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Samurai Vato
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: presiding over planet beyotch...
Posts: 5,347
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wktf and Sam Wilson's Comic Reviews, 7-7-05
Well, I have some bad news this week; wktf has been dispatched by Odin to deal with an evil that has surfaced in the Midgard location known as “San Antonio”. He is there under the guise of “family vacation”, but he will be back next week to review new books. Before he left though, he did find the time to write a wonderful “classic” review of a book I’m guessing not a lot of you have heard about, A Contract With God and Other Tenement Stories, originally published in 1978. Written and drawn by Will Eisner (RIP), this book is considered to be the first graphic novel. I on the other hand, had a big week at the lcs myself, House of M #3, Hulk, Fantastic Four, and Iron Man “House of M” crossover issues, the last issue of the excellent Warren Ellis series Ocean, the start of a new arc in Ultimate Spider-Man, and my pick of the week, the final issue (6 of 6) of Catwoman, When in Rome. I’ll also give a special mention to the variant John Cassaday cover to House of M #3. Damn, that’s a nice cover.
Sam Wilson’s Reviews
Catwoman, When in Rome issue 6 (of 6)
DC Comics
Written By: Jeph Loeb
Drawn By: Tim Sale
Tim Sale: Definitely an a$# man…
Catwoman, When in Rome comes hot off the heals of Loeb and Sale’s last Bat-collaboration, Batman: The Long Halloween, a sequel of sorts to the Loeb/Sale’s Batman Mafia stories. Batman only shows his face in this book in Selina’s (you know, Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, sheesh, I hope this isn’t news for to many of you…) dreams, and we get six issues of Catwoman, looking fine and getting into all sorts of Gotham spawned trouble in Rome, home of the Vatican, Caesar and blonde haired assassins (read the first 5 issues, you’ll figure that last one out). Our story begins with Selina heading to Rome to take a break from Gotham, and to honor the invitation of a top Mafia boss. This invitation intrigues Selina, because she has many unanswered questions concerning Carmine Falcone aka “the Roman”, the Don of Gotham’s mob. For some reason or another, she brings Edward Nigma, aka The Riddler in tow, and soon we are hip deep in an adventure involving Joker gas, Mr. Freezes gun, the Cheetah, blonde assassins, and a legendary ring that makes the barer king of all Mafia’s. Oh yeah, and Catwoman gets framed for murder and is on the run. Oy, nothing to complicated for a simple European getaway…
So, issue six gives us the starting conclusion, well not so startling, but it definitely asks and answers. Selina has been double-crossed by Nigma (shock), and finds herself in battle with several Mafioso and the Cheetah. Everyone wants to know who has “the ring”, and Selina still hasn’t gotten her questions about Falcone answered, and we still don’t know who the blonde fella is other than he’s a good shot and probably has the hots for Selina, but worry not, all is answered in this issue. Loeb inserts a lot more humor in this series than any of his previous outings in the Bat-verse, and damn if Sale doesn’t draw one fine looking Catwoman. Yeah, her “features” are over exaggerated, but everyone he draws has exaggerated features, Batman’s “ears”, the Riddler’s nose, the Joker’s Chin, that’s part of his charm. It’s stylized art, but it’s well done and eye-catching in its own way. Sale uses the Jim Balent Catwoman costume, and I must say, even though it’s not as cool or tough looking as her current goggles, ears, and sh$# kicking boots costume its still damn sexy. So pick this book up, or wait a few months and pick up the eventual tpb or hardcover release, if you are a Loeb/Sale fan you won’t be disappointed.
Fantastic Four House of M issue #1 (of 3)
Marvel Comics
Written By: John Layman
Drawn By: Scot Eaton
Okay, ready? Wait for it, here it comes, ready? I didn’t hate this book. It was pretty cool actually. Yeah, I don’t dig company wide crossovers and the unnecessary “pimping” of books to tell a “truly epic” story, but once in awhile you get something good, and I was skeptical about this book but have officially been surprised, and gratefully so.
