Criminal 2: Lawless

This is the second volume in the Criminal series by Brubaker and Phillips and the action picks up sometime shortly after the events of Coward, with the main character here, Tracy Lawless, visiting Leo Patterson in prison at one point. Even though these are technically standalone comics, there is a larger story being told about the interactions of multiple generations of families involved in the criminal life of Center City, and with Lawless we see the web being drawn tighter.

Tracy Lawless is what’s known as a hard man, also known as a badass. He’s been in trouble with the law. He’s been in combat in Baghdad and Bosnia and “seen things he’d never imagined.” He’s a big guy and tough and has all sorts of skills when it comes to violence. He’s got burns on one side of his face, though this is something that doesn’t really register in Sean Phillips’s drawing. And he’s on a mission to avenge the murder of his little brother Ricky, which happened while Tracy was stuck in a military prison.

As with Coward, the plot itself is standard noir. There’s a heist that’s planned and things go off the rails because of double crosses and the like. There’s a femme fatale named Mallory. There’s a suitcase of stolen money that comes with more problems than it’s worth. And bubbling away underneath there’s the motivation of revenge. If not revenge, then all of these stories deal with some kind of payback, which is the real currency of Center City.

It’s all very readable, and looks good (though Phillips did turn in some lazy pages, I thought). I also liked the world building and the deft time management, the way the story slips ahead and then back in subtle ways. I don’t mean the flashbacks, which the series has a lot of and that are clearly signaled, but smaller shifts within the time present of the narrative. Given that this is all such familiar ground, that skill and professionalism in the storytelling makes a real difference.

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Captain America: Winter Soldier

I actually hadn’t read this comic, which came out in 2005-2006, before seeing the 2014 movie they made of the same name that was loosely based on it. I remember liking the movie but honestly can’t remember a thing about it now except for the return of Bucky Barnes as a Russian killing machine with a cyborg arm. Which was all it really took from the comic, as it turns out.

Apparently bringing Bucky back from the dead was a big deal, as writer Ed Brubaker tells us in an afterword to this collected edition that recounts how Winter Soldier came to be. “There are several constant truths in Marvel Comics, or unwritten rules, if you will. And one of them was, no matter what else you did, Uncle Ben, Gwen Stacy . . . and Bucky Barnes all stayed dead.” So, leaving aside the long, phantasmagoric afterlife of Gwen Stacy, coming up with a storyline where Bucky didn’t die in that midair explosion but fell into the sea and was flash frozen, to be picked up by the Russians and turned into a super Cold Warrior, was pretty radical.

And it works. I thought Brubaker crafted a detailed and complex story with plenty of moving pieces and WW2 flashbacks. It really sucked me in. Indeed, the only problem I had with it is that it wrapped up too quickly, with the aid of that laziest of all plot devices the Cosmic Cube. Otherwise I was on board with all of it, which I wasn’t expecting given that Bucky Barnes was one of those teenage superhero sidekicks I dislike so much. Robin. Rick Jones. Bucky Barnes. I can’t stand them.

But Bucky, who was Brubaker’s “favorite character” as a comic-loving kid, is all grown up here and he’s quite the bad-ass. The thing is though, he’s not really that important a character in this story arc. He’s mostly kept in the shadows until the end, and the main story line has to do with Cap trying to figure out what’s going on with the Russian general and the Cosmic Cube. I found all of this quite engaging though, both in terms of the plot and the characters. The art wasn’t quite my thing aside from the somber palette, but overall I think this is a comic that deserves its high reputation in the Captain American canon.

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Criminal 1: Coward

Coward is the first volume in the Criminal series of semi-standalone neo-noir crime stories by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. I say semi-standalone because each can be read independently but they’re set in the same fictional “universe” (as we have to call these things nowadays) and they share recurring characters and themes.

The coward of the title is a thief named Leo Patterson, though his reputation as yellow is partly a disguise. It leads people to underestimate him, and the fact is he isn’t so much cowardly as careful, always thinking of the ways a job can go wrong and planning in advance. His caution keeps him out of jail and makes him a survivor.

There is a plot here involving some crooked cops enlisting Leo to help them with a heist, but the way it works out is pretty much just the regular sort of thing, with double-crosses and fallings out. What I thought set Coward apart was the character of Leo, who feels authentic and well-rounded. He grew up in the trade, and now cares for his elderly uncle Ivan, who is both a junky and suffering from Alzheimer’s. Though despite this Ivan is still mostly functional, or functional enough to be a problem.

We’re very much in Sin City-style territory here, and if I had a gripe about Coward it’s that the ending is so clichéd and predictable. But it’s still better than most contemporary crime comics, thanks to Brubaker’s writing and Sean Phillips’s thick lines, shadowed faces, and signature starburst gun flares. I’m sure the rest of the series will be more of the same, but I’m down for it anyway.

