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July 12, 2008March 16, 2014

Viking Glory: The Viking Prince

By Lee Marrs & Bo Hampton (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-001-1 ISBN-13: 978-1-56389-007-9

During the 1950s, when superheroes were in a seemingly inescapable trough, comic book companies looked to different forms of leading men for their action heroes. In 1955 writer/editor Robert Kanigher created a traditional adventure comic entitledÂ The Brave and the BoldÂ that featured historical strips. The Golden Gladiator, illustrated by Russ Heath was set in the declining days of Rome, The Silent Knight fought injustice in post-Norman Britain, courtesy of Irv Novick, and the already-legendary Joe Kubert drew the adventures of a valiant young Norseman dubbed the Viking Prince.

This last strip appeared in all but one issue (#6), eventually taking over the entire comic, until the burgeoning superhero boom saw B&B become a try-out title with its twenty-fifth issue. Those fanciful, practically â€œHollywoodishâ€ Viking sagas were among some of the finest adventure comics of all time and they’re long overdue for a definitive collection of their own, since the character of Jon has long been a fan favourite, intermittently returning in DC’s war titles and often guest-starring in such varied venues as Sgt. Rock and even Justice League of America.

This beautiful, vital and enchanting tale was released to very little fanfare in 1991, but remains a worthy sequel to those early strips. Scripter Lee Marrs took all the advances in our historical knowledge since the 1950s and blended them with the timeless basics of a Classical Edda to entrancing effect. Amidst a culture vibrantly brought to full life by her words and Bo Hampton’s awesome skill with a brush she has grasped a passionate but reserved old archetype and remade him as a fiery young hero of devastating charm, full of all the boisterous vigour of his mythic race, and confronted him with his worst nightmare.

In 10th century Scandinavia, Jon Rolloson, heir to Jarl Rollo of Gallund, is a perfect Northman’s son; fast, tough, fearless and irresistible to all the maids of the village. But the greatest horror of his sixteen years has finally come for him – an arranged marriage for political advantage. He must leave his home and the Viking life to wed a â€œCivilisedâ€ Princess. His joyous days are all doneâ€¦

But Princess Asa of Hedeby is a young beauty every inch his match in vigour and vitality, and as composed and smart as he is coarse and oafish. Unfortunately, somebody is stealthily trying to thwart the match, even though Jon’s boorishness is enough to give both fathers cause to reconsider, and only the Viking Prince’s rash vow to recover a lost rune treasure and slay a fearsome dragon preserves the bargain. The wedding will proceedâ€¦ Now all he has to do is find and kill Ansgar, the vilest of all Fire-Wyrms, and not dieâ€¦

As well as being a superb writer Marrs is an underground cartoonist, animator and computer artist who has assisted Hal Foster on that other sword-wielding epic Prince Valiant, and her grasp of human character and especially comedy elevates this classic tale of romantic endeavour into a multi-faceted gem of captivating quality. Bo Hampton has created some of the best painted comics in the medium: This book is probably still the very best of them.

One of the most accomplished and enjoyable historical romances ever produced in comic form, Viking Glory deserves to be on every fan’s bookshelf. Let’s hope that it’s on DC’s shortlist for a swift re-release.

July 11, 2008March 16, 2014

The Spectre: Crimes and Punishment

By John Ostrander & Tom Mandrake (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-127-1

The Spectre is one of the oldest characters in DC’s vast stable of characters, created by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily in 1940 for More Fun Comics #52 and 53. And just like Siegel’s other iconic creation, he suffers from a basic design flaw: he’s just too darn powerful. But, unlike Superman, he’s already dead, so he can’t really be dramatically imperilled. Starting as a virtually omnipotent ghost, he evolved, over various returns and refits into a tormented soul bonded to the incarnation of the biblical Wrath of God.

With his superb version from the early 1990s, John Ostrander shifted the narrative onto the Tabula Rasa that was Jim Corrigan, a depression era cop whose brutal murder released The Spectre into the world of costumed heroes. This take on the character ran for nearly five years and lent a tragic, barbaric humanity to a hero who was simply too big and too strong for periodical comics.