To get everyone up to speed on “House of M”…
Recently, the Avengers disbanded because the Scarlet Witch went crazy with her chaos powers and the resulting actions killed Jack of Hearts, Ant Man (Scott Lang), Hawkeye and the Vision. Her pops, Magneto, whisked her away to Genosha (the new “mutant” homeland) where Professor Xavier (aka Professor X) joined him in hopes of curing her of her madness, but soon found out there was nothing they could do. So Xavier goes back to New York to discuss with the New (and past) Avengers and the X-men to see what they should do about the Scarlet Witch. Fearing they are going to sentence her to death, Wanda’s (aka the Scarlet Witch) brother Pietro (aka Quicksilver) whisks her away, and suddenly the world is turned upside and a new reality dawns (queue “Twilight Zone” Music here…). Mutants are now the majority, humans are their minions (for the most part), Spider-Man is a huge celebrity and Wolverine is an Agent of SHIELD. The “House of M” is in full effect yo, so how did all that affect the Fantastic Four?
Fantastic Four House of M opens with Dr. Doom confronting the Mole Man, telling him to give up his underground kingdom and submit to the “House of M”. Of course the Mole Man tells Doom to shove it, and Doom promptly hands him his a$# on a plate, with a little help from his three comrades Valaria, Kristoff (remember that youngin’ Doom clone from the FF Byrne era?) and slower but stronger than most “the It” (yeah, pretty much a Forest Gumped Ben Grimm). Anyway, Reed Richards is dead, his spacecraft went down in the cosmic storm that granted our Universe’s FF their powers. Dr. Doom is not horribly scarred, and is still the ruler of Latveria. He’s in a shaky alliance with Magneto’s rule, but to most Doom just seems a puppet. His mom is still around as well, and encourages Doom to make a run for power, and like the Doom we all know and love soon enough he’s plotting to take over the world.
Yeah, this book was cool. I like what Layman did with classic characters such as Kristoff and Doom’s mom, and the new Thing, or “It” or whatever you want to call it is interesting, and I’d like to see where they go with that. It’s hinted that he’s connected in some way to Reed Richards still, but I’m guessing time will tell. Ultimately this book is a “What If” tale, and the story only exists temporarily, but at least it’s interesting. Eaton’s art is good as well, it’s nothing special, but it’s not bad either. I’m definitely going to pick up the rest of this series, and some of you may want to check out it as well. If you’re a “House of M” skeptic, like I am, check this book out, it may change your mind.
Iron Man House of M issue #1 (of 3)
Marvel Comics
Written by: Greg Pak
Drawn by: Pat Lee
Big Robots: are pretty cool
Yup, not to freak anyone out, I liked this book too. Why? Unlike the “Spider-Man” book, both Iron Man and the Fantastic Four House of M are radically different than their mainstream Marvel counterparts. In “Iron Man”, Tony Stark is not the center of Stark Enterprises, his father Howard Stark is. Johnny Storm seems to be in the Jim Rhodes position, and Tony spends most of his time playing second fiddle. As a human trapped in a mutant world, Tony has to watch every step he makes, maybe even more so since he is one of the richest “flatscans” on earth. The book opens in the middle of a sporting event, giant robots fighting each other and some “Sentinels” to the last, umm, machine. In a not so subtle fashion we see Tony go down and his father standing tall as the winner. This event pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the book.
For a recap of “House of M, A to Z”, check the above review. Anyway, in the new Iron Man verse we find out Tony is very much his father’s punching bag. The elder Stark’s verbal insults and put downs are neither few nor far between, clearly he views Tony as an incompetent spoiled child when he is anything but. Moving right along, the younger Stark has discovered a Stark employee, Dr. Henry Pym (dun dun DUNNN) started a project mapping mutant DNA. Well, messing with anything mutant related is like breakdancing in certain parts of Alabama, so the kibosh is put on Pym, and wacky antics ensue, leading us to the human underground, more big robots, and some really big Sentinels.
Yeah, I’ll admit it, I’m a fan of Pat Lee and the folks over at Dreamwave productions. I liked their Darkminds series, and anytime Pat Lee draws big robots its cool looking (check out his Transformers pin ups). It was his cover for Iron Man House of M that sealed the deal for me. As far as Greg Pak, meh, he’s fine, but it’s clear the “House of M” editors are the ones driving this story. So, if you like big robots check this book out, and if you don’t, well, I dunno, you can save yourself the three dollars and buy yourself an extra value meal. But with the “House of M” tie in I can pretty much guarantee no heartburn. or Mud Butt...