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Hulk: Gray

This was a six-issue miniseries by the all-star team of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale that was first published in 2003-2004. It’s an oversize comic, on the scale of Marvel’s Grand Design series, though I believe it came out before that series started.

I loved seeing Sale’s art blown-up to this size, though I could have lived without the wide side borders on every page. The full-page and double-page spreads are like movie posters and they’re used really effectively throughout. The Hulk is a big dude and he can fill a page any size. Sale has a great sense of space and he can move from epic vistas looking like Monument Valley to close-ups of the Hulk’s mouth full of rocky teeth. You can tell Sale had a lot of fun with those teeth.

As great as it is to look at, I’ll admit that after a while I was just turning pages without reading it very closely. I thought Loeb, whose The Long Halloween is probably my favourite Batman comic, really mailed this one in. It’s a tired story that basically retells the Hulk’s origins, covering the 24 hours after Dr. Bruce Banner was caught in the explosion of the Gamma Bomb. The Hulk steals away into the desert with Betty Ross, and first Iron Man (in his vintage yellow “tin can” suit) and then General “Thunderbolt” Ross (Betty’s father) chase after him. The whole thing takes the form of a flashback, with Bruce relating these events to the superhero shrink Dr. Leonard Samson. It’s a narrative device that didn’t serve any real purpose, as their back-and-forth didn’t add anything and the ending was the flabbiest part. I guess it’s a breakthrough for Bruce to realize that Betty Ross really loved him as both monster and man? I don’t know. It all seemed pointless to me.

So a great comic to look at, with nice lettering too by Richard Starkings, but the effect is almost like a coffee-table book that you just want to pick up and flip through. I ended up doing that a lot. But I wasn’t into reading it.

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Asterix and the Banquet

Or Le tour de Gaul d’Astérix, as it was first published in French in 1965. But either title works, as the plot has to do with Asterix and Obelix making a circuit of Roman-occupied Gaul to pick up foodstuffs from all the different cities they visit so that they can then take it back to their little village for a banquet. This is to win a bet with a Roman inspector (Lucius Overanxious) that a palisade built around the village would never be able to fence them in. I only mention the change in title to note the free hand translation can take. On a couple of occasions in the text this also came up. A version of a Roman tow-truck (a tow-chariot) arrives at one point and it’s called TOWSRUS TOWS, which I doubt the French said, even though Toys “R” Us had been a brand in the U.S. since the late 1950s. Then on the last page, at the banquet, Asterix launches Lucius Overanxious with what he calls “the village specialty,” which is PUNCH! I take it this was a reference to the ad “How ‘bout a nice Hawaiian Punch?” which first aired in the early 1960s, so again it’s possible. But I don’t have the original French-language versions to compare. I could probably find them in the library but I’m too lazy.

Anyway, as I said in my notes on Asterix the Gladiator, the template for these stories had already been set, “with Asterix and Obelix (the latter still without Dogmatix) leaving the village for some foreign adventures and then returning home for a banquet.” This is, as I’ve already outlined, the whole story here, with the difference being that it is in this volume that Dogmatix is introduced (though not named yet). Dogmatix decides to tag along with the two outside a deli in Lutetia, and is a silent presence throughout all the rest of the comic, always visible but completely ignored by Asterix and Obelix. That is, until the final page, where he finally lets loose a “Woof! Woof!” at Obelix, who notices him for the first time. Picking him out from the goings-on is a bit of fun throughout, and makes the point that you have to spend some time with Albert Uderzo’s art, seeing as there’s so much put into every frame. When they visit Nice, for example, they’ walking along the seaside promenade and, despite their being central, it’s easy to miss the two very modern and stylish blondes walking past in their miniskirts, but they have a little white dog that’s barking at Dogmatix while a Gaul twirls the ends of his long Gaulish moustache and looks at them. The final panel, now becoming a signature sign-off, also has a checklist of items to see: the banquet in the distance, Cacofonix bound and gagged so he won’t sing, a centurion trying to revive the punched-out Lucius Overanxious, and Dogmatix running away with a bone and winking at us.

There’s lots of action here, though I didn’t think this was one of the better Asterix stories and there are no interesting new characters, aside from Dogmatix. It’s still a good time though, and even as the series was becoming more familiar it was far from growing stale.

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The Island of Dr. Moreau

During his real spurt of genius, when he was turning out classics like The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Invisible Man, and The War of the Worlds all within the space of about three years, H. G. Wells showed himself to be a master at blending heady philosophical themes and scientific speculation with stirring action in a way that few writers have matched since. Now condensing The Island of Dr. Moreau into a 58-page graphic novel meant that something was going to be cut, and given the nature of the medium that something was likely going to be the more intellectual discussions that take place. Which is what happens here, throwing Wells’s balance of thought and action out of whack and leaving us with what is basically a straightforward adventure story.

