The Spookiest John Buys Comics Ever

... at least, as far as I know. Give me a shout if I've been creepin' you out on a regular basis with my eerie insights.

In a nice bit of conicidencing, most of the comics that I bought yesterday and have gotten around to reading (*cough*) have some spooky overtones. Or undertones. Or whichever tone it is when the book is all about being spooky, and I guess that a fair numbe rof my regular purchases are all about that. Zatanna No. 6, for example, continues the tale of her rumble with the demon Mammon, and what's spookier than a straight-up demon from Hell? And have I mentioned The Bulletproof Coffin lately? Issue 5 (of 6!) of that just came out, and it remains full of the kind of surreal, vaguely disturbing stuff that would have had the Young Johnathan raptly freaking out and makes Old Johnathan just plain happy. Seriously, this is a fantastic comic. And of course Creepy No. 4 came out this week, if you want a comic that's going to be overt about it.

Big news! Action Comics No. 864 features the return of Neil Gaimen's version of Death to the DCU proper! Unless that happened recently already and I missed it! Really, it's the fact that this might herald the return of such fun types as John Constantine and the ever-lovin' Swamp Thing to the super-hero-style comics that they were birthed from that makes me happy - it's the contrast between the grim Vertigo types and their four-colour counterparts that makes for some really terrific stories.

Even better, though, is the fact that this is a comic about Lex Luthor coming to terms with having died (spoiler: Lex Luthor will not be dead in the next issue), and hot damn does Paul Cornell not continue to nail the characterization of one of my very favourite super-villains. I can't really go into the whats and hows of the tale without ruining it, but that won't stop me from declaring that it is pretty much perfectly delightful.

And speaking of perfectly delightful, how about Hellboy/Beasts of Burden: Sacrifice, which not only features a Jill Thompson-endered Hellboy, but has that Hellboy team up with the titular Beasts in an in-continuity adventure that clears up, like three or four of the mysteries left hanging from the last BoB miniseries. As witnessed a couple of weeks ago with the Masks and Monsters collection, I love me some Hellboy crossover, but I don't know that I ever expected to see one as satisfying as this. Plus this is a big issue for Puggs, my very favourite of the Beasts. If you don't mist up a bit over his last couple of panels then you are a monster. A monster, I say.

And the final spooky book in my pile, issue 2 of Billy the Kid's Old-Timey Oddities: the Ghastly Beast of London. If you're any kind of fan of The Goon or the original Billy the Kid's Old-Timey Oddities series then you're probably already reading this or at least calmly waiting for the trade. If not, well... unless you have an absolute aversion to anything of a bizarre nature in your comic books you should at least give this one a flip through in the store. Kyle Hotz has done an amazing job with the art on this series - it's detailed without becoming illegible and horrific without, you know, looking horrible. And of course there is the continuing delight to be found in the absolutely irredeemable character of Billy the Kid. Such an ass.

And that is that. WoOoOoOoOOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoo....

John Buys Comics, the Thrilling Return

Back to the comic-buying grind again, oh what fresh stale hell is this. I kid, of course - if I got paid for this it would be the best job ever.

First, some Last Week's News, cold off the presses. Did you know that The Outfit came out last week? You probably knew that. But just in case you were, like me, out of touch for a time I will repeat myself: The Outfit came out last week! And on the off chance that you have no idea what I'm talking about: way back in the Sixties novelist Donald Westlake came up with a character named Parker and started writing novels about him under the pen name Richard Stark. Parker is basically a sonovabitch, a freelance thief who pulls two or three big jobs a year and spend the rest of the time living the high life in hotels and resorts around the world. Parker is basically an ultracompetent sociopath and is one of the most enjoyable characters in literature. The books typically feature Parker and a rotating series of other thieves pulling off one or more big scores, usually while Parker is simultaneously trying to solve some small complication in his life, like being blackmailed or having the mob put a price on his head. It's all pretty wonderful.