Collected here is the first four-part story-arc wherein the troubled and Earth-bound Corrigan meets the vulnerable Amy Beitermann, a social worker who is the target of a serial killer – and somehow a living link to the detective’s own murder fifty years ago.

Powerful and often shocking, the developing relationship forces The Spectre’s mortal aspect to confront the traumas of his long suppressed childhood as he relives his own death and the ghastly repercussions of his return. With intense, brooding art by long-time collaborator Tom Mandrake, this incarnation of the character was by far the most accessible – and successful. If it had launched a year or so later and it might well have been a star of the budding Vertigo imprint.

The masterful interpretation seems largely forgotten these days but hopefully with DC trawling its back catalogue for worthy book-fodder this tale – and the issues that followed it – might make a speedy reappearance on book store shelves. Let’s hope soâ€¦

July 10, 2008July 6, 2008

Team Zero

By Chuck Dixon, Doug Mahnke & Sandra Hope (WildStorm)
ISBN: 1-84576-856-0

Short and sweet: this collection of the six-issue miniseries is a superb modern war story set in the final days of World War II featuring a number of characters such as Deathblow and Grifter who would eventually become mainstays of the WildStorm Universe. In this case however having no prior knowledge of the cast will work to your advantage since you’ll have no advance knowledge of who will surviveâ€¦

As the Russians and American forces race to Berlin in deepest winter, a crack team of hand-picked specialists parachute into a secret rocket base directly in their path. The team has been ordered to capture scientists and technology. Should the booty be impossible to retrieve, at all costs it must be prevented from falling into Soviet handsâ€¦

As the hot war ends a Cold one begins the doomed team capably get the â€œDirty Dozenâ€ treatment in this gripping, twisty thriller from top creators who are specialists themselves in the field of all-out, testosterone fuelled action. This would make a perfect movie and many cinema-goers would love this brutal and bloody tale.

July 9, 2008July 6, 2008

Star Wars: Rebellion volume 2 – The Ahakista Gambit

By Brandon Badeaux, Rob Williams & Michel LaCombe (Dark Horse Books)
ISBN: 978-1-84576-750-1

Set just after the conclusion of the film Star Wars IV: A New Hope, this moody spin-off of the franchise follows the fortunes of Wyl Tarson, general thug and leg-breaker for crime-lord and information broker Raze. One fact the mastermind didn’t have was that Tarson was a secret informant for the ascendant Rebel Alliance. Until nowâ€¦

Implanting a bomb in Tarson’s brain Raze sends him to the backwater world of Ahakista, forcing him to bring along a team of Rebel operatives. The planet might be a worthless mudball, but the Empire has a big secret hidden there, otherwise why would someone as important as Darth Vader be involved with the petty insurrection of the lower classes against the local aristocracy?

Moreover, has Tarson’s noble resolve lead to disaster? When he recruited his team, he picked Rebel rejects and Alliance outcasts, since he thought that their deaths couldn’t harm the Cause, but now he finds that this is a mission the Rebellion cannot afford to have failâ€¦

Reprinting issues #6-10 of the comicbook Star Wars: Rebellion, written by Brandon Badeaux and Rob Williams with art from Michel LaCombe and painted colour by Wil Glass, this is a tense and highly engaging â€œCaperâ€ yarn, which rattles along like a freight train and delivers the maximum amount of top-notch thrills and spills. Aimed at a slightly older audience this is nonetheless an accessible and inviting read for fans and new readers alike.

July 7, 2008July 6, 2008

Outside Over There

By Maurice Sendak (many editions such as Puffin or Red Fox are available)
ISBN: 978-0-09943-292-0

If you don’t know the work of Maurice Sendak you’re denying yourself a profound experience. Born in 1928, this uniquely skewed genius has been creating wonderment for children of all ages for over half a century. Apparently after a brief period drawing comics, the Brooklyn born artist switched to children’s book illustration during the 1950s before writing and illustrating the astounding and controversial ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ in 1963. An instant critical success, after initial commercial resistance the book grew into a genuine modern classic.