Classic Trade Reviews
This week’s theme is “historically significant” trades/graphic novels. So, we thought about which stories started or set a trend, broke new ground, influenced the industry, set some kind of record, etc. Naturally, left to our own devices, our picks are subjective based on our own opinions. Since most anything, with the exception of sales data, is subjective you may agree or disagree with our choices, based on our criteria. If so, the simple solution is to let us know what trades you’d like to see reviewed and why. We’ll do our best to accommodate you. Here we go!
Wktf’s Review
A Contract With God and other tenement stories
DC Comics
Written & Drawn by: Will Eisner
Historical significance: The First Graphic Novel
Will Eisner, creator of The Spirit and one of history’s single greatest comic book pioneers (right up there with Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster), first published A Contract With God in 1978. His book had undergone five printings before being picked up by DC Comics, much to Eisner’s gratitude, in 2000. The four stories in this volume all take place in the tenement setting of the dirty 1930s Bronx, specifically in the building at 55 Dropsie Avenue. Here we have low paid city employees, impoverished laborers, clerks and their families all playing out their personal dramas in front of everyone else. There was no privacy at all. As Eisner says in his preface, he deals with intimate themes drawn on his own memory and culled from his own experiences. We are told these are true stories about lonely, frightened and desperate people, as he describes: “The importance of dealing with the ebb and flow of city existence and the overriding efforts to escape it never seems to change for the inhabitants.” These stories, stark and harsh, contain themes of greed, poverty, abuse, infidelity, love, sex, hope, rape, murder and suicide. Quite a spectrum, I know. As often is the case with life, there are no morals or lessons to be gleaned from these pages. The good people don’t always win, the bad people don’t always lose. In fact, at times it’s difficult to distinguish between the good and bad people.
The first story, “A Contract With God,” focuses on a pious and righteous Jewish man named Frimme Hersh who sits in sorrow after having just buried his daughter. His sorrow turns to rage as Frimme rails at God, for Frimme had written his own contract with God and promised to perform good works in exchange for the Almighty’s blessings. One could postulate at Frimme’s incredible temerity and hubris to draft and dictate his own terms in a contract for God, the God who created the heavens, earth and seas and provided us with 612 commandments in the Holy Scripture by which we are told by Him to live our lives. In dictating terms to God, had Frimme forgotten his station, relative to God, in the Universe? Regardless, Frimme’s anger causes him to turn his back on God and his contract and he travels down a path that ultimately leads to his ruin. “The Street Singer” is about a man who scratches out his living, which he spends on alcohol despite his wife and child at home, singing for money in the massive tenement alleys. His life seems doomed to a spiral in which he also takes his family and others in the community. “The Super” may be the most troubling tale of the four, centering on a fat German building superintendent. Though this was before Nazi Germany but this man has no love for the Jews who make up the majority of his tenants. He owns a vicious dog named Hugo and intimidates all of his clientele. He also has a strong sexual appetite that leans toward pedophilia; however, the little girl who catches his eye may have a more evil bent than he does. The last story, “Cookalein,” offers the most hope out of the four. It is about a number of Jewish tenement dwellers all of whom go to upstate New York, Catskills area, for summer vacation and, in some cases, to search for a mate to take them out of their current troubles. This story winds in a couple of different ways at the same time, seems to circle itself, before coming to a close with different resolutions for each character.
With this work Eisner gave us a new media, the graphic novel, which has become almost its own industry 25 years later. But more than that, as stated by my esteemed colleague and partner in arms, this work is more than just the first graphic novel, it seems to be the first modern post-Wertham “mature themed” comics story. In 1978, Will Eisner elevated comics to a serious literary vehicle. Without this book, there would have been no Watchmen, Dark Knight, Vertigo Comics, Marvel Epic, MAX, Preacher, or The Sandman. All these mature comics titles seem to owe a bit of gratitude to Eisner. True enough! In closing…on its own merit as with all his work…with this book Eisner also gives us gripping stories about the human condition, wonderfully illustrated and expertly scripted. On its own merit, above everything else, this book is a jewel of storytelling.
Sam Wilson’s Review
The Watchmen
DC Comics/Graphitti Designs
Written By: Alan Moore
Drawn By: David Gibbons
“From the very cover of the first issue, with its bloody smiley face, the reader knew that this was no ordinary superhero comic. Over the course of 12 issues, Moore and Gibbons showed that a comic can be literate without being boring, and doing that in the superhero genre is doubly impressive. Comics turned a corner with “the Watchmen” mini-series and have never looked back.” Taken from Jerry Weist’s 100 Greatest Comic Books.
