Graphic Novel review #34

Cinema Panopticum

Written and illustrated by: Thomas Ott

Published: 2005

My Thoughts: I first came across Thomas Ott through his illustrated cover for Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I love his scratchboard art style, it adds an enormous amount of visual complexity to his stories, which is necessary since they are entirely wordless. Cinema Panopticum follows a girl at a fair who can't take part in any of the activities on offer because she doesn't have enough money. She finally finds the Cinema Panopticum tent, which has 5 movie boxes that are cheap enough for her to afford. Each movie is another short chapter, and the stories are all fairly dark and foreboding, although some are laced with a wicked wit while others are just downright heartbreaking. It's only a short little book but it packs one hell of a wallop.

Birds of Prey: The Death of Oracle (volume 2)

Written by: Gail Simone; Illustrated by: Adrian Syaf

Published: 2011

My Thoughts: I picked this up thinking it was the first volume (I hate when they don't number the spine!) but even so, it clearly sets out all of the major players and recent events at the start of each issue, so that presented no real issue. The story is interesting enough, Oracle (Barbara Gordon, now in a wheelchair) has garnered a little too much attention as a tech-genius and her enemies are now doubling-down on trying to eliminate her. Not only is Oracle a credible threat in her own right, but as Oracle she monitors and supports countless of other heroes so any threat on her life has a knock on effect. The rest of the Birds of Prey are tasked with trying to save Oracle while also having to come to grips with their own dark pasts. This is my, to my knowledge, first Gail Simone and ... I didn't love it? It's a solid story and the characters are well-developed but it didn't wow me. But an (almost) all female team of heroes, some of whom began as anti-heroes or dabbled with villainy, is too good a concept for me to give up on after one middling edition. I'll give it at least one more edition and make my mind up then.

Lady Justice (volume 1)

Written and illustrated by: C.J Henderson; Fred Harper; Daniel Brereton

Published: 2008 (though the collected comics are from the 90s)

My Thoughts: Ugh, this is a good example of making sure you read the fine print. In case you can't see in the cover image, Neil Gaiman's name is written above the title. Awesome!, I thought. Turns out it's not written by Gaiman but merely based on a character of his, and loosely, so very loosely. The concept itself is kinda awesome (kudos to Gaiman). Lady Justice appears to women who have been wronged and implants them with her powers, making them her physical avatar. They then have the power to gain justice for the wrongs they've experienced. The first issue is very violent and very bloody, but when Lady Justice leaves her avatar and the woman cries for her to stay saying she "did everything L.J asked of her," Lady Justice replies that she didn't say how the justice should be meted out and that "the blood and violence was entirely her choice, and she should beware that she isn't revisted in the future by another Lady Justice avatar"*. This I actually really dug, but this story was completely destroyed by the following two or three stories which were equally as bloody and equally as violent. What happened to choosing how to deliver justice? Or that the justice should be proportionate to the crime? I think there was one which actually had the bad guys going to jail instead of dying, but plenty of other people had died by this point. It's just all so pointless. The art is also very '90s pornographic superhero style. Huge gravity defying boobs, tiny waists and the women are always walking on tip-toes. Pass if you ever see this guys, HARD pass.



*my paraphrasing

Graphic Novel Mini-reviews #28

The Wicked and the Divine: The Faust Act (Volume 1)

Written by: Kieron Gillen; Illustrated by: Matt Wilson, Jamie McKelvie

Published: 2014

My Thoughts: I've been reading this since the first issue was released a few months ago and now that the first volume has been released I can finally review it! This is a really interesting series, it uses various mythologies to comment on modern celebrity status and popular culture. The basic concept is that the every 90 years the pantheon of 12 gods are reincarnated and given another 2 years on earth before they die again. During that time they inspire hatred and adoration in equal quanities and are credited with being the trendsetters and muses that push humanity forward. This iteration takes place now and most of the gods are on Earth as rockstars. There's the David Bowie-esque gender bent Lucifer, the Kanye West inspired Baal and my personal favourite, the triplet Morrigan who is a little bit Florence Welch, a little Sinead O'Conner and a whole lot awesome. As much as I enjoy the series, I found reading it as each issue came out a little disjointed, especially in the earliest issues. I think this is the kind of narrative that it helps to give your full attention to from start to finish. And while I'm not really sure where the narrative is headed, I am loving the journey. The art, by the way, is flawless. Really vibrant and clean. And the gods are iconic and completely individual, while also beautifully tying into the symbols and iconography of the gods they represent. I have so much wardrobe, make-up and hair envy - those gods sure know how to put together a look.