Between illustrating other author’s work he – all too infrequently – continued to produce his own books. Among his other landmarks are the 1971 ‘In the Night Kitchen’ and the volume under discussion here. Sendak’s works are not what you’d expect of kids’ stories. They are often powerfully unsettling, even creepy, or resonate with a dark psychological disquiet underpinning them. The art is always beautiful – he is an absolute master of many styles and media – but sometimes it’s not an accessible or comprehensible beauty.

Nine year old Ida has been told to look after her baby sister but she is reluctant and when her guard is down Goblins steal her, leaving a baby made of ice in her place. Her father is still at sea and her mother in a daydream in the garden: thus she must pursue the Goblins to rescue the baby herself.

Often cited as the source for the film Labyrinth (although I’d imagine the author A.C.H. Smith takes umbrage at that) there are indeed many superficial similarities, but Sendak’s tale is subtle and truly beguiling, with no maudlin sentiment to temper the events, and with level upon level of meaning in these watercolours that just can’t be equalled in a budget-conscious, collaborative production like movie-making.

This is as close to pure, raw poetry that graphic narrative ever comes and I’m sure many college dissertations could be written on the symbolism on every page, in every well chosen word and fragment of lush picture. The author is reputed to have systematically reduced over 100 draft scripts to the telling 360 words rendered by calligrapher Jeanyee Wong and the minutiae of detail in each illustration is as information-heavy as any Bosch or Bruegel canvas. Referents have been identified for everything from Mozart’s Magic Flute to the works of the Pre-Raphelites (both art and poetry) to his own sister who had to baby-sit him when he was an infant.

This is a small booked packed and layered with meaning. Every detail of each luxurious, sumptuous, magnificent painting has deep meaning for the knowing and the curious. There is sheer artistic loveliness for those yet too young to find symbolism. It’s also a powerfully moving experience and a tale so very well told. An undeniable â€œmust-seeâ€ for every devotee of graphic narrative.

July 6, 2008

Operation Liberate Men, Book 2

Operation Liberate Men 2

By Mira Lee (NetComics)
ISBN: 978-1-60009-232-9

It’s hard enough to get by as a mannish young girl, better at fighting than dating, and a poor student too, in today’s society, but when you’re also trapped in a parallel dimension where sadistic, autocratic, bullying women have enslaved men, it’s much worse. When you compound that with the shameful fact that the oppressed men who have summoned you to deliver them from bondage are completely oblivious of the fact that you are actually female you can see why young Sooha Jung thinks she might have made a mistake in travelling to this magical realm to liberate the men of the Para Empire.

Falling afoul of the brutal women – also unaware of Sooha’s sex – led to a battle in which the rebel Boy-Toy Ganesha was injured almost fatally. Desperate and on the run, Sooha is captured and imprisoned. As events in the rebel hierarchy proceed without her, Sooha realises that this is not her first contact with the male denizens of the Para Empire. There was an incident long ago when she was a little girlâ€¦

There’s a touch of Aubrey Beardsley and the occasional dash of Charles M Schulz in the dreamy artwork that so well delineates this compelling manhwa fantasy. Ending on another cliffhanger this tales continues to grip the reader in fevered anticipationâ€¦

July 5, 2008June 29, 2008

Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk 1962-64

(UK EDITION)

Â Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk

By Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers, Steve Ditko & various (Marvel/Panini UK)
ISBN: 978-1-905239-89-4

Despite covering three years of publication this chronological compendium only collects The Incredible Hulk #1-6 and Tales to Astonish #59-62, since the Jekyll-and-Hyde Jade Giant was one of early Marvel’s rare failures – possibly because it so resembled an old-fashioned â€œmonster-magâ€ in a market frantically re-embracing the Super-Hero concept.