Remember back in ‘86, in that box on the front cover of all DC comics that usually contained a UPC code? For awhile they were being printed with the statement “Who Watches the Watchmen?” Well, back in ’86 I was 11, so I didn’t really give a fu$#, but as I got older I picked up an unusual comic series in the comic bins at a used bookstore, The Watchmen. The cover with the bloody smiley face caught my eye, as did a vague recollection to a more innocent time. Well, if anything will rob you of comic book innocence, it’s The Watchmen, but I don’t mean that in a negative way. In the mid-‘80’s, a few key books came out catapulting comics into mainstream media, and into the “not just for kids” genre: Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One and Allan Moore’s V for Vendetta and The Watchmen, and so started the modern “grim and gritty” trend in comics.
So who (or what) exactly are The Watchmen? In many ways they are the same ilk as the Injustice Gang or the Squadron Supreme (if you’re too young to remember them, think of the original versions of JMS’s Supreme Power). They are the earth’s super heroes who started out in a world that loved and respected them, but now outlaws them and fears them (well, most of them anyway). The Watchmen has it’s own continuity not related to mainstream DC comics. An important note about the Watchmen universe, none of their costumed heroes have super powers save one, Dr. Manhattan (I’ll get into him later). Anyway, the series starts out with a grisly murder, an old man getting beat up and tossed out a window. It is later found that this old man is the hero known as “The Comedian”, a costumed hero once belonging to a group called “the Minutemen”. A scary man with a scary mask, Rorschach (yes, the same as the inkblot test) is on the case (think of him like the JLU animated series The Question, only really scary), and immediately seeks out his old costumed buddy “Nite Owl” (they both are part of the modern “Minutemen”, known as “the Watchmen”), who now lives a tame civilian life. Super hero’s have been outlawed since the “Keene Act of ‘77”, but Rorschach doesn’t really play buy societies rules, so he still runs around in his costume becoming somewhat of an urban legend. The rest of “the Watchmen” include Dr. Manhattan, the only true super-hero who gained god-like powers after a nuclear accident, Ozymandias, an individual who has taken his human capabilities to the max, he has a 10x normal IQ, is in peak physical condition and will probably live to be 150, the afore mentioned Nite Owl, a Batman type superhero who uses many gadgets and has a huge underground lair and finally the Silk Spectre, lover of Dr. Manhattan and daughter of the original Silk Spectre.
I can’t really go into the “Watchmen” story because every part is relevant to the devastating conclusion, and to give teasers would be a disservice. I will say it’s very tied into ‘80’s politics, the nuclear arms race and the subsequent paranoia that it brought on (those of you old enough to remember the ‘80’s will no exactly what I’m talking about). The Watchmen isn’t just a story of costumed hero’s, it’s very much a political commentary for the time. “Who Watched the Watchmen?” indeed, that statement will take on several meanings after you have read this the first time. My review of this series comes from the limited edition Graphitti Designs slipcase hardcover. In edition to a reprinting of the 12 issue series, it has a gallery of supplemental material including scripts, character designs, and notes from Alan Moore. My personal favorite part of the supplementary material is the comparison of the characters to their Charleton Comics Counterparts (Rorschach/Question, Nite Owl/Blue Beetle, Dr. Manhattan/Capt. Atom). Moore originally wanted to use the Charleton characters as the main ones for The Watchmen, but DC but the kibosh on that idea, so Moore just reinvented them in his own universe.
Anyway, buy this book. If you haven’t read it already, well, now would be a good time. This is arguably Alan Moore’s greatest work, and David Gibbon’s art has never been better. It is available in softcover tpb form (without the supplemental material), or you can try and track down the Graphitti Designs edition on ebay (but you will pay a pretty penny for that one), or you can wait until October. DC plans on reprinting the Graphitti Designs HC in its entirety (all supplemental material) in its “absolute” oversized slipcased hardcover format to be released October 5th with a $75 cover price (even though I have the Graphitti Designs HC, I’ll still be getting this. Love those oversized books…). So whatever edition, buy this book. It’s one of the seminal works in modern comics and should be on every serious comic fan’s shelf.
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