 

And now Darwyn Cooke is adapting the series into comic books, first with last year's The Hunter (also adapted into the Mel Gibson movie Payback, trivia fans) and now with The Outfit. And let me tell you, the right guy is on the job. Bothe Cooke and Westlake-as-Stark operate in a glorious Fifties-shading-into-Sixties aesthetic so very well, and as a result the books both look and read like they were written just for my nostalgia-riddled soul. And of course the violence (of which there is much) is marvellously choreographed. Really, the only bad thing about the whole thing is having to wait for the next instalment. Where's my instant gratification, dang it?

Even farther back, a whole two weeks ago, Fantagraphics Books came out with the amazing Four Color Fear, a book that would have made my month all by itself. More on this one in a later post - tis the season, after all. 

THIS WEEK!

Batmans - Unless I missed an something in the confusion, the Scheduling Fairy has gotten drunk on her way to DC yet again. I mean, it's very possible that I did miss something, but shouldn't Bruce Wayne be returned to the DC Universe proper some time after the Return of Bruce Wayne series actually finishes? I guess it is awfully close, but having the penultimate issue of that particular series in the same pile of comics as the opening salvo of the Bruce Wayne: the Road Home event felt a little weird.

I can't get too worked up about the whole thing though, since The Road Home is following my very favourite event format and taking place in its own one-shots and minis instead of horning in on the associated ongoings that I enjoy so well unmolested. Way to diffuse my nerd-rage, DC.

Oh, the comics themselves? Not bad. The one-shots that I picked up were entertaining enough to justify their existence, which is always nice. I'd say pick 'em up if you're reading the associated series but don't feel left out if you don't. Meanwhile, The Return of Bruce Wayne didn't deliver awesome in quite the concentration that I'd gotten used to but that's to be expected with a next-to-last issue. Next issue: total awesomeness.

Wait, does Knight and Squire fit here? Sure it does. Here is the easy calculation to determine whether you should buy this issue: take the delight that you felt when you read the preview for this a couple of weeks ago - and both zero delight and negative delight count - and multiply it by five, because the whole issue is just exactly as wonderful. Then, simply follow your heart. Paul Cornell and Jimmy Broxton are doing a terrific job of expanding the British corner of the DCU its own distinct place, one that has more than just a handful of characters with accents. Instead, they are developing both a rich retroactive history and a distinctive cultural flavour for the British superfolk scene. Plus, you know, Knight and Squire, two of the most criminally underutilized characters in comics, get their day in the sun. Hooray!

And in further Batman news, Masks and Monsters, the latest Hellboy collection came out this week and it's great. It contains the Hellboy/Starman/Batman crossover which among other things features Mike Mignola drawing super-heroes, which is one of thie things that brings me the most joy in this life. If I were ever to get acquisitive enough to collect anything obsessively it would definitely be Mignola-style super-hero drawings. So delightfully barrel-chested!

I think that I'll leave it at that, or perhaps at bat. Old things and bat things. Let's call it a theme week.

John Buys, How You Say, the Comics

Another great week! Once again I feel a vague sense of dread – does half a month of terrific comics forebode some stinkers in my future or should I be more concerned. Perhaps my long-overdue Gelatinous Cube attack is finally imminent. Please try to recover my bones from its improbable depths.

First up, Daytripper ended at issue number ten and it was excellent. If you’ve missed the three or four other times that I’ve waxed enthusiastic about this book then here are the basics: 1) it’s by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá (with colouring by John-favourite Dave Stewart) and consequently looks fantastic. 2) It’s the story of the life of a man named Brás, told in non-chronological order and one-day increments. Brás dies a lot. 3) This is an excellent storytelling device that I wish I had something really profound to say about but organizing my thoughts on the matter is going to take a lot of hunting up of individual issues from my disorganized comics-boxes or (much more likely) the purchase of a shiny new trade in a few months time. In essence, every time Brás dies you end up looking at his life up to that point as a completed story and contrasting that story with those generated by his deaths as older and younger men creates a much more intimate view of the character than a straightforward telling of his life story might have. Having seen what his life might have become, I had such an incredible investment in what his life did become that this was one of the most satisfying final issues of any comic series for me.

