Fables vol. 1 - "Legends in Exile"

Premise: After being forcibly driven from their homeland, various characters from classic fairy tales adjust to their new lives in modern-day New York.

Fables is an excellent gateway comic because everyone already knows the main characters. Just about everyone has heard of Snow White, Prince Charming, and the Big Bad Wolf. Of course, they may be a little surprised to find that Snow White has become a cynical workaholic, Prince Charming is a philanderer with three failed marriages (to Snow, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella) under his belt, and that the Big Bad Wolf is now the sheriff of Fabletown (the neighborhood where all of the fables secretly live among the normals).

Writer Bill Willingham has put together an imaginative series that speaks to the reader's inner child and jaded, embittered adult simultaneously. Pencillers Lan Medina and Mark Buckingham (among others) render a world that is equally magical and grounded in reality. And the painted covers by James Jean are simply stunning (DC/Vertigo were wise to include them in each volume).

Recommended for: anyone who ever had fairy tales read to them as a child; fans of Into The Woods, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and/or Wicked.
Not recommended for: people who only know these characters from their Disney cartoons.

Marvel Team-Up #14

Premise: Invincible is accidentally transported into the Marvel Universe and lands in the middle of a fight between Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus. Hilarity ensues.

There are numerous reasons for me to recommend this issue:

1. It is accessible to new readers.
   
2. It is literally an all-ages comic (wholesome enough for kids, but witty and engaging enough for adults).
3. It will hopefully introduce Invincible (the most interesting new hero to come along in a long time) to a wider audience.
   
4. It is laugh-out-loud funny.
   

It came out in comics stores last week (check the sidebar to find one in your area), and should be available in bookstores next week.

Day of Vengeance

Premise: Can a band of second-string mystical heroes prevent two spirits of vengeance from wiping magic from the face of the Earth?

In a previous post, I talked a little bit about Infinite Crisis. To further fuel the spark of interest among comics fans, DC published four miniseries which would help to set the events of Infinite Crisis into motion, but could be appreciated on their own merits. One of the series was called Day of Vengeance.

The story itself is a good one. Writer Bill Willingham does an excellent job of putting the readers inside the heads of some obscure heroes as they embark on what feels like a suicide mission, and he gets bonus points for making a silly character like Detective Chimp relevant to a modern audience. Penciller Justianino is equally adept at rendering both large-scale battles (two giant characters fighting over the city) and small scale scenes (a dingy other-dimensional tavern, a suburban, middle class home). If this book consisted of only the story, I would heartily recommend it.

Much like a special-edition DVD, the extras are where this book really shines. In addition to the story, the book includes the covers from the original comics, some pages from Justianino's sketchbook, text pieces that introduce the backstory and the heroes to new readers, and a bonus story reprinted from the Superman comics. This story (written by Judd Winick and pencilled by Ian Churchill) helps to establish one of the villains of Day of Vengeance and features an extended fistfight between Superman and Captain Marvel (Shazam!), which is always fun.

Recommended for: fans of Buffy, Lord of the Rings, and/or The Seven Samurai; people who always root for the underdog.

Not recommended for: people who absolutely refuse to take any story with a talking chimp seriously.

Plastic Man: On The Lam!

Premise: Plastic Man's former life as a criminal comes back to haunt him, and hilarity ensues.

Plastic Man has been around since the 1940's. He fades into obscurity every few years, only to bounce back into the public consciousness and delight a new generation of fans. He is currently enjoying newfound popularity as member of the Justice League of America. Positive fan reaction to his appearances inspired DC Comics to give him his own series, written and drawn by acclaimed comics creator Kyle Baker.

The most important element of a Plastic Man comic is humor, and Baker knows how to deliver the laughs. This book is packed with inspired sight gags and clever one-liners. The art is done in a very cartoony style, which works well for the character. It's zany, wacky, and completely over-the-top, which is exactly how a Plastic Man comic is supposed to be.

Recommended For: fans of The Incredibles, The Mask, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Ren & Stimpy, or old Looney Toons cartoons.
Not Recommended For: people who don't enjoy slapstick comedy.

A Brief History of Aquaman

After last night's episode of Smallville, I was inspired to write an entry about Aquaman and how he is a vastly underrated character. While researching, I ran across an article by Alan Kistler on the Monitor Duty blog which does a more thorough job explaining the character than I could do, so I'll just direct you to that.

Batman: Strange Apparitions

Premise: Even after facing radioactive mosters, mad scientists, cold-blooded assassins, and the Joker, Batman faces the biggest threat of his career: love.

Much like Superman, Batman has undergone numerous changes since his debut in 1939. In his first appearances, he was a vicious vigilante who killed criminals in cold blood. In the 50's & 60's, he was a smiling do-gooder who often duked it out with outlandish villians on giant typewriters. Today, he is a tortured soul who is as dangerous to his friends as he is to his enemies.

