The Best Comic I Read Today Is ... The Dying & The Dead #1

Hickman and Bodenheim Reunite for The Dying & The Dead

Two quick disclaimers before we get into it: 1) Much love and thanks goes to former NerdBinge columnist Derek Adnams who started "The Best Comic I Read Today Is..." articles and who so graciously allowed me to keep it going here. Derek has since retired from NerdBinge in order to spend more time with his family, his work, and somehow in between all that, writing more comic books. 2) I'm a little behind the 8-ball on this one as I'm reading the second printing of The Dying & The Dead, but after James Gunn recommended it on his Facebook page, I had to check it out. I was pleasantly surprised to find it on the racks with all the new stuff at my LCBS today, and, well, as you might have gathered already, it was certainly the best comic book I've read today.

Now, on to the review.

Jonathan Hickman is nearing legendary status in the comic book scene these days. He has basically dictated the next phase of Marvel comics after 70+ years of continuity with his MASSIVE run on Avengers and New Avengers leading into Secret Wars.  It's easy to tire of the big events and crossovers of the Big 2, so this new, original comic got me excited. To match that, Issue #1 is a beast of a book, 60 pages in total. The colors of Michael Garland are exquisite and a bold artistic choice, taking the color immersion trend into poetic territory. And yet, with all that praise, you CAN NOT understate the massive undertaking that Ryan Bodenheim brings to the table in both his character illustrations and his immersive landscapes and scenery.

So, why is this the best comic book I've read today? Because it made me feel small. Not just small, but like really, really tiny. Hickman takes the girth of the entire human history and culture and compresses it down to 60 pages. And you can feel that in every page. In partnership with Bodenheim, Hickman's story brings something to life that is rare in comic books these days: a depth of narrative through illustration that makes my hands and my brain ache just looking at it.

[caption id="attachment_1253" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Just look at that shit! WTF?!? Don't your fingers just hurt right now?![/caption]

 

There is great mystery afoot, much of which cannot yet be discerned, but this porthole into the story alludes to a great history dictated by a race that cannot be more succinctly described as anything other than "The Dead." Issue #1 opens with a powerful interpersonal story: a couple to be wed, and then their wedding, their honeymoon and shortly thereafter their death. It's intense, messy, and mostly unexplained, but it's quite clear that this is just pretense for something much greater and more sinister. Then, we meet the Colonel. His wife is dying and to save her, he takes a trip to the underworld. Greek and Roman mythology come to life in a fresh and unmatched imagery. Edward James Canning, our classic mythical hero analogue, journeys to the underworld for the same reason every hero has every gone to these treacherous depths. He wants to save a loved one from the grips of death, his wife who is dying of cancer. He is immediately offered a deal: do the dirty work of "the dead" because they can't do it themselves, and they will save his wife.

It's all very sympathetic. Seeing a man lose his wife gives you plenty of motivation to relate to this character, but that's not what drew me in. "The Dead" give James a deal to save his wife, but at the same time he is offered-- no compelled to take an out. But he doesn't. And that's when it gets fun. For all the heavy and maudlin ruminating over the nature of life and death that this comic offers, it still leaves that element of adventure hanging like a carrot on a stick at the end.

The Colonel wants to save his wife, no doubt, but he also wants to do the dirty work because he's good at it and he likes it. And so do we.

Drifter from Image Comics Review

A Sci-Fi Tale from Image Comics: Drifter

When talking about comic books the phrase “The big two” comes up a lot, and for good reason, there iconic labels, but if truth be told the phrase should be “The big three.”  Since its inception in 1992 by famed illustrator Todd McFarlane, and an army of upset illustrators, Image Comics has redefined what the comic industry is capable of.  Image was an instant success and has helped to develop amazing artists and artist owned property.  Drifter is just one of their new titles that have made a splash.