Hellblazer: The Devil You Know (Volume 2)

Written by:Jamie Delano; Illustrated by:  David Lloyd


Published: 2014 (original comics from the late 1980s)

My Thoughts: While I'm still really enjoying Constantine as a character, this volume was all over the place. In the first volume I really enjoyed how segmented the issues seemed to be but this time it seemed like a fault rather than a positive. The first couple of issues resolved the primary arc from volume 1, but after that they seemed to hop and skip backwards and forwards in time - at one point he mentions being 30 while he was set up as 35 in volume 1 and another story seems to be set in the late 1990s instead of the 1980s - not completely unexpected since this volume is made up from different arcs. My main issue is that there are vague mentions to haunted pasts and demons hunting him, but because of the time shifts it's hard to work out if it's a threat we've met before or just the kind of hazard most magicians would face. Couple that with some non-traditional panel layouts and I just felt off-centre as I read through. The stories themselves were pretty solid outside this confusion though, there's one in particular "Antarctica" which just kind of blew my mind. So while this one didn't hit the same exact heights as the first, I'm still eager to move on with the series to see where it goes.

Suicide Squad: Kicked in the Teeth (Volume 1)

Written by: Adam Glass; illustrated by: Ryan Benjamin

Published; 2012

My Thoughts: Suicide Squad was a pretty creative way to reintegrate a bunch of out of work villains back into the DC world. Some you'll have heard of (Harley Quinn and Deadshot) while others (King Shark and yo-yo) are probably absent from your memory for a reason. But the rag-taggyness of the group is kind of the point. The higher-ups consider them to be fully expendable, worthless criminals who are only useful as cannon fodder. It's not surprising then that the turn over is pretty high. New villains join the squad only to die five panels over, and unless they're literally falling apart they're not going to see a hospital bed any time soon. One of the things that I really enjoyed in this comic is that the missions rely on the villains acting villainous. They're not jobs Superman or Batman could take on because they have morals. They want to save lives and they're always looking for a way to avoid sacrificing a life to achieve a result. These guys are ruthless. They want to save their own skin and they aren't ashamed of it. At the same time some of the team are vigilantes rather than villains (think Black Spider) and have to wrestle with the moral compass while trying to stay alive. It's not always elegantly depicted, but it's interesting and action-packed nonetheless.

Graphic Novel mini-reviews #26

Guardians of the Galaxy: War of Kings Book 2 (Volume 3)

Written by: Dan Abnett; Illustrated by: Andy Lanning, Brad Walker

Published: 2010

My Thoughts: At first I wasn't completely sold on this volume of GotG. The elements I love were all there, the group dynamic, the cosmic messiness and the writing but the initial premise didn't excite me. The Shi'Ar and Kree have declared war on each other and this war threatens to destroy the very weakened universe. As the Guardians are lacking the scope of the two armies they decide to try and appeal to each side's reason - if you continue with this war, the universe will cease to exist. Both sides are so blinded by their anger and warmongering etc etc that they can't or won't see the bigger picture. I don't know if it's just that this basic storyline has been done before or if it's because it seems so unrealistic but I groaned every time Starlord tried to reason with the Inhumans who are leading the Kree. I liked witnessing the haphazard team trying to hold things together, I just wish the reason for the war/why they won't step back was better set up. Once that initial hurdle is passed I felt like the volume hit the heights I expect from it. There's time travel and shifts between realities and countless battles and some devastating events that round it out to be a really hefty volume of comics. So a little meh to start but a winner by the end.

Hellblazer: Original Sins (Volume 1)


Written by: Jame Delano; Illustrated by: Rick Veitch, John Ridgeway, Alfred Alcala, Tom Mandrake

Published: 1988

My Thoughts: Hellblazer is one of Tom's top comics and even though I know I started this last year, it was only at his instance after watching the Constantine pilot that I decided to pick it up again. Constantine is a brash London magician who refuses to pick a side between heaven and hell. It's dark and dank and surprisingly political but since it's both written and set in the late 1980s there are also some awkward moments, specifically ones involving a gay character, which depict some incredibly outdated views. But since Constantine is meant to be morally-ambiguous at best, I don't feel like it detracts from the overall comic - squicky as it might be. There are more than a few similarities between Hellblazer and TV's Supernatural, which is to be expected since Supernatural wouldn't exist without Constantine taking those first sarcasm-laden, demon-hunting, sex-having steps. But Constantine isn't just a pulpy monster-of-the-week comic. The first 6 issues have an almost short-story feel to them, separately setting up the character while also leading us towards the narrative that'll finish of this volume and lead into the next. To jump back to the Supernatural comparison, Constantine is the man I'd expect if you smooshed Dean, Sam and Castiel into the one body, made him bisexual, English and post-punk who reminds me of a celebrity I can't quite place - am I thinking Billy Idol? David Bowie? Someone else entirely?

