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.