And then we have Billy the Kid’s Old-Timey Oddities and the Ghastly Fiend of London, which might not be quite as thoughtful as Daytripper but certainly has a longer title. The original BtKOTO was a particular favourite of mine, and I don’t anticipate that this series will change that. I was going to maybe get snarky about the fact that Billy the Kid hasn’t actually changed much as a character despite the events of the earlier series but someone did that in the letters page and I get the impression that “unrepentant asshole” is Powell’s vision for the guy. And that’s okay, really, they do exist. Hell, I could probably hit a couple with a rock from where I’m sitting (Oh wait, I'm at home now. I should probably take that back before I get in trouble with the dog).

Meanwhile: a Weird War Tales one-shot! I will hazard a guess that this was put out in order to maintain the trademark or copyright (delete as appropriate) on one of the best titles that DC has. This was a very odd comic for me, in that I enjoyed all of the stories but was unimpressed by the book as a whole. It was just too damn short, especially for four bones. Damn fine cover by Darwyn Cooke, though.

Did you know that  this week’s Batgirl was a joy? I am very much a fan of superhero friendships, and Batgirl/Supergirl is a team that should always exist as a counterpoint to the often rocky and troubled Batman/Superman relationship. Of course, friendships can’t just spring from the void fully-formed, which is why you need something like this issue every once in a while. I can’t tell you how many friends I’ve made while hunting fake Draculas through the streets of a great metropolis. And speaking of streets, here’s a panel that made my commute this morning 100 times better:

Segway Dracula is one of the hardest Draculas to defeat. He’s so damn mobile!

If you’ve been doing some sort of week-by week analysis of my likes and dislikes, possibly with a line and/or bar graph for visual [oomph], then you might have been able to predict that I found this months Batman and Robin and BPRD: Hell on Earth to be fantastic. But was your science able to tell you that I would be absolutely blown away by The Sixth Gun No. 4 and its increasingly epic story? Huh? Well, it probably was. Hell, the book itself is probably registering on scientific instruments tuned to pick up extreme levels of incredible, or perhaps blowmyfriggingmindium radiations.

And finally, we have a collection of the Dr. Horrible one-shots and digital comics, notable for these reasons:

- No attempt was made to make it a musical comic book. This is very good, as those usually don’t work.
- Aside from (and probably because of) that, these comics are a terrific adaptation of the web series’ feel. Everything in this book works in the context of the show.
- There is a new Evil League of Evil story that is pretty darned fantastic. Fake Thomas Jefferson!
- This one is only really of interest to me but I have this forum and I will use it, dammit. I saw a live version of Dr. Horrible at the Halifax Fringe last week (still on for at least a couple of days! Tickets only ten dollars!) and it was great and there was a new Moist song and I was trying my damnedest to describe his origin story to my friends after the show, AND THEN THE TRADE CAME OUT THREE DAYS LATER. I feel that I may have warped reality a bit, and all so that I could lend this book to my pal Tubby. Kind of a waste of a power, when you think about it.

JOHNATHAN IS OUT OF HERE

John Buys Many Comics But Only Has Eyes For One

This was a very good week for me, comics-wise. New Tick, new King City, new Astro City… Stumptown, Secret Six and I, Zombie, Strange Science Fantasy and Gorilla-Man. Any one of these is enough to make me happy and a week that includes all of them makes me feel like I might have done an especially excellent good deed while I wasn’t looking and this is my reward. I’d better find an old lady to conspicuously help across the street, just in case.

Despite this bounty of riches, though, the thing that [really] got me going yesterday was the fact that The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects was there, just waiting for me to shell out some dough and take it home.

If you’ve never read Mike Mignola because you weren’t that into horror comics, or because you’re daunted by the volume of material in the Hellboy library, or for no good reason at all, you should check this out. First of all, while it’s not exactly light and fluffy, it’s lighter and fluffier than Mignola’s other books, and it’s damn funny as well. It's his atmospheric, portentious horror done as an absurdist farce (and I guess that's the reason to read it if you do already read Hellboy), complete with zombie Prussians, Victorian pseudoscience and TNT-powered rocket transports.

Secondly, this is it. There are no other Screw-On Head stories, and tragic as that may be it makes it very easy to catch up. And fourthly, the “other curiosities” of the title are similarly absurd and irreverent and include both a new tale featuring Emperor Zombie's unfortunate companion Dr Snap and "The Magician and the Snake", a comic co-written by Mignola's then-7-year old daughter Katie. 

