that she witnesses something supernatural and horrifying.  Meanwhile, in Akara, the center of power and the seat of the king, down-and-out knight, Sir Tomas Fisher, is brought before a powerful councilor, Vassedin, who has a proposition for him.

From Under Mountains looks like a fantasy epic and will apparently take place in a land of embattled rival clans and will feature courtly intrigue, magic, heroes, villains, and goblins.  After reading it, I recognize elements that are familiar to high fantasy.  From Under Mountains seems like a version of A Game of Thrones touched by Lord of the Rings.

Visually and graphically, however, From Under Mountains looks different.  The characters are not lily white, as if this were a film filled with the finest that Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, and Nordic bloodlines have to offer.  Instead, the characters are brown, red, and rusty, among other shades.  The land and settings seem Oriental (the old version of the word), Persian, and “middle Eastern.”

The art by Sloane Leong looks like a melding of the work of Carla Speed-McNeil in Finder and Jeff Smith in Bone.  The graphic design, however, suggests tapestry and pottery.  The coloring is earthy, except when depicting magic; then, it is wild and trippy.  I have to admit that I find Leong's art beautiful and alluring.

From Under Mountains fascinates me.  I cannot stop flipping through its pages.  I can't wait for the second issue.

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.

Black Rose Alice: Past Loves

I read Black Rose Alice, Vol. 6

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.  Follow me on Twitter and Tumblr or at Grumble.  Support me on Patreon.

Review: Batman #44

BATMAN No. 44
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review originally appeared on Patreon.]

STORY: Scott Snyder
WRITERS: Scott Snyder and Brian Azzarello
ART: Jock
COLORS: Lee Loughridge
LETTERS: Deron Bennett
COVER: Jock
VARIANT COVERS: Tony Daniel with Tomeau Morey (Green Lantern 75th Anniversary Cover)
40pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (November 2015)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger

“A Simple Case”

Once upon a time, American network television sitcoms occasionally offered up episodes that focused on timely and/or relevant events, issues, and topics (sex, teen pregnancy, gun violence, abortion, etc.).  Such series installments came to be known as the “very special episode.”

There are a certain episodes that come to mind when I think of the “very special episode.”  In “Diff'erent Strokes” (which personified the special episode), a bicycle shop owner grooms Gary Coleman's “Arnold Jackson” and Arnold's friend “Dudley Jackson” (Shavar Ross) for sexual assault.  In “Family Ties,” Michael J. Fox's “Alex P. Keaton” loses his virginity to a woman who promptly dumps him, even though Alex had fallen in love with her after the encounter.  In “Good Times,” Jimmie Walker's “JJ” was engaged to a young woman who uses hallucinogenic drugs (angel dust?) that leads to to her jumping through a bathroom widow to her death.

Writers Scott Snyder and Brian Azzarello and artist Jock, with the assistance of colorist Lee Loughridge and letterer Deron Bennett offer up what could be considered a “very special issue” of Batman.  The story revolves around the police shooting of an unarmed young black man.

Batman #44 (“A Simple Case”) opens in the Gotham Marshes, near the old city limit.  Fifteen-year-old Peter Duggio, a resident of the Narrows, is found dead.  It looks as if he were dropped straight from the sky.  At first, Batman suspects a supervillain, one of his “rogues gallery.”  Then, it seems that Peter, an unarmed young black man, was shot by veteran Gotham City Police Department officer, Ned Howler.  However, Peter's death is far more complicated, with the teen boy's demise being the center of a web of deceit and lies.  And Bruce Wayne may be in that web.

I first heard about Batman #44 when it became a buzzed-about comic book story for a few days.  It generated only a little fake controversy.  The truth is that “A Simple Case” is not so much about a White cop shooting an unarmed Black kid, as it is about the entire, rotten, corrupted thing that a big city can become.  Peter Duggio's death is the result of criminals, corrupted public officials, law enforcement, and system-wide failure, especially on the part of institutions.

Snyder and Azzarello seem to be say that individuals can make a difference because each person can offer his of her singular focus.  On the other hand, institutions, agencies, organizations, etc. are made of multiple individuals and often cannot provide a singular focus where it is needed – in this case of needing singular focus, Peter Duggio.

The art by Jock is half graphical storytelling and half illustration.  Snyder and Azzarello's story seems separate from Jock's art, but that does not take away from the story.  Sometimes, Jock's art comes across as illustrations for an essay or piece of journalistic writing.  Jock's art becomes comic book storytelling in those moments when Snyder and Azzarello focus on character drama and character interaction.  Lee Loughridge's colors are moody, but also accentuate Batman's quest, giving it a sense of immediacy.  The colors suggest that this story is a dark and moody thriller, but at times, Loughridge understands that the story needs a sense of hope.

Batman #44 is a nice change of pace for the series.  Best of all, it is nice that the creative team offered more than something that is simply of the moment.  Peter Duggio's story is timeless because it depicts problems that just won't go away.

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.

Kiss of the Rose Princess: Gala

I read Kiss of the Rose Princess, Vol. 7

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.  Follow me on Twitter and Tumblr or at Grumble.  Support me on Patreon.

Review: KANAN: The Last Padawan #6

KANAN: THE LAST PADAWAN No. 6
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon. And visit the "Star Wars Central" review page here.]