Drifter is scripted by Ivan Brandon, and edited by Sebastian Girner.  The artwork is done by Nic Klein, lettering by Clem Robins, and the logo and design by Tom Muller.  The cover is a portrait of a man, the main character Abram Pollux, with Drifter spelled out in dots underneath him.  The cover art is vastly different from the comic art; the cover is a very realistic looking portrait style close up of Abram’s face while the inside is more of a normal comic feel.  The art of the cover as well as the inside is top notch and on par with any expectations, the characters are lively and telling in every essential way.



The book starts off with Abram Pollux falling out of space and crash landing on a planet only to nearly drown.  He ends up crawling out of the water and accidentally killing an alien that attempts to help him.  The alien wasn’t alone and its companion rushes to the aid of its dying friend, and Pollux watches it die in its friends arms.  I feel like this sets up the ideas of the book perfectly, a drifter that has personal issues and questionable morals.

After Pollux kills the alien he is shot by a mysterious character in a suit that reminds me a little bit of Star Lord, a gas mask and goggles design with a cape.  At this point I assume that the main character won’t get killed off in the first couple of pages but the events have already drawn me into the story and the character.

[caption id="attachment_1177" align="alignnone" width="195"] Pollux getting shot[/caption]

The story picks up with Pollux in a hospital setting and introduces a jack of all trades sheriff and doctor named Lee.  Lee is talking to a man named Jonah about what seems to be some serious stuff when Pollux wakes up.  Lee and Pollux have an exchange that stresses the desperation on the planet.  There exchange and the tone of desperation sets up the world Pollux has crash landed on well and it fits with the ideas already presented.  Pollux puts the feel of the book perfectly when he says, “Been half-drowned and burnt up, crashed and then shot in this place.”  It seems like a desert, empty, desolate place that struggles to stay alive, just like Pollux.

So far Pollux has had nothing but bad experiences with the planet and the people/aliens on it, save Lee, but the book transitions flawless from the world setup to Pollux leaving the little town and searching for his wrecked ship.  Lee is clearly intrigued by Pollux and curious about what he is leaving for and follows him.  Pollux and Lee talk as they search for the wreckage of Pollux’s ship.  Lee wonders where Pollux came from and what he hoped to find in the deserts of the planet but during his explanation of where he came from Lee sees that things don’t match up.  Pollux explains where he came from and when his ship went down but Lee seems surprised by his answers.  They end the book with Pollux and Lee standing on a ridge overlooking the wreckage while Lee tells Pollux that wreck happened over a year ago.  I understand the need for a hook when dealing with an ongoing series and Drifter leaves it open with a serious cliffhanger.

[caption id="attachment_1175" align="alignnone" width="343"] The Town[/caption]

I liked the world that they set up, the desperation and desperado feel of a Wild West type planet, and the intriguing characters that are somewhat mysterious and dark.  The world is nice but the character development is even better, I feel invested in Lee with her reluctant heroism and sympathetic of Pollux and his misfortune.  I also have a soft spot for Sci-Fi as you may have noticed with my review of Salvagers and eternal love of Star Wars and Star Trek.  Sci-Fi is a genre of literally never ending possibility for characters and worlds and it seems to me the team behind Drifter have a vast world in store and I will be tuning in for issue two to find out if that is true.

The Best Comic I Read Today Is . . . Zero #11

Zero, written by Ales Kot, is the story of Edward Zero who “was a secret agent.  He quit the Agency.  This is the story of his life.” This is also one of the best comic books currently being published.



Zero is a book that I always want and need to read twice, and this month’s was no exception.  However, this month I also needed to go back and read issue #10, paying special attention to the dates.  Issue #11 takes place four years after the previous issue, which is nothing new as the story jumps through Edward Zero’s life in an apparently random nature that is carefully plotted by Kot to serve the overarching premise and theme of the work.

The first six pages, taking place over three days, set the tone. Edward appears to have found happiness, which is amazing if you’ve read the previous ten issues and understand what this man has seen and done.  Then the situation begins to acquire a feeling of menace on “Day Four”, leading to a well paced action sequence and a two word final page that makes it difficult to wait until next month.  Of course, knowing the nature of the storytelling devices being employed, next issue will probably be a tale of Edward’s youth, and that will only heighten the drama of what occurred.

