For the last three years I have embarked on a Comics Odyssey, reading and writing reviews of comics towards an ambitious goal which I only attained on one of three attempts. This year, I still want to read more comics and write reviews, but I’m not setting a specific goal. I’ll just document them and number them. We’ll see how far I can go . . . . . . .
#390 - #395 CITY BOY #1 - #6 of 6 by Greg Pak and Minkyu Jung (DC Comics, July 2023 - January 2024)
SYNOPSIS: “Meet a new Korean hero named…City Boy! Or at least, that’s the best translation of what the cities call him. City Boy, a.k.a. Cameron Kim, is just trying to make a living by using his powers of being able to speak to cities to find lost and hidden goods to pawn, and it’s only just enough to get by. And those abilities mean he hears everything everywhere all the time, including each city’s histories and the truths behind them. (It’s very loud in his head and something he has to live with.)
As his powers get stronger, the cities start forming animal avatars from scraps in order to physically travel alongside him on his adventures. Of course, Gotham is a rat avatar made of city scraps, but what about Metropolis, Blüdhaven, Amnesty Bay, or even Themyscira? And not all cities are so kind…”
The reason I liked this is simply that this is not a conventional super-hero story, although it contains all the right elements.
At the root of this is a young adult male's search for his mother, after he was abandoned at a very young age. Cameron never does learn the reason why, but seems satisfied by knowing that his mother was happy in her new life. He's searching for purpose and gets some fatherly advice from Superman, some assistance from Nightwing, and a better understanding of his capabilities and responsibilities from Swamp Thing.
Until his discovery by some more powerful beings in Issue #1, he's under-utilized his abilities. Cosmic villain Darkseid wants him to create New Apokolips on Earth by manifesting each city's avatars so they can link up and convert all of the green on the planet to bleak concrete and steel.
The story was effective and somewhat heart-warming. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#396 BLISS #1 of 8 by Sean Lewis and Caitlin Yarsky (Image Comics, July 2020) I picked this up when it first came out to see if it was a title I wanted to subscribe to. A good mixed-genre story (urban fantasy and crime) with some interesting art, but it didn’t resonate enough with me to want to continue. Since I recently sold my copy, I decided to read it one more time before sending it off to a new owner.
Bliss is a drug that wipes away memories. A compassionate young man is troubled by a very sick child and is in danger of losing his distraught wife. He makes a deal with with some gruesome gods to become their hitman, sending the victim’s memories down the river of Oblivion. I learned that from reading a synopsis, because you can only get hints of what’s going on from reading the debut issue.
That issue centers around the very public trial (in a large theater setting) of the father, and the defense presented by his son, who has survived his fatal illness. The background of his past relationship with his father and what led to the present is detailed in little segments, like puzzle pieces you have to assemble. This just makes me want to read the whole thing. FOUR STARS.
#397 EXORSISTERS #2 by Ian Boothby and Gisele Legace (Image Comics, November 2018) I’d heard good things about this series; but not wanting to suck up more of my comics budget, I found a copy in a bargain bin and naturally went for it.
This was funny, and if you like humor and horror together you will probably enjoy this title. Cate and Kate are twin sisters who team tackle demons, possessions, etc. while trying to help people from losing their souls to hell. The art is like the house style at Archie Comics and is perfectly suited to the tone of the storyline.
There’s some backstory regarding their mother, who has had some demonic contact in her past and even unknowingly worked for a supernatural organization selling “wish candles”.
If I ever see the trade paperbacks (two volumes) in a sales box that will be an instant buy. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#398 - #401 PRETTY DEADLY #1 - #4 of 10 by Kelly Sue Deconnick and Emma Rios (Image Comics, October 2013 - January 2014) I picked up Issues #2, 3, 4 in the bargain bins, after I heard that this was a pretty popular title that sold out of Issue #1. I put them in storage, hoping to find some more at reasonable prices. I finally did locate an Image Firsts reprint of Issue #1, only to realize that the first story arc ran five issues. After reading this, it didn’t matter. I’m not going to continue.
Every issue begins with scenes featuring a butterfly and a rabbit skeleton that communicate with each other, the butterfly sharing a story about the origins of Death and his daughter (Deathface Ginny), who are characters in the story.
The story confuses the roles of some of the characters, disguises their true identity, and basically infuriates me at trying to make this seem mythic when a simple weird western would have done fine. I’m not going to provide a synopsis as it would surely confuse anyone. You get the picture.
This was my first exposure to the story-telling of DeConnick (after all this time). I started out impressed, but ended up disappointed. THREE STARS, mostly due to the art.
In the latest graphic novel from the creator of Harrow County , a down-on-his-luck schlub is possessed by a malevolent demon.
Just when he thinks things can’t get worse, the exorcism goes wrong . . . and he finds that somehow he’s retained all of the entity’s supernatural gifts. After a path of revenge on all the people that have wronged him, he begins to gather worshippers and form a cult.
But the legions of Hell don’t take kindly to this, and they send demonic agents to murder the schlub-turned-god before he gains too much power.
I'm a fan of Cullen Bunn, especially his original horror and weird western comics. I'm less of a fan when he's writing licensed property superhero fare. While LUCKY DEVIL provides an entertaining (sometimes humorous and gross/violent) past-time, this is not his best work. If you are reading Bunn for the first time, I would not recommend this.
The story centers on an exorcism of a demonic possession that goes wrong. The demon is expelled, but stays in close proximity to the main character - - who now possesses all the supernatural powers of the demon. Neat idea, but the execution of the storyline left me indifferent to this tale. There are two reasons:
1) Too much set-up that took too long to get there. The final issue's conclusion/resolution, while satisfactory, comes as a big disappointment.
