PGHHEAD’S 2022 COMIC ODYSSEY, PART 38
In 2021 I set a goal to post reviews here for 1,000 comics, and finished the year at 1,008 reviews. It was a stretch - - not to read that many comics, because I actually read quite a bit more. The challenge is to find and take the time to write a fair review of what I read - - but I made it. I’m up for a new year, and a new challenge. My goal for 2022 is to read and document 1,200 comics. That’s an average of 100 books per month, easy enough to check and update. Wish me luck!
# GOAL FOR September 30, 2022 . . . 900 comics documented
CURRENT COUNT . . . . . 856 comics documented
#847 - #851 THESE SAVAGE SHORES, Volume One by Ram V and Sumit Kumar (Vault, October 2019 - Local Comic Shop Day special edition) This has a little bit of everything - - historical fiction, love story, political conflicts, colonialism, vampires and immortal monsters. A deep story with layers and layers. Metaphors are everywhere. The art is amazing. Things progress at a slow pace but I didn't notice as I was mesmerized by both the story and the gorgeously detailed art and colors. Sequential story-telling at it's best.
I knew very little about the country that would come to be unified and known as India in its' early stages when it was comprised of a multitude of smaller kingdoms. As historical fiction, THESE SAVAGE SHORES sheds light on the introduction of scheming foreigners to India's shores in 1766 and caused me to consult Wikipedia to become better informed. Seems like Ram V did his homework and got it right.
I never realized how much of an impact and influence the East India Trading Company had on the British Empire's campaign of colonialism during these times. Contrast how the reigning British royalty governed over events with the way the various kings in these smaller territories (Calicut, etc) handled their political affairs. There's quite a bit of the good, the bad, and the ugly on all sides.
I found the details as depicted here to be fascinating. Add a forbidden love story between a woman of a royal house and a head of security/guardian of the prince and you have enough to keep me interested.
Add in a family of wealthy entitled vampires in England who exert a major influence on the East India Company. One of their members can't control his vampiric tendencies, goes rouge and kills a servant, thereby embarrassing the elites - - who send him packing via a ship to Calicut. He's not there very long before those urges force him into the night once again in search of new victims to satiate his blood cravings. He chooses the wrong person and pays for his mis-step, setting in motion a conflict between the head of the vampire family and an immortal demigod with a monstrous side as well, a rakshasa.
All of this occurs against the backdrop of a struggle for territory, as the manipulative East India Company pits kingdom against kingdom in their efforts to secure the land needed to establish a new trade route.
Fascinating story-telling, enhanced by carefully crafted illustrations and exquisite coloring and shading that help to set the atmosphere and evoke the times in which these events occurred. Color me impressed. FIVE STARS.
#852 - #854 FANTASTIC FOUR: FULL CIRCLE graphic novel by Alex Ross . . Gorgeous art in a big page presentation. A full review of this appeared on this blog for Monday, September 26. FOUR STARS.
The versatile El Torres (of Spain’s Amigo Comics) brings his story-telling to Woodall and Schmalke’s Black Caravan imprint. This debut issue is impressive.
The impressionistic cover with multiple faces (turn it upside down as well) really grabbed my attention. The story harkens back to Victorian England with a disturbing story that recalls the best of the former Creepy and Eerie magazines, illustrated in lush black and white with some incredible ink work.
The main character is a wealthy occult investigator (resembling actor Peter Cushing) who rescues a bride-to-be from the clutches of her scheming fiancee and his secret cult, who used her as a vessel to bring forth a demonic presence. Seems she’s not totally free of its’ influence. Add a visit to a disturbing secondary character at the Bedlam mental asylum, a pair of police investigators heading down the wrong path, and you have the makings of a great yarn. Looking forward to this series. FOUR STARS.
seems to be one of those writers who come up with interesting concepts but fall short in execution and story-telling. Marco Ferrari’s art is visually exciting, but art alone won’t win me over.
While you don’t have to be familiar with THE FRONTIERSMAN series (I wasn’t) to pick this up, you’ll be missing a lot of details as well as a reason/explanation for some of the action/decisions. This is a direct spin-off from that series and actually picks up where that one ended.
Here’s the Image synopsis: “A king from a lost continent enters the world of man with a purpose: to stop us from killing the planet. But when he finds himself in a superhuman prison, his title is useless and his powers only matter if they help him survive!”
That sounds kind of cool, even though readers may not be able to discern all that from the story alone. What dropped my opinion down a notch or more is the rambling, vague, and often pretentious four pages of postscript by Kindlon.
He posits that “corporate comics” have moved away from emphasis on main characters in favor or ensemble casting or concept-first stories. I don’t read enough superhero comics from Marvel and DC (who he obviously meant by “corporate comics”) to know if he’s right or not. Kindlon tries to establish himself and his works with Ferrari as on a higher plateau, containing more “title character energy”. He implies that they are breaking new ground in superhero comics, when in actuality this isn’t very different from standard superhero fare. I won’t bore you with more, but he goes on and on about this and repeats these sentences several time: “Comics can be anything. Superhero comics can be most things.” This is a revelation?
TWO STARS.
