PGHHEAD’S 2022 COMIC ODYSSEY, PART 49
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 December 20, 2022 . . . 1167 comics documented
CURRENT COUNT . . . . . 1091 comics documented
XIII: A man’s quest for his past and his identity.
This reprints the introduction to a Belgian graphic novel series that debuted in 1984, with new stories still being published. The root of the story, an amnesiac who seeks to discover his past as a deadly contract killer (just one possibility), is similar and perhaps inspired by the 1980’s Jason Bourne novels of Robert Ludlum.
In XIII, the main character (XIII tattooed on his collarbone) washes ashore on the coast where an elderly couple (missing their son killed in military action) heal him with the aid of a neighbor (who’s an disgraced alcoholic doctor) and nurse him back to health.
The art is European style, very detailed and told within small panels as there is a lot of story. The pacing and illustrations are solid, producing a very cinematic feel.
When his location is discovered and he is pursued by ruthless unknown agents, XIII leaves to begin his investigation into his identity.
He remembers only that he’s physically skilled and knows how to handle a gun. Before the 48 page Volume One ends he’s been detained by crooked police (who know enough to want to locate his stash of money), and pursued by “The Mongoose” (leader of a mysterious organization). He also runs into Colonel Amos, who shows him evidence that he assassinated the President.
While it’s assumed that the scenes within XIII occur in the United States and that Colonel Amos is part of the FBI, the story never clearly identities these perhaps because of the international audience.
There’s a lot to like here and I’ve been intrigued by this story ever since I read Issue #1 from the former comics publisher Alias. Marvel collected the first three volumes but I seem to have missed that. The Cinebook versions are a little pricey ($11.95 for what amounts to 2 monthly comics) but I’m intrigued enough by this story that I may break down and start seeking it out.
Volume One ran for twenty issues, eighteen completed by the original creative team. Volume Two, with new creators, started in the 2000’s and is still going. FOUR STARS.
However, the party is just the launch pad for something quite a bit more. This comic has been promoted as recommended if you like NICE HOUSE ON THE LAKE and WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE? The only hints that IOTW may be going somewhere else is the post-apocalyptic front cover and the white-out that occurs in the final pages.
Mexican-American high school student Javi and his trio of diverse nerdy friends plan to use the party to gain more popularity. The jocks pick on them and the girls just don’t pay attention to them. The presentation here is realistic and these characters are interesting and amusing. Plus, there are numerous funny moments and lots of pop culture references to be spotted.
The fact that writer Pires kept the real guts of this story on the down-low for most of the issue may be what prompts me to pick up Issue #2. I’m curious to know where he takes this and if it will be more serious or continue the light-hearted mood he’s established so far. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
A floating space-station called The First Resort caters to the super-rich residents from Earth. It’s a highly structured complex with rigid rules about staff duties and compartmentalization of assignments.
How main character Elise managed to be assisted the job of head of security is unknown, but she doesn’t seem confident in her role at all. She doesn’t carry a gun or armor and when the first gruesome murder occurs, an outside law enforcement officer is called in to assist with the investigation.
Elise is a highly stressed, very self-conscious, and reliant on a calming drug called Blue that St. Brigid, the ship’s artificial intelligence and her counselor/mentor, provides. Another grisly murder occurs before Issue #1 ends.
There’s a bit of subtle stabs at the ultra-wealthy here, who treat staff with condescension. Along with the engaging storyline, there is some nice detailed art from Kangas. FOUR STARS.
I'm glad I had the opportunity to read this oft-reviewed and highly praised series and judge for myself. Rachel Smythe is inventive and clever and re-tells Greek mythology of the gods in play land with more contemporary versions of Persephone, Hades, Artemis, Apollo, Zeus, etc. Here they are jet-setting elites who spend the majority of their time at clubs and parties and engage in romance. This is a light-hearted rom com that should appeal to a teenage audience. Just let me say up front that I am not the intended audience for this type of fare.
The art is very stylish and appealing, reminding me of a blend of Kyle Baker and Jules Feiffer. Smythe uses colors to detail both mood and identity of these characters, which helped somewhat to differentiate from who was in the panel.
My admiration began to wear off about midway through this large volume when the chapters and themes became repetitive and boring. I won't be following future volumes. THREE STARS.
I’m absolutely stunned by how good this is, both art and story.
Silvestri is in top form and is obviously putting a lot of love into this book, as evidenced by the detail in the inked pages featured in the back content. His cityscapes of Gotham are spot-on in depicting the atmosphere of the city. The Batcave panoramas give an expansive view. I’ve never seen it like this, especially the ledge.