WRITER: Greg Weisman
ART: Jacopo Camagni
COLORS: David Curiel
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Pepe Larraz with David Curiel
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2015)

Rated T

Book 1, Epilogue: The Last Padawan

“Star Wars Rebels” is a 3D CGI animated television series that appears on the Disney XD cable network.  Produced by Lucasfilm and Lucasfilm Animation, “Rebel” is set 14 years after the film, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), and five years before the events depicted in the original film, Star Wars (1977).

“Star Wars Rebels” takes place during an era when the Galactic Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and features several new characters.  One of them is the former Jedi, Kanan Jarrus, who has spent years hiding his Force powers and lightsaber.  He is the star of the comic book series, Kanan: The Last Padawan.  The series is written by Greg Weisman (a former executive producer of “Star Wars Rebels”) drawn by Pepe Larraz, colored by David Curiel, and lettered by Joe Caramagna, with covers by Mark Brooks.

Kanan: The Last Padawan #6 leaves the past and opens sometime in the period in which “Star Wars Rebels” takes place.  Kanan Jarrus, the former Jedi Padawan, Caleb Dume, is now part of the motley crew of the freighter starship, “The Ghost.”  This six-person rebel cell is one of many small clusters of rebels fighting the Galactic Empire.  In addition to Kanan, there is the teenaged Ezra Bridger; the Twi'lek, Hera Syndulla; Mandalorian teen artist, Sabine Wren; Lasat honor guard, Zeb Orrelios; and astromech droid, C1-10P (aka “Chopper”).

As the story opens, Kanan returns to the planet, Kaller, where his life as a Jedi-in-training effectively ended.  The crew of the Ghost is on the planet to pick up supplies to help refugees.  However, upon arrival, Kanan and his rebel companions find the supply crates empty.  As they begin a search for these supplies, which they simply must have, Kanan fears that the ghosts of his past are beginning to catch up with his present.

Kanan: The Last Padawan #6 offers a change from the previous issues of the series, which all occurred in a time years before the events depicted in “Rebels.”  Also, Jacopo Camagni draws this issue, while series artist, Pepe Larraz, draws only this issue's cover.  Stylistically, it is not a big change, as the art in Kanan tends to stay close to the design and art direction of “Rebels.”

That is what Kanan: The Last Padawan tries to be – true to the animated series upon which it is based, and it succeeds at that.  Among Marvel's Star Wars comic book series, Kanan is almost the odd man out, as it is distinct, in a number of ways, from the other series.  However, that makes it a good tie-in comic book, giving readers two extra “Star Wars Rebels” stories per year.

I am curious to see where this series goes.  “Star Wars Rebels” has so much potential for delving into the years before the setting of the original Star Wars film trilogy, as well as offering some surprises.  Kanan: The Last Padawan reflects that, so I am in for the long haul.  It is not a great comic book, but it is a very good one.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for December 9, 2015

DC COMICS

OCT150202     BATMAN #47     $3.99
OCT150212     BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL #10     $2.99
OCT150195     BATMAN SUPERMAN #27     $3.99
OCT150148     BATMAN TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #1     $3.99
OCT150218     CATWOMAN #47     $2.99
OCT150172     CONSTANTINE THE HELLBLAZER #7     $2.99
SEP150187     DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #1 COLLECTORS ED     $12.99
OCT150225     DC COMICS BOMBSHELLS #6     $3.99
OCT150158     DETECTIVE COMICS #47 (ROBIN WAR)     $3.99
OCT150175     EARTH 2 SOCIETY #7     $2.99
OCT150279     FABLES THE WOLF AMONG US #12 (MR)     $3.99
SEP150325     FLINCH TP BOOK 01 (MR)     $16.99
OCT150161     GOTHAM ACADEMY #13 (ROBIN WAR)     $2.99
OCT150157     GRAYSON #15 (ROBIN WAR)     $3.99
OCT150178     GREEN ARROW #47     $2.99
AUG150272     HARLEY QUINN HC VOL 03 KISS KISS BANG STAB     $24.99
SEP150302     HARLEY QUINN TP VOL 02 POWER OUTAGE     $16.99
AUG150172     JUSTICE LEAGUE DARKSEID WAR LEX LUTHOR #1     $3.99
AUG150294     KID ETERNITY DELUXE ED HC (MR)     $24.99
OCT150269     NEW ROMANCER #1 (MR)     $3.99
OCT150185     NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #15     $2.99
OCT150162     RED HOOD ARSENAL #7 (ROBIN WAR)     $2.99
MAR150315     SANDMAN GALLERY ED HC (MR)     $175.00
OCT150235     SCOOBY DOO WHERE ARE YOU #64     $2.99
OCT150284     SLASH & BURN #2 (MR)     $3.99
OCT150188     STARFIRE #7     $2.99
SEP150307     SUICIDE SQUAD TP VOL 02 THE NIGHTSHADE ODYSSEY     $19.99
SEP150298     TEEN TITANS GO TRUTH JUSTICE AND PIZZA TP     $12.99
OCT150187     TELOS #3     $2.99
OCT150286     TWILIGHT CHILDREN #3 (MR)     $4.99

DC COMICS/DC COLLECTIBLES

JUN150332     ALEX ROSS JUSTICE LEAGUE AF 6 PK     $94.95
JUL150351     DC COMICS DESIGNER DODSON EARTH 1 TT STARFIRE AF     $25.00
JUN150349     DC COMICS ICONS JOKER STATUE     $99.95