This month’s chapter was illustrated by Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, who captures the tone of this installment beautifully. Zero is a disjointed narrative, employing a different art team for every issue, and each individual artistic style reflects the theme Kot is conveying through a minimalist narrative, followed by instances of verbose philosophical exploration.

Zero isn’t a book you can just “jump into”.  It is dense and cinematic and cerebral and well worth the multiple readings each issue demands.  Please, I beg you, read the first collected edition, An Emergency, that reprints issues 1 – 5.



You won't be disappointed.

- Aloha -

The Best Comic I Read Today Is . . . Birthright #1

Sometimes, you just want comics to be fun. And that is exactly what the best comic I read this week is: a lot of fun - - with a twist!

Birthright #1, co-created by writer Joshua Williamson and artist Andrei Bressan with colors by Adriano Lucas and letters by Pat Brosseau, is the story of a boy named Mikey, and what happens when he returns from a magical adventure in a fantasy land.



This book has all the elements of a good first issue. By page six, Mikey has disappeared while playing catch with his father and the next seven pages are spent showing you, the reader, what has happened to his family after he vanished.  Imagine seeing what was going on in the lives of Harry Potter’s Aunt and Uncle after he went to Hogwarts, only the neighbors and police think they killed Harry, and you actually care.  This is where Williamson and Bressan shine, creating empathy for Mikey’s mother, brother, and especially his father.



Then Mikey returns, and you begin to see exactly what he has been through, how he’s changed, and the reaction of his family upon learning of his whereabouts. This book is a page turner, not for any action oriented suspense, but because you actually care about these characters.  Even through you know that Mikey returns from his quest unscathed, you still want to learn more about his journey and hope that he can reconcile with his family.

And just when you were settling down into what could have been a nice epilogue to The Never Ending Story . . .

BAM! 

The last page has a twist ending that I didn’t see coming and made me really angry that I’d have to wait until November for Birthright #2!

- Aloha -

Remender's Black Science is a Beast of a Book

Black Science is What Sliders Should Have Been

Rick Remender is a heavy hitter in all genres of the comic book realm. Many of you Marvel fans out there may know him from numerous books, including recent hits like Uncanny Avengers, Captain America, and Winter Soldier (with the last two being especially note-worthy with the recent cinematic blockbuster) and previous runs on Venom and Uncanny X-Force plus many, many more. While Remender excels in the larger arena, he also has a passion and great success in the smaller, creator-owned realm with fan favorites such as Fear Agent and now Black Science.



It took me a while to get around to this book. I will admit, I am a fanboy for the bigger studios, namely Marvel. I dabble in DC, but I am often turned off by many different aspects of their books. When it comes to the smaller labels, Image, Dark Horse, etc. I pick up their books when someone tells me, "This is not to be missed." Well, Black Science is not to be missed! I had been alerted to this fact numerous times by my comic-book-aficionado friend Nick, but it literally took me weeks to peel back the cover of Black Science #1. In some regards, I am glad that I waited so long, because this allowed me to absorb the first arc of Black Science quite similarly to the same way I've absorbed so many popular TV shows of late. Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Orange is the New Black, and so many more have come to me after the initial premieres. And this lack of knowledge has afforded me the chance to binge watch these shows up until the point where I'm caught up. And then the inevitable waiting begins. The rest of you hardcore fans are probably scoffing at me now, but I feel your pain nonetheless! Black Science has recently rapped its first major story arc with a hell of a cliff-hanger, and now the next issue (#7) is not due out until July. Wow. Ouch. Sheesh. Please, no!  ... Anyway, on to the review.

Spoilers ahead for sure. Please, if you haven't read at least the first couple of issues, just take this glowing opening paragraph as a sign from above, stop reading, and go out to you local comic book shop NOW.

Black Science is wholly a sci-fi comic book in the best possible way. There are no super-heroes here, no super powers, just science... cold, hard, Black science. The title is an excellent double entendre in that it leads you to think of "black magic," but this is far worse...its Black Science. No mysteries or unexplained reactions, this is all science and the worst possible kind.