Personally, I prefer the Batman of the 1970's. As a response to the campy TV show starring Adam West, the creators of the time returned Batman to his roots as the Dark Knight. They made him more intense and more serious than he was in the previous decade, but he still carried fantastic gadgets and acted like a true hero (Grant Morrison referred to this period of Batman as "James Bond in a cape").

Batman: Strange Apparitions contains a series of stories from this period (1977-78, to be precise). Despite some purple prose and a tenuous grasp of science, writer Steve Englehart delivered engrossing and atmospheric scripts that were quite sophisticated for the time. Marshall Rogers (penciller) & Terry Austin (inker) provided clean, dynamic art that serves the action-packed moments just as well as it does the quiet, dramatic ones.

Many fans consider Englehart, Rogers & Austin's works to be the "definitive" Batman. It would be safe to assume that the people who worked on Batman: The Animated Series would be among those fans, since two of the stories in this book were later adapted for television (including the infamous "Laughing Fish" episode).

Recommended For: fans of Superfriends, Justice League, or any of the Batman films (particularly Tim Burton's 1989 version); people who watch soap operas; film noir afficionados.
Not Recommended For: people who couldn't care less about Batman as a character; people turned off by the 70's aesthetic (all the women have feathered hair, all the men are wearing leisure suits); science majors.

The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius

Premise: A 10-year-old inventor and his best friend get into all sorts of surreal adventures.

I can honestly say that no comic series has ever made me laugh harder than Barry Ween. Writer/Artist Judd Winick packs each volume (to date, there are four) with bizarre plots, madcap sight gags, pop-culture references, and lowbrow humor (the latter comes primarily from Barry's sidekick, Jeremy). There is also the occasional poignant moment (usually involving Barry's classmate Sara) that never feels out of place, even among all of the mayhem.

Recommended For: Fans of Kevin Smith films, South Park, Dexter's Laboratory, and/or Family Guy; fans of off-color humor in general.
Not Recommended For: people who are offended by profanity.

"A Damn Public Service..."

Evidently, Larry Young of AIT-Planet Lar saw my review of his Astronauts in Trouble comic and linked to it on his site.
Now would be as good a time as any to mention that he publishes a lot of other fine comics too. Check out the rest of his site as well.
(And Larry, if you're reading this, when can we expect Citizen Dave?)

EDIT: Evidently, that link caused another comics (and other stuff) blog called The Low Road to llink to me and say some kind words. Check that blog out as well.

Superman: Birthright

Premise: Is it truly possible for an alien to find a home on Earth?

Superman's origin story has been told and retold numerous times over the course of his 67-year existence. Just about every man, woman, or child in the western world knows that he was "rocketed to earth from a dying planet, where he gained powers far beyond that of mortal man." If they didn't read his origin in comic books, they saw it in one of they movies, TV shows, or cartoons that he has starred in. There's already been two other major graphic novels that retold his origin in the last 20 years: John Byrne's The Man of Steel and Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale's Superman For All Seasons. Is another retelling really necessary?

If that retelling happens to be Superman: Birthright, then the answer is yes.

Writer Mark Waid distills the best elements from various sources to bring the Man of Tomorrow into the 21st century. He takes the sense of grandeur of the first film, the angst of Smallville, the populism of Siegel & Schuster's original comics, the fast pace of the cartoons, and the witty banter of Lois & Clark, and blends them together in a way that honors the past but looks towards the future.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the astounding pencil work by Leinil Francis Yu. He is equally good at rendering big action sequences and quiet dramatic moments. His attention to detail is also quite impressive, particularly the subtle differences between the ways he draws both Superman and Clark Kent.

All in all, this book encapsulates everything that makes Superman great. I highly recommend it.

Recommended for: Fans of Smallville, Jusitice League, or Superfriends; anyone who thinks Superman is outdated; anyone who wonders how a pair of eyeglasses could possibly fool Clark Kent's co-workers.

Not Recommended for: people who are completely indifferent to Superman.

Battle Royale

Premise: 42 high school students are kidnapped, sent to an island, and forced to fight to the death in front of a live television audience.

This is a manga with both style and substance. On the surface, it's all about excessive violence and gore. On another level, it's an indictment of the educational system and the treatment of teenagers by society at large (while the finger is pointed firmly at Japan, there are a lot of parallels that can be drawn with America as well). Over the course of the series, there are many flashbacks to help the reader understand why the major characters react as they do, but without absolving them of their brutality.

And boy, is this series brutal. Boys and girls are shot, stabbed, maimed, impaled, and blinded. It can be exploitative at times. But it's never dull.

Recommended for: Fans of A Clockwork Orange, Natural Born Killers, Fight Club, Kill Bill, or Lord of the Flies; people who saw the Battle Royale film and wished there was a little more to it.
Not Recommended for: the squeamish.