The story is equally rich and detailed, a gripping mystery. Who is behind the capture, torture and mutilation of Gotham residents, including Jim Gordon? Batman gets a clue to the DNA make-up of the demonic creatures after extracting and analyzing a broken tooth from a bite mark.
For as much as the Joker is equally vested in the investigation (Harley is a captive) can he ever be fully trusted? He spends much of the issue either strapped into the Batmobile or completely immobilized in the Batcave. FIVE STARS.
A group of teens trapped in a haunted mall. Issue #2 builds on the premise established last issue and ramps up the fear factor. Now that the teens have been separated into smaller groups (no more than two per) the strange creatures begin to creep out of the shadows and get dangerously close. I appreciate how readers are given glimpses of the monsters, either behind the characters and inches away or seen in mirrors or reflections, while the intended victims are unaware. Is the abandoned mall that works to confine and confuse and entrap people the bigger threat?
The story meanders a bit, but there are enough good moments and scenes here to keep me coming back. I heard that the author intended this for a younger audience, on a personal mission to attract more middle grade and high schoolers to horror. With that in mind, I’m willing to tolerate some of the misses here. The art is perhaps too simplistic for some, but exudes that Afterlife With Archie-type look and vibe. THREE STARS.
At one time I had a respectable collection of underground comix from the late ’60’s/early ’70’s. Having a urge to revisit and believing I still had some titles remaining, I searched through my storage boxes in search of same. This, and a few others, were the closest titles I could find, but it brought back some memories. TABOO was a anthology edited by Steve Bissette that featured works that mainstream publishers would not normally consider.
Featuring a mix of known and unknown creators with both black-and-white and full-color illustrated stories, TABOO was notable for its full page bios of each contributor complete with bibliography. For example, Issue #7 featured Chapter Six of From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell as well as Chapter Four and Five of Moore’s erotic Lost Girls with art by Melinda Gibbie. Also featured is the prologue to Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Neil Gaiman and Michael Zulli.
This was my introduction to the dense style of writer/artist Joe Coleman whose A Good Christian was the most gruesome and disturbing story of the bunch. Coleman went on to do a lot of work for Kitchen Sink and Fantagraphics. “L’Ariagnee Melamane/The Music-Loving Spider” is the kind of twisted, cartoonish Tales From The Crypt type stories you’d always find in TABOO. Unfortunately, this is the only issue I have from this series. FOUR STARS.
In DEADWALKERS, two alien races battle in space just outside of Earth’s atmosphere. One ship crashes and releases an alien gas that reanimates the dead and buried and eventually results in most of the world turning into flesh-eating zombies.
The Deathbringer, an immortal leader of the Zombies who can command and control them (some even speak) has a plan to create a new 50/50 race by mating zombie with human and captures Sheila and her brother. They are rescued by he mystery man called Gabriel who escorts them back to the Pilsner Estate just in time for a large zombie attack on the complex including zombies who know how to pilot tanks. Meanwhile, an alien from the winning side of the space battle feels guilty about what happened, and considers defying his orders by activating a cure that would end the undead menace.
How some of these zombies can speak, work machinery and others are your typical mindless flesh-eater savages is never explained.
The alien lands on Earth and makes the mistake of offering the cure to Deathbringer, who lies to him, stockpiles the cure, and leaves the alien for the zombies to consume. Back at the estate, Gabriel (now in love with Sheila, that didn’t take long) rallies the troops for an assault on Deathbringer’s compound. He’s on a mission because he was forced to kill his wife, turned into zombie by Deathbringer. After a long bloody battle, Deathbringer decides to live up to his name and push the button that brings total annihilation.Cut to the final page, a peaceful forest scene with Sheila nursing her baby. Whose? The 50/50 zombie experiment or Gabriel’s? We’ll never know. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS for some decent but inconsistent art and a slightly better than average zombie story.
I have to admit I struggled back then (and still do) to follow his high-concept, highly convoluted science-fiction and fantasy creations. Arzach, the often caption-free tales of a pterodactyl-rider were the most accessible. No, I was into Möbius for the fantastic art. Sometimes his incredible amount of detail was astounding. However, because of his popularity, publishers began to put out everything he did, including his rough layouts/outlines with stick figures.
Caliber had to work with whatever Heavy Metal and Epic didn’t use, and they did a good job with MOEBIUS COMICS. They reprinted chapters from The Man From The Ciguri, the sequel to The Airtight Garage. The issues were filled with excerpts from Internal Transfer but with unfinished art and rounded out the books with collaborations with other artists or interpretations of Möbius work, like William Stout, Michael Ploog and Dave Taylor doing Arzach. Issue #4 has a cool standalone story featuring Stel & Atan the intergalactic repairmen. FOUR STARS.
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