You might have suspected as much just from the cover, with a heroic-looking Edward Prendick posing with machete while a muscular Beast Man looks down from the trees. Artist Fabrizio Fiorentino has a background in superhero comics, working for both DC and Marvel, and that’s really the style he’s working in here. Montgomery goes from being a pathetic, gay-coded alcoholic to a rough cowboy, while Moreau is Kingpin, or Marlon Brando. All of the big action scenes are included, and embellished, but the philosophical debates and moral of the story are dropped. While a more thrilling and better looking comic than the Classics Illustrated version, that book did preserve more of Wells’s ideas, kept the dark ending, and had I think a more credible Moreau. Or at least a hairier Moreau.

In other words, this is a comic that stands well on its own but is very limited if taken as an adaptation of Wells’s story. In fact, as a crib I think it could be quite misleading and get students who are looking for a shortcut into trouble. If you’re just here for the adventure part though it’s pretty good.

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Absolute Batman Vol. 1: The Zoo

Another reboot, another universe? Well, yes. But credit Scott Snyder for coming up with something that’s very new and really good, at least for the most part.

So in this version of the Batman story, part of DC’s Absolute Universe (launched in 2024), Bruce Wayne isn’t a rich orphan but comes from a middle-class background (father a teacher, mom a social worker). His dad is killed when he was a kid but his mom’s still alive. He trains himself to be a one-man crime-fighting unit, and I mean unit because he’s a really big dude, and so strong he can knock the stuffing out of a heavy bag with a single punch. He’s also a mechanical engineer and so has designed an impressive suite of toys to go with his suit. In fact, the suit itself is a machine, capable of firing spikes and with a cape that has claws he can grab things with or even walk on.

Then there are the other familiar names and faces, not transformed. Alfred Pennyworth is a hard-nosed MI6 agent who basically adopts Bruce. He’s also the narrator of the story. Jim Gordon is now Gotham’s mayor. The Joker is some billionaire psycho, called Joker because he never laughs. And Bruce’s poker buddies are Waylon Jones (Killer Croc), Eddie Nigma (the Riddler), Oswald Cobblepot (the Penguin), Harvey Dent (Two-Face), and Selina Kyle (Catwoman). You see, they were all friends together back when they were kids and they haven’t turned into their alter egos yet.

The plot in this first volume of the series (collecting issues #1-6) has it that a new gang called the Party Animals is taking over Gotham. They wear these cool masks that make them look like the evil bunny from Donnie Darko. Their leader is Roman Sionis (Black Mask) and he has the usual mission of creating chaos and burning the town down Purge-style. When Batman stands in his way he at first tries to buy him off, but (and this is one thing that is consistent with previous versions of the character), Batman’s not the kind of guy who can be bought.

There was a lot to like, from the great design elements to Nick Dragotta’s clear art. The action is quite violent and the guiding concept refreshingly bold. I loved the new Alfred. You really feel like you’re getting something completely different here, not just a slight divergence in the timeline but a rebuilt Batman from the ground up.

On the downside, I really didn’t like the flashbacks to the pack of superfriends. Even though it’s an entirely new backstory I didn’t find it interesting and the new parts to it, like the way all the supervillains grew up together and are still buddies, seemed silly. Then, in the present day, I was disappointed to find that the Party Animals were just more of the usual chaos agents who want to see the world burn, as that cliché has it.

But the Party Animals are only bottom feeders anyway, a force to get the ball rolling. They’re also the lowest rung on the Joker’s criminal organization and as things leave off here he takes their loss with a shrug and tells his assistant that it’s time to call in Bane. I’m down for that!

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Alien: Paradiso

The Alien titles have become one of my go-to comics for a good time. There are basic recurring elements in each of them, but somehow the stories manage to keep things fresh. A lot fresher and more interesting than the horrible film franchise anyway! And it’s been that way now for forty years.

Reading Paradiso I had to ask (again!) why they don’t just film these storylines instead of the ones they do. What we have here would make, if not a solid feature, at least a very good episode in an Alien cable series.

Smuggler Ricky Valentine, the dude with the golden arm, has arranged a meet-up with another bad guy at the super-ritzy Paradiso resort, which looks like a cross between Dubai and Las Vegas (if those two places aren’t the same thing). A couple of space marshals have Ricky under surveillance. They’re about to make a big bust when this other smuggler Ricky had arranged to meet turns out to have killed the deal with Ricky in order to take on some other cargo. Specifically, a bunch of giant, leathery eggs . . .