I’ve been carting my floppy version of the Screw-On Head comic around for years. It’s been from one end of this country to the other with me. It may be the first thing that Dave ever convinced me to buy. And the reason that I have never left it behind or shoved it up in my parents' attic or failed to retrieve it from a friend's grubby mitts is because it is delightful. I own a lot of comics and I love a lot of those comics but for sheer every-damn-time joy it's basically The Amazing Screw-On Head and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen No. 72. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I must go and read it again.

Laughing Death in the Bony Face, John Buys Comics

Okay, maybe not death. Intense discomfort, though. See, this week marks the point in the Nova Scotia Summer when the average temperature started being at or over thirty degrees (Celsius. That's right suckers: METRIC SYSTEM) and that means two things for ol' Johnathan. 1) Wanting to do absolutely nothing at all times because otherwise I will overheat and die like a cheap laptop. 2) Restraining myself from erupting in murderous rage every time someone equates higher temperatures with better times, especially when you can tell that they will keep doing it no matter how hot it actually gets. 

I know that someone from a more southerly place will pipe up and tell me that I am being foolish, but I swear I'm not. If I lived somewhere tropical then I would be an invalid. My family would have to wheel me around in a Victorian bath chair and would eventually go bankrupt from the ruinous expense of hiring kindly old ladies to moisten my feverish brow. I'd probably end up donated to the local medical school.

In short, I'm hot, so the following will read very oddly because I started writing it on my air-conditioned lunch break and am finishing it in my hot hot living room. Enjoy!

Oh! Also: t-shirt contest ends tomorrow, so get a comment in saying that you're entering before then!

Casanova: Luxuria I

I came late to the Casanova party. Like, this year late. I definitely don’t own anything near all of the original not-quite-black-and-white issues. Ergo, this is just perfect for me.

But here I am talking like everyone knows what the hell Casanova is. Sorry about that. Casanova is the tale of Casanova Quinn, thief and son of spymaster Cornelius Quinn. Casanova is kidnapped to another dimension by the mysterious Newman Xeno of criminal organization W.A.S.T.E., there to take the place of his more altruistic and deceased double and thereby worming his way into E.M.P.I.R.E., his father’s spy organization. So, uh, extremely complex but in a very good way. It’s like… if Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. had a kid that was equal parts James Bond, Batman and young Keith Richards, and they fought international terrorism together, but Batbond Richards was secretly working for Hank Scorpio, head of COBRA. And also about a hundred other insane things are happening AND it’s a well-told narrative rather than the horrendous mess I just made it sound like. Twice.

The big news about this reprinting is the addition of colour to the equation. Casanova used to have exactly one colour per page, applied in extremely cool ways. I guess that it’s up to the individual to gauge whether they prefer the new scheme to the old, but I like it. The old colours still predominate, and some elements – say, creepy big-head Fabula Berserko, who gets a yeechy green flesh tone – are definitely enhanced. So hooray for Cris Peter and her magic pigments!

Hit Monkey No. 1

This picks up from the one-shot that came out earlier this year and features the continuation of the Hit-Monkey’s quest for vengeance against the people responsible for killing his tribe. Oh, and now the monkey is haunted by the ghost of the assassin who was killed in the last issue and together they are going after the leadership of a conspiracy against the Japanese government.

This book is seriously pretty weird, but in the best of ways. I'm sincerely glad that a haunted assassin ape is a part of the Marvel Universe. If this is a just and fair cosmos and in the unlikely event of another Marvel/DC crossover I eagerly look forward to the Hit-Monkey/Detective Chimp teamup.

Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites HC

Okay, so it came out last week, so sue me. I flirted with letting this one pass me by because I already have all of the individual issues and the Dark Horse Book of… series, but ultimately I could not resist. And then I got it as a birthday present (thanks, Cal!).

And who could resist this, really? It's a Dark Horse hardcover, which means that it looks fantastic and reminds you of something from your childhood - I really have no examples to back this up but still swear that it is true. In any case, having the four original stories at a larger size is a big plus, as it lets you see even more of Jill Thompson's fantastic art. 