After six bi-monthly issues the series was cancelled and Lee and Kirby retrenched, making the character a perennial guest-star in other Marvel titles (Fantastic Four #12, Amazing Spider-Man #14, The Avengers from #1, and so forth) until such time as they could restart the drama in their new â€œSplit-Bookâ€ format in Tales To Astonish where Giant-Man was rapidly proving to be a character who had outlived his time.

Cover-dated May 1962 the first issue saw puny atomic scientist Bruce Banner, sequestered on a secret military base in the desert, perpetually bullied by the bombastic commander General â€œThunderboltâ€ Ross as the clock counts down to the World’s first Gamma Bomb test. Besotted by Ross’s daughter Betty, Banner endures the General’s constant jibes as the clock ticks on and tension increases.

At the final moment he sees a teenager lollygagging at Ground Zero and frantically rushes to the site to drag the boy away. Unknown to him the assistant he’s entrusted to delay the countdown has an agenda of his ownâ€¦

Rick Jones is a wayward but good-hearted kid. After initial resistance he lets himself be pushed into a safety trench, but just as Banner is about to join him The Bomb detonatesâ€¦

Miraculously surviving the blast Banner and the boy – Rick Jones – are secured by soldiers but that evening as the sun sets the scientist undergoes a monstrous transformation. He grows larger; his skin turns a stony greyâ€¦

In six simple pages that’s how it all starts, and no matter what any number of TV or movie reworkings or comicbook retcons and psycho-babble re-evaluations would have you believe that’s still the best and most primal take on the origin. A good man, an unobtainable girl, a foolish kid, an unknown enemy and the horrible power of destructive science uncheckedâ€¦

Written by Stan Lee, drawn by Jack Kirby with inking by Paul Reinman, ‘The Coming of the Hulk’ barrels along as the man-monster and Jones are kidnapped by Banner’s Soviet counterpart the Gargoyle for a rousing round of espionage and Commie-busting. In the second issue the plot concerns invading aliens, and the Banner/Jones relationship settles into a traumatic nightly ordeal as the scientist transforms and is locked into an escape-proof cell whilst the boy stands watch helplessly. Neither ever considers telling the government of their predicamentâ€¦ ‘The Terror of the Toad Men’ is formulaic but viscerally and visually captivating as Steve Ditko inks Kirby, imparting a genuinely eerie sense of unease to the artwork.

The third issue presents a departure in format as the longer, chaptered epic gave way to discrete complete short stories. Dick Ayers inked Kirby in the transitional ‘Banished to Outer Space’ which radically alters the relationship of Jones and the Hulk, the story so far is reprised in the three page vignette ‘The Origin of the Hulk’ and that Marvel mainstay of villainy the Circus of Crime debuts in ‘The Ringmaster’. The Hulk goes on an urban rampage in #4’s first tale ‘The Monster and the Machine’ and aliens and Commies combine with the second adventure ‘The Gladiator from Outer Space!’

The Incredible Hulk #5 is a joyous classic of Kirby action, introducing the immortal Tyrannus and his underworld empire in ‘The Beauty and the Beast!’ whilst those pesky commies are in for another drubbing when our Jolly Green freedom-fighter prevents the invasion of Llhasa in ‘The Hordes of General Fang!’

Despite the sheer verve and bravura of these simplistic classics – some of the greatest, most rewarding comics nonsense ever produced – the series was not doing well, and Kirby moved on to more profitable arenas. Steve Ditko handled all the art chores for the final issue, another full-length epic and an extremely engaging one. ‘The Incredible Hulk vs the Metal Master’ has superb action, sly and subtle sub-plots and a thinking man’s resolution, but nonetheless the title died with this sixth issue.

After shambling around the nascent Marvel universe for a year or so, usually as a misunderstood villain-cum-monster, the Emerald Behemoth got another shot. Giant-Man was the star feature of Tales to Astonish but by mid-1964 the strip was floundering. In issue #59 the Master of Many Sizes was tricked by an old foe into battling the man-monster in ‘Enter: The Hulk’ by Lee, Ayers and Reinman; a great big punch-up that set the scene for the next issue wherein his second series began.

