Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
You know the name. You know the drill. Andrew from GrayHaven Magazine.com has put together a whole mess of reviews, and he was good enough to send them along for us to share with you. Check 'em out!!
Hey Gang. Andrew from GrayHaven Magazine here, with another round of reviews for you all. Some of you have wondered where the DK2 reviews were. If you check the archives, you'll be able to find some reviews of the first issue, which were done before our new policy. As for why there have been no reviews for the second issue, just read the statement on the bottom.
The Amazing Spider-Man #39
Written by JM Straczynski and Illustrated by John Romita Jr
Published by Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Drew Haverstock
Hey, it's "Nuff' Said!" month at the House of Id…er, well, better late than never? This month in ASM we're treated to a JRjr tour de force, where he and JMS do a great job of weaving the women in Peter's life into a tapestry of acceptance and denial.
Aunt May's discovery of Peter's lifelong secret is given life this issue, as she's shown investigating the history of Spider-Man in detail through the newspapers, textbooks, and other various sources. And here's what I love - she takes action. Aunt May in recent history, probably since the Stern/DeFalco years and DeMatties' #400, has been treated as nothing more than a cardboard cut-out old maid.
Not anymore.
Bendis, Jenkins, and JMS all have their own take on the lady. But in the end they all give her an interesting and insightful personality, maybe even showing just a bit of where Peter got some of his spunk. And I love them for it.
Mary Jane, everyone's favorite super-model, is shown how much being away from Peter has changed her. I've seen people debate her celebrity status before, but now it needs to be acknowledged that she is on par with the Heidi Klum's of super-modeldom. From the magazine shoots, to the movie premiers, to the exposure in Times Square - this woman has the world in the palm of her hand.
And even with all that, is it enough without Peter at her side?
I won't say more except that this was one of the few "Nuff Said" books that worked. Enjoy.
Overall: 8.5/10
Available Light
Words and Pictures by Warren Ellis
Published by AiT-PlanetLar
Available Light is not a comic book, and yet is does what the best of Ellis's comics have done over the years. It delivers his unique voice and creative vision with words and pictures, economy and elegant design. Available Light is compact and elegant, hard and haunting.
This hardcover art book, accompanied by short, spare, text pieces, represents a real stretch both for its creator and its publisher. AiT-Planetlar uberguru Larry Young hinted at his ambitions with the recent Public Domain, a "making of" book by Brian Wood dedicated to revealing the creative process behind Wood's singular Channel Zero. Wood is back on Available Light, providing design for Ellis's project that elevates it from mere art book into the realm of fetish art object. The stark artistry of Wood's unmistakable iconography combined with Ellis's strangely beautiful pictures create a thin, vital work that would not be out of place in the gift shop of any museum in the world.
The pictures are a story in themselves, all by Ellis, and all shot with his "eyemodule," a low-rez digital camera that connects to his Handsrping Visor and creates for him fast and dirty pixellated interpretations of the world as he experiences it. Signs, gates, statues, lamps, and even his own young daughter are all seen through the lens of his nearly-disposable chosen medium, and all are recreated in the glow of the available light, where what you see is only the smallest part of the picture, and what you get is largely dependent on what you bring to the party, helped along by Ellis's texts.
Those texts vary from genuine autobiographical reminiscences to fictional character sketches to a grotesque urban horror story that would not be at all out of place as a description of the world seen by Ellis's Spider Jerusalem in the pages of Transmetropolitan. Most welcome to me were the pieces of his life history that Ellis chose to reveal. For all his cynicism and ability to shock and horrify in his comics work, words here like "He hated me forever. Or about two weeks, which is the same as forever when you're six," pull back the curtain to show the self-titled "Old Bastard" not only remembers what it was like to be a child, but doesn't have all that hard a time putting himself back in that place.
No doubt that's due in large part to the same thing which has put many of us of a certain age back in touch with our childhoods: Our own children. This is a book dedicated to Ellis's daughter Lili, and it begins with a lovely photo and a wondrous memory of her birth. I think this piece, the most revealing and compelling in the volume