The premise of this book is, unfortunately,  not wholly original. Any Jerry O'Connell fans out there? Well, if so, good for you, because the most basic comparison to any existing pop culture reference here is easily the mid-90's sci-fi TV show, Sliders. This crew of "anarchist scientists," as our lead character Grant McKay refers to this rabble, is currently bouncing through an infinite number of alternate universes (or rather, the "Eververse" in keeping with the book's nomenclature). Why you may ask? Well, Grant and his crew surmised that in a universe with infinite quantum possibilities, there must be worlds in which every possible outcome had in fact already occurred. To this end, they believed that if they could travel to these other timelines, they would have access to every solution to any problem they would ever have. As it turns out, they were right. And, for as much scientific success that this crew had, unfortunately, their problems are rooted heavily in the interpersonal realm. And who knows what science could ever do there.



As this books starts out, you get none of this backstory I so eloquently detailed for you. Issue #1 starts out fast and violent. This is why I should apologize for my earlier Sliders reference. For every bit that the basic premise may compare to that hokey 90's show, every single other aspect of this book is completely different. It is dark, visceral, and violent. This crew does not share the light-hearted camaraderie that Wade Welles, Rembrandt Brown, Professor Arturo and Quinn Mallory so readily exchanged. This crew, while at its emotional core consists of Grant McKay and his teen-aged children, otherwise is a group stricken by deep-seated personal, professional, and romantic conflicts. Kamir, the financial backer and his lackey Chandra do not share the same goals as McKay. Grant accompanied by his children Nathan and Pia also have a loyal crew of fellow researchers/security of Shawn, Rebecca, and Ward. These relationships are all twisted and convoluted in different ways, but the lynch pin in the whole ensemble nightmare is that the world-jumping technology known as the Pillar has been damaged since the first jump, stranding this contentious crew in the numerous alternate dimensions that await them until they can travel home.



Once again, I can't help but make the Sliders comparison for numerous reasons: the crew is required to "jump" on a predetermined timeline, their mechanism for jumping is broken, thus resulting in them moving randomly from dimension to dimension without any idea where they will end up. While its fair to make this comparison, Black Science would have made a helluva better show. The worlds of Black Science are stranger, more in-depth, and mystifying than anything else I've read in comic books. And that's saying something from a Marvel fan (those fools love to fuck with the timeline and create alternate dimensions). Often times, the population of these alternate dimensions are human like, but only if amphibians, reptiles, or primates had evolved to the level of our current civilizations. Alternately, the book doesn't always play with evolution, but instead world history, as we see the Native American tribes at one point as the dominant civilization on the planet, running the European civilizations into the ground with superior technology.



While the world building is infinitely interesting (as the potential is still very much untapped) the characters and their relationships are really the meat and potatoes of this story. I've read every column at the back of each comic in its entirety and it's impossible to ignore Remender's focus on an ensemble cast for this book. It's very clear he wanted to focus on a group of characters and explore what comes from their relationships and honestly, he's really killing it here. Without dropping any major spoilers here (go read issue #6), things between these characters are getting really sticky. Let me go ahead and give you the same warning I wish someone had given me before I started watching Game of Thrones: No characters are off limits. Yep, I'm just going to leave that there and move on.



While I could indulge my self ad infinitum, I think its time to rap this up and push you all to go read this book. Its truly fantastic. The art of Matteo Scalera and Dean White set a perfect tone for this edgy, dark, and often mesmerizing sci-fi story while Rick Remender is really holding nothing back on this one. Many an online forum or letters column I have read, wax on end that this book is worthy of the title of "masterpiece" in the annals of Remender's work and I am akin to agree. While it took me a while to get around to this series, I'm sure to feel the burn of the next couple of months waiting for issue #7...

Check Image Comics page for more info on Black Science: http://imagecomics.com/content/view/see-forever-in-black-science-by-remender-and-scalera