2) I don't like the main character, which is necessary to fully invest me in a story. I felt empathy for him during the first issue, which quickly diminished as the story progressed. I didn't care what happened to him. THREE STARS.
#406 - #409 GRAVESLINGER #1 - #4 of 4 by Shannon Eric Denton and Jeff Mariotte with art by John Cboins (#1-2) and Nima Sorat (#3-4) (Image Comics/Shadowline, October 2007 - March 2008)
The Goodreads Synopsis: Accidentally releasing the souls of 117 executed killers from Hell would ruin anybody's day. But for prison undertaker Frank Timmons, that's just the beginning of his troubles. During their first murder spree, the undead killers have slain his beloved Dorothy, and the only way he can save her soul is to track them all down and send them back where they belong! Written by veteran storyteller and artist Shannon Eric Denton (The Revenant) and novelist/comic book writer Jeff Mariotte (Desperadoes), Graveslinger features dynamic art by John Cboins and Nima Sorat that captures the series' horror, humor, and sense of fun along with the widescreen feel of everybody's favorite Western epics.
Now I realize why I was not impressed by a recent reading of weird western comic PRETTY DEADLY.
When it comes to good weird western stories, I like them pretty basic without trapping of mythology, philosophy, or hidden meanings. Just entertain me with a good eerie yarn with gunfights and horses.
GRAVESLINGER gets that job done in spades, despite some uneven murky art, which improved a little with an illustrator change in the final two issues. THREE AND THREE-QUARTER STARS.
#410 - #417 THE BOYS: DEAR BECKY #1 - #8 of 8 by Garth Ennis and Russ Braun. Covers by Darick Robertson (Dynamite Entertainment, 2019-2020)
The Goodreads synopsis:
Twelve years after the events of The Boys, Hughie finds himself back home in Scotland where he intends to finally marry Annie in the company of friends and family. But the sudden appearance of a peculiar document sends our hero into a tailspin and threatens to bring the events of his nightmarish past crashing down on him in the worst possible way. There was one story about The Boys that Hughie never knew. Now, whether he likes it or not, he's going to.
I hope I'm not beginning a trend here in my readings. This is the second occasion within a month that I pick up a comics series by one of my favorite writers only to be disappointed. Just like I commented about LUCKY DEVIL by Cullen Bunn, I have the same opinion of THE BOYS: DEAR BECKY by Garth Ennis. Both writers are personal favorites, but I would not recommend either of these as a starting point for readers new to both authors.
What redeemed this a little bit and helped it to earn a respectable rating from me is the expressive artwork by the under-rated Russ Braun, as well as some nifty covers by Darick Robertson.
Since the final story arc of THE BOYS was a more-than-appropriate-and-satisfactory ending to the series, we really didn't need a second ending here. Also, this is more of a flashback - although the scenes with Hughie occur in the present day. I'm guessing the popularity of the Amazon Prime series prompted a return visit. I don't blame Ennis for taking the payday.
Fans of THE BOYS should be prepared for the differences in this version so that their expectations aren't crushed:
1) The main focus here is on two characters, Wee Hughie and Billy Butcher, as Ennis takes a deep dive into their thoughts and how romance/love altered their personalities - perhaps permanently for Hughie but not as fixed for Butcher.
2) It's twelve years since the final battle, and the team is only viewed in some flashback scenes.
3) The scenes of lurid sex and bloody graphic violence (a trademark of the series) are infrequent. The best way I can describe this new series as compared to the original is . . . this is subdued (maybe on tranquilizers).
4) The story meanders and takes forever to get to the reveal about Butcher and the reason why Hughie became traumatized when reading Butcher's diary in Issue #1 and further. Eight issues to get to this point? (Must have be a contractual obligation, lots of padding and repetitive scenes).
In conclusion, meh. THREE STARS.
#418 - #424 SEVEN SONS #1 - #7 of 7 by Robert Windom and Kevin Mao with art by Jae Lee (Image Comics, June - December 2022) The Goodreads Synopsis:
Nicolaus Balaak correctly predicted that on July 7, 1977, seven identical sons would be born to virgin mothers. Now, on their 21st birthday, one of these Seven Sons will be revealed as the new son of God and lead humanity into a golden age of morality, peace, and prosperity.
It's The Fugitive meets The Book of Revelation, as Delph breaks free from his sheltered life to uncover the truth behind the Church and find his place in the world before Judgement Day arrives.
Eisner Award winning artist JAE LEE returns to comics with his first new title since 1994!
The main reason I purchased this in the single monthly issues and then saved them in order to read at one sitting was the return of Jae Lee to comics illustration (aside from covers). His work here is phenomenal, as always, and deserves further study.
The story by Windom and Mao is engaging and kept me turning the pages, but it fails to stick the landing. I'm assuming that SEVEN SONS is intended as social commentary on religion, faith, and the nature of God, but the writers seem to make their points general rather than specific, and often vague. Readers can draw their own conclusions
The dominant religion in the story is built on tricks, illusions (and scientific advances) and is revealed to be selfish and its' actions driven by greed and self-perpetuation more than providing true hope and purpose to the masses. However, for me, portraying organized religion this way is like preaching to the choir. I've long held the belief that some (not all) religions are more interested in acting like corporations and enforcing their own "church laws" than they are in helping followers down a path that honors the Ten Commandments, or whatever ancient creed it was established upon.
Following upon those themes, SEVEN SONS showcases an alternate version of Earth (with quite different histories for President Jimmy Carter and Princess Diana, for example) where it appears that religious organizations across the globe have replaced governments. The writers don't elaborate on this (it could have been an interesting side-story) but keep it vague.
The "gifted" seven sons as portrayed by Lee are strange in appearance, pale and alien-like. One criticism is that they look too much like each other, one of the things that made it difficult to empathize with any of them (although I did have a favorite). THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
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