I think that Beasts of Burden is quite possibly my favourite new thing in the last ten years or so, which is especially impressive in light of the fact that "dogs and cats fight the supernatural" is a plot that could have gone so very wrong. Thanks heavens for the Dorkin/Thompson team. (Gratuitous link to free online Beasts of Burden stories)

Ghostopolis - Another book that's been out for a while, kind of. At least, I saw it in bookstores about a month ago but it just arrived at the comic shop. Anyway: Doug TenNapel tells the tale of a terminally ill boy who is accidentally banished to the afterlife and the washed-up ghost hunter who has to get him back. Oh, and there are crazy insect guys and a ghost tyrant and quite a lot of mummies. As is common in a TenNepel comic, it's pretty much equal parts heartwarming and super strange. As is uncommon, it's in colour!

Hellboy: The Storm No. 1 - New Hellboy comic! And there's a recap of recent Hellboy activities, so that this is... not really a good jumping-on point. But hey, if you stopped reading after Conqueror Worm and are way too lazy to pick up a couple of trades? Maybe then.

Batman: Odyssey No. 1 - Neal Adams does some Batman. This is one of those ones that I'm writing in the heat, so I'll just wait until issue 2 to weigh in. In short: a lot happens, and I like it. Batman has some guns. Multiple Man-Bats? Well, huh.

Kill Shakespeare No. 3 – I am pleased to report that this is still great. The only problem with this book is that I feel like the biggest nerd ever when I'm reading it, all giggling about Shakespeare jokes in a comic book. I feel like someone who likes wrestling comics is going to beat me up.

Secret Six No. 23 – Here is a pro tip for anyone who is interested in hunting a bit of the ol’ “most dangerous game”: if you are thinking about using a homicidal mercenary who has gone toe-to-toe with Batman (let alone three-plus) as your prey, try to reconsider. It won’t go well.

Chimichanga No. 3 – Eric Powell is just plain good at being weird on paper. This heart-warming tale of a little bearded girl and the bizarre creature that she hatched out of an egg going up against the witch-inspired machinations of Big Pharma is about medium-rare, if I may use the meat-cooking scale to represent comic book weirdness.

John Cheers Up, Buys Comics

King City No. 6

 

It’s way past the third issue, but I’m going to do it anyway! I am going to kick off my new THIRD ISSUE RECAP, designed to strike a balance between my own hatred of spoilers and my friend Tubby’s assertion that my reviews can read like I assume that everyone has already read the comic that I’m talking about.

 

THIRD ISSUE RECAP is about conveying how good something is, and works on the same assumption that SECOND ISSUE OF JUDGEMENT does: that by the end of the second issue of a series, the tone has been set and enough information about the comic has been conveyed that one can make an informed decision about it. Come issue 3, I’ll feel okay about recapping issues 1 and 2 and it shouldn’t be too hard for folks to catch up if I manage to sell anyone on the idea of picking it up.

 

THIRD SIXTH ISSUE RECAP! This is actually going to be a terrible recap because my copies of all five previous issues are randomly distributed among 8 boxes that are stacked up in a closet - the joys of moving. However, I shall do my best.

 

The titular King City is an enormous metropolis in an indeterminate future, populated entirely by thieves, spies and the like (and every building and character look amazing. Brandon Graham layers on the detail and doesn’t spare the design for even the most minor of characters, and yet it all looks super clean and uncluttered). Main character Joe is a thief who left the city for as-yet undisclosed reasons some time ago and has returned as a cat master, that is one who employs a size-and-shape-changing superintelligent cat as an all-purpose tool and weapon. He begins to reintegrate himself into the city, hooks up with his old buddy Pete (possibly a luchadore) and gets embroiled in some sort of plot involving aliens and an evil old man that is still panning out. And there’s his lost love Anna and her war hero boyfriend Max, too.

 

I’m glad I stepped away from this for a second, because I think I figured out what’s great about this comic: it’s full of ridiculous ideas (guy with a shape-changing cat! Street gang based on owls! Ex-KGB sasquatch running a hidden bar!) and loaded with sight gags and ludicrous situations but the characters themselves are not ridiculous – they aren’t mugging at the camera. Anna’s job might be painting mustaches on billboards, but she comes off as someone who has a job that they love, not as a gag. The story and the characters could easily be translated to, say, a noir setting. They are independent of their situation.