And so hell comes to paradise, with Xenomorphs running rampage through the casino and the sauna and the dining halls, slaughtering good guys, bad guys, and guests indiscriminately. The setting is a good example of the kind of refreshing change that makes these comics so much fun. Xenomorphs running amuck on some shithole planet or mining asteroid was getting old. Seeing them at Club Med was great.

Another way these comics keep impressing me is in the reveal of a character who turns out to be a synth. You know going in that somebody is an android, and still every time I’m surprised when I find out who it is. Full credit to the writers (Steve Foxe in this case) for that. Then, for the parts of the story that are unavoidable and that every Alien fan knows and expects, they can just have fun. “It got bigger,” the one space marshal says after a full-size Xenomorph shows up just an hour or so after being hatched. “No shit,” his partner replies. Now as fans we know how fast these things grow, but the people in the comic don’t. “How did it grow so much in just a few hours?” a security guard asks. It doesn’t make sense!

About the only thing I wasn’t totally on board with here was when they switched over to the Xenomorph’s point of view. I guess they were going for a sort of Predator effect, but I thought it was unnecessary and a bit confusing. That said, it’s another example of how they keep trying to throw something new into the mix, and it did change things up visually (the POV parts have a different artist) and I can’t say I minded it that much.

So another great Alien comic! Really, at this point I’ll grab any new one that comes out. They started these back in the ‘80s and I think I’ve read almost all of them without being let down yet.

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Asterix the Gladiator

The Romans kidnap Cacofonix the bard so that he can be fed to the lions as a present to Caesar. Much as everyone in the village is relieved that they don’t have to listen to Cacofonix’s singing, this can’t be let stand so Asterix and Obelix head off to Rome to get Cacofonix back.

The standard template for an Asterix story was already set, with Asterix and Obelix (the latter still without Dogmatix) leaving the village for some foreign adventures and then returning home for a banquet. I think the only recurring note that’s introduced here for the first time are the pirates. Otherwise there isn’t much about this that stands out, though I did remember the gladiators playing the word game. It’s funny what stays with you after all these years.

The art is brilliant as always, and the story strong and easy to follow. Though I did wince a little at the stereotype caricature of the Nubian gladiator, and I raised an eyebrow again at Obelix saying “Cool!” a couple of times (something I flagged previously in my notes on Asterix and the Golden Sickle). I can understand wanting to translate the language into contemporary American English for a new audience, but there should be limits.

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Classics Illustrated: The Island of Dr. Moreau

I’ve always felt a special connection to The Island of Dr. Moreau, at least ever since I picked up a movie tie-in paperback when I was a kid (I mean the 1977 Burt Lancaster-Michael York movie, not the 1996 Marlon Brando-Val Kilmer one). I don’t know how many times I’ve read Wells’s novel, but this was my second time through the Classics Illustrated adaptation, with text by Steven Grant and art by Eric Vincent. I recall not being impressed with it my first time around, but on this re-read I thought it held up slightly better. Even though I had to groan at the back cover, which proclaims: “Edward Prendick is . . . . LOST . . . and trapped on the Island of Dr. Moreau – the one island you want to be voted off of!” So there’s two timely references to American television that I don’t think will age as well as Wells’s book has.

I imagine it must be a difficult job cutting any novel down to less than a hundred pages of comic, so I don’t want to complain too much about what Grant did. I think he kept the story intact enough to make sense without leaving much of importance out. But zooming in a bit, I thought the dialogue was often quite choppy, with the flow of various scenes interrupted with breaks that had me thinking a page was missing or a cell had been dropped out of sequence somehow. It’s herky-jerky in several places and I thought that even though it was a tough assignment more could have been done to smooth things out. I’d also point out that changing Arica to Africa is a typo. Montgomery does not say he’s “out of Africa” but “out of Arica,” Arica being a port in northern Chile. And at least one point I wasn’t sure how closely Grant and Vincent were working together, as we never see the dead rabbit that Montgomery and Prendick discover and which provides proof that the Beast Men are reverting back to their carnivorous origins. The two men talk about it, but what they’re talking about is never shown and if you haven’t read the book I think you’d have a hard time understanding what is going on.

I liked the art, at least once it got beyond the cliché of Moreau and Montgomery decked out in their best colonial whites. Vincent has a distinct style and the faces are particularly memorable, with Prendick dissolving into a sweaty, stubbly anguish that made me think of Robert Crumb and Moreau’s moustache and sideburns making him seem like King of the Beast Men. I also felt the final panel nailed the ending, highlighting the now clean-shaven Prendick’s alienation from the urban, civilized world he has returned to. This is the key point in the novel, close akin to Marlow’s recognition at the end of Heart of Darkness that London is not just one of the dark places in the world but the darkness’s beating heart. Of course it’s an idea that’s presented in stronger terms in the novel, but enough of the conclusion is kept intact here to make it a clear enough takeaway.

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