Wonder Woman: War (Volume 4)

Written by: Brian Azzarello; Illustrated by: Cliff Chiang, Goran Sudžuka, Tony Akins, Dan Green

Published: 2014

My Thoughts: This volumes ends the first arc of New 52 Wonder Woman and I really, really enjoyed it. I loved the warring gods angle, I love WW's determination to protect her half-brother, I love how smart and compassionate and killer WW is. But most of all, I love the ensemble nature of this run. WW started her life as an Amazon, and while she wasn't entirely accepted by her sisters that overarching group dynamic led her life. When she left the Island she wanted to work alone, partly because her family was gone and partly because she'd never been able to have any real independence before. But as with the best of friends, characters like Hermes and Zola and Strife and Lennox pushed their way through her barriers and now stand firmly by her side. It's their interactions and role in the ongoing narrative that helps me push through the occasional plot failing or pacing issue. I have a lot of comics on the go that I read issue-by-issue but Wonder Woman isn't one of them. So for now I have to hold out and wait for the next volume of issues to be released, which hopefully won't take too long.

Graphic novel mini-reviews #23: Fight Like A Girl

Black Widow: The Finely Woven Thread (Volume 1)

Written by: Nathan Edmondson; Illustrated by: Phil Noto 

Published: 2014

My Thoughts: Black Widow gets the cold shoulder a bit by people who have watched the Avengers film, mostly because she lacks the magical powers or indestructible suit of the others but also because, let's be honest, she's a lady. This new run of Black Widow is fantastic for a number of reasons. First, it's freaking gorgeous. The art is beautiful, like pin it to your wall and gaze at it all day beautiful. Second, like the Hawkeye comics, it takes place away from the Avengers - removing the possibility for people to judge how useful she'd be to the team. Instead it focuses on her spy work for S.H.I.E.L.D and her freelance work, where she works as a mercenary/spy to raise enough money to pay off the sins of her past. There's a lot of emotional depth in this comic. Natasha/Black Widow has been many things in her life, and she regrets a lot of it. She works hard to try and make up for past mistakes and choices but she's still unsettled, adrift and unable to really find a centre to hold on to. This volume falls into the espionage/action genre and I really love the unfolding mystery that we're treated to. I've just bought the next two issues that have been released, so I'm eagerly waiting to read them and see if I can piece together who is behind the chaos raining down.

Wonder Woman: Guts (Volume 2)

Written by: Brian Azzarello; Illustrated by: Cliff Chiang, Tony Akins, Dan Green

Published: 2013

My Thoughts: I'm a little biased in that I'm basically predisposed to like Wonder Woman and Greek myths and this particular book is chock full of both. I know some reviews have been a little wary of the new origin story for Wonder Woman (which doesn't discount her earlier creation, just reveals it to be a lie her mum told to keep her safe) and the heavy inclusion of the Greek gods but I'm still loving it. It sort of makes Wonder Woman the modern equivalent of Thor, which as far as I'm concerned means they should just make it a film already. This volume introduces us to a little more of Wonder Woman's newly discovered mythic family and a more competitive, conniving family I don't think is possible. They might be related but they're all hungry for the top spot on Olympus and are all more than willing to use and abuse anyone who gets in their way. It's amping up to be a pretty hectic battle pitting family against family, and I'd hate to be on the side opposite WW.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Angela (Volume 2)

Written by: Brian Michael Bendis; Illustrated by:  Sara Pichelli, Francesco Francavilla, Olivier Coipel, Valerio Schiti, Kevin Maguire.

Published: 2014

My thoughts: Is it okay to include GotG into a mini-review series centred around butt-kicking women? Sure half the team is men, but this particular volume centres heavily around two ladies - Gamora and mysterious newcomer, Angela. Angela comes from another dimension/universe/timey-wimey place called Heven, which has these mystical stories about a place called Earth. So does this mean heaven is real? Are our religious stories based around interactions with this Heven? You won't find out any answers just yet, but you will get to watch Gamora and Angela go from kicking each other from here to Tuesday to begrudging team-mates to something a little closer to friends. And the rest of the team is there too, full of wise-cracks and double entendres and I-Am-Groots. This volume intersects with a couple of other comic series which does make for some headscratching moments (a threat in one issue is over and done with in the next) but that's the life of a comic reader right.