 

Plus, it looks fantastic.

 

R13 No. 3

 

Hey, maybe I should have explained THIRD ISSUE RECAP on this actual third issue. Ah, well, no changing it now. This is another one that involves comics that are inaccessible to me at this point, so I may b a bit vague.

 

R13 (okay, this is probably the lead character’s name, though I can’t recall him being referred to by it yet) is to all appearances a robot body topped by a dome. Floating in the dome is a human skull with the number 13 inscribed on its forehead. He’s got a mysterious past: so far we know that he’s come from the island of Crete and that’s about it. Oh, and he’s got these terrific spindly limbs that look fantastic while he’s leaping around chopping dudes.

 

R13’s calling, or perhaps his fate, is to be a monster-fighter. Thusfar he has had run-ins with a sea monster, a phoenix and, this issue, a Cyclops. All of this monster-mashing has earned him the enmity of Echidna, mother of monsters in Greek myth and half snake/half lady any way you shake it. More fighting ensues.

 

There’s no question that I am a fan of the Big Dudes Punching Creatures school of graphical entertainment, and R13 certainly succeeds on that front, but beyond that he is a genuinely charming character – he has essentially no memory of who or what he is and comes of as confused and uncertain but just basically a good guy. This is pretty remarkable, now that I think of it – Character is Searching For Identity and Purpose is all to frequently translated to Character is Self-Obsessed and Whiney. Good show!

 

 

Today’s I Am Bored drawing is R13!

 

Superman No. 698 - Does anyone else think that the layout of the cover on this sucker is really reminiscent of Mike Mignola? Maybe it’s just all of the hanging cities in the background. Man, I’m really enjoying these. I wish that Blackest Night had gotten to be this self-contained.

 

 

Orc Stain No. 2 - Man, this comic is great. I don’t even think it came out this week, but I got my copy of issue 2 yesterday and I want to reiterate what an insanely detailed, absurdly creative, huge world James Stokoe has put together here. The creativity inherent in the designs of the crazy organic technology alone is worth checking out, but there’s going to be an incredible gonzo fantasy story playing out over the course of this series. I can feel it in my bones.

 

There, I’m all done! (Turns around, notices three books he bought this week, blanches) Uh, I mean: here’s some more!

 

Widgey Q. Butterfluff

 

I have no idea if they’re still making children’s cartoons in the “exceedingly happy utopian community of tiny creatures occasionally menaced by generic evil” vein, but basically every second show that I watched as a youth fit that description, so I was powerless to resist this book.

 

It features – you guessed it – an exceedingly happy utopian community of tiny creatures. You have your heroine, Widgey Q Butterfluff, her male counterpart (and most amusing character) Buster B. Gooseberry, obligatory general scientician Professor Schoolbug and generic evil Lord Meanskull. Everything in SnugglePump Valley is bright and happy and anthropomorphic!

 

I hate to use the term subversive, but mainly because it’s misused so frequently. In this case: completely appropriate. Steph Cherrywell has done a hell of a job of subverting the ideas behind children’s cartoons, from the suspect motivation of the polluting villain to the concept of using caring as a fuel source. And it’s funny! And it still manages to be kind of sweet even while satirizing the concept of cartoons with twee sweetness as their core concept!

 

Hooray!

 

The Book of Grickle

 

I first ran into Grickle in a library copy of an earlier collection by Graham Annable, possibly also called Grickle, and am extraordinarily glad to have a chance to squirrel this away into my book pile.

 

Grickle is hard to quantify. The characters look like gag cartoon characters and they sometimes act like such. They frequently inhabit worlds filled with wacky gag cartoon-style antics. They emote like real people, though, both facially and in that they feel love, despair and simple joys. It’s a funny and sometimes poignant comic full of seemingly simple pictures that you will find yourself going back to study several times after you’ve technically finished reading.

 

Sadly, this collection does not include “Party Ass”, my favourite Grickle comic. Fingers crossed for next time.

 

I’m sleepy! Ye shall live in suspense over what the third book was! Forever!