‘The Incredible Hulk’ found Banner still working for General Ross, and still afflicted with uncontrollable transformations into a rampaging, if well-intentioned, engine of destruction. The ten page instalments were uncharacteristically set in the Arizona/New Mexico deserts, not New York and espionage and military themes were the narrative backdrop of these adventures.

Lee scripted, Ditko drew and comics veteran George Roussos – under the pseudonym George Bell – provided the ink art. The first tale concerned a spy who stole an unstoppable suit of armour, concluding in the next episode ‘Captured at Last’. The cliffhanger endings such as the Hulk’s imprisonment by Ross’s military units would be instrumental in keeping readers onboard and enthralled. The last tale in this volume ‘Enterâ€¦ the Chameleon’ has plenty of action and suspense but the real stinger is the final panel that hints at the mastermind behind all the spying and skulduggery – the enigmatic Leader – who in another volume will show why he became the Hulk’s ultimate nemesisâ€¦

These early tales are fast-paced, classically simplistic comics-in-the-raw and a testament to the abilities of the creators who wouldn’t let the monster die, and this lovely collection is a fun-filled ticket to easier, boisterously enjoyable escapist entertainment. What could possibly top that?

July 4, 2008July 6, 2008

DC Archive: Justice League of America, Vol 5

JLA Archives 5

By Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky & Bernard Sachs (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-56389-540-1

JLA #31 finally saw the induction of Hawkman into ‘The World’s Greatest Superheroes’ – and not before time. In this ancient world of Boy’s Clubs and willing segregation his dutiful wife Shayera would have to wait for more than a decade before she herself was invited to join as Hawkgirl. Hawkman would be the last successful inductee until Black Canary joined the team in #75.

‘Riddle of the Runaway Room’ found an alien wish-granting machine in the hands of a second-rate thug, who nonetheless made life pretty tough for the team before their eventual victory. The visually impressive Hawkman must have been popular with the creators, if not the fans, as he was prominently featured in all but one of next half-dozen adventures. Issue #32 ‘Attack of the Star-Bolt Warrior!’ introduced the uncanny villain Brain Storm who attacked the League to avenge his brother who had been murdered by one of their number!

The entire universe was once again at stake in the time-travelling thriller ‘Enemy from the Timeless World’ and a persistent old foe had yet another go in #34’s ‘The Deadly Dreams of Doctor Destiny!’, a thriller packed with an army of guest-villains. The team were attacked by their own clothes in issue #35’s supernatural adventure ‘Battle Against the Bodiless Uniforms’, a fall-back plan by the demons Abnegazar, Rath and Ghast, which had been slowly percolating since the end of JLA #11 (Justice League Of America Archive Edition volume 2 ISBN: 1-56389-119-0).

Issue #36’s ‘The Case of the Disabled Justice League’ saw the team raise the morale of despondent kids with disabilities by overcoming physical handicaps to defeat the returning Brain Storm. This tale was in fact inspired by ‘A Place in the World’, a Justice Society adventure from 1945’s All Star Comics #27, produced at a time when returning servicemen, maimed and disfigured in combat, were becoming an increasingly common sight on the streets of America.

The third annual JLA/JSA team-up follows, a largely forgotten and rather experimental tale wherein the Johnny Thunder of Earth-1 wrested control of the genie-like Thunderbolt from his Justice Society counterpart and used its magic to alter the events that led to the creation of all Earth-1’s superheroes. Then it’s JSA to the rescue in a gripping battle of wits in #37’s ‘Earth – Without a Justice League’ and the concluding ‘Crisis on Earth-A!’

Issue #39 was an Eighty-Page Giant reprinting Brave and the Bold #28 and #30 and Justice League of America #5, so this volume concludes with issue #40 and the ‘Indestructible Creatures of Nightmare Island’ a challenging mystery wherein an astral scientist’s machine to suppress Man’s basest instincts almost causes the end of humanity, an action packed psycho-thriller stuffed with villainous guest-stars.

These classic tales are as irresistible now as they ever were and absolutely shine in these deluxe hardback collections. Suitable for readers of all ages they are the absolute epitome of great superhero storytelling. I can’t believe you haven’t got a complete set yet!

July 3, 2008June 29, 2008

Genju No Seiza, Vol 1

Genju No Seiza

By Matsuri Akino (TokyoPop)
ISBN: 978-1-59816-607-1

There’s a new kid in school but he’s not the type who likes to make waves or get noticed. Meanwhile in the remote mountainous kingdom of Dhalashar, the Chinese have installed a new ruler, Karma the 42nd. The world expects trouble because everybody knows that the new leader is not the true reincarnation of the King. Idly, Fuuto Kamishina ponders the hassle of a kid of fifteen forced to run an entire country. It takes all his energy just to get through a day. And then the giant invisible talking bird tells him that he’s the true king of that faraway land and heir to all the mystical and spiritual powers of the positionâ€¦

This collection of the first five tales in the acclaimed series introduces the reluctant boy-king and sees him gradually accept his heritage if not his responsibilities. He makes and tragically loses a friend and fellow outsider, takes up with an unconventional scholar and his uniquely disabled lolli-goth ward, speaks with the dead and discovers that other magical servants and guardians are going to keep making his life increasingly difficult.

Somewhat slow-paced and a trifle derivative, this Shoujo fantasy is populated with the usual fashions, castles and coterie of pretty, intense boys that fans expect, but there’s little of the back-biting intrigue that pervades the sub-genre here: At least so far. What there is though, is a dreamy inevitability and spooky sub-text that ought to appeal to mystery fans as well.

Beautifully drawn, but painfully slow, most readers – myself included – will need a few more volumes before a fair and full opinion can be formed.

July 2, 2008June 29, 2008

Fantastic Four: Monsters Unleashed

By Walt Simonson, Arthur Adams, Art Thibert & Al Milgrom (Marvel)
ISBN13: 978-0-87135-877-6

During the 1990s high-profile stunts were all the rage in comics as companies realized that a large sector of the buying public thought themselves â€œInvestorsâ€. A plot twist, a costume change, a different format or shiny cover (or better yet covers: plural), anything – just so long as The Press got hold of it – translated directly into extra sales. There are many stories and concepts from that era which (mercifully) may never make it into trade paperbacks and collections, but there are some that deserved to, did, and really still should be.

When Walt Simonson was writing (and usually drawing) the venerable flagship title Fantastic Four, his high-tech, high-tension saga was abruptly interrupted by a gloriously tongue-in-cheek graphic digression. Three issues, #347-349, poked gentle fun at the trend-meisters and speculators and consequently became some of the â€œhottestâ€ comics of the year.

When a Skrull outlaw invades Earth, heavy pursuit is not far behind, so she attacks the Fantastic Four and seemingly kills them. Then disguised as Sue Richards she recruits the four best-selling heroes in the Marvel Universe – Spider-Man, The Hulk, Wolverine and Ghost Rider – to hunt down â€œthe murderersâ€ as The NEW Fantastic Four! Their hunt takes them to the bowels of the Earth and into battle with the Mole Man, and reveals some fascinating background into the origins of supernormal life on Earth.

What could so easily have been a cheap stunt is elevated not only by the phenomenal art of Arthur Adams (assisted by Gracine Tanaka) but also the lovingly reverential script, which references those goofy old ‘Furry-Underpants Monsters’ of immediate pre-FF vintage, and which is packed with traditional action and fun besides.

I can’t believe this fabulous gem is out of print, but at least it’s still readily available as a trade paperback (which isn’t such good news for a couple of guys I know who still have a few hundred copies of the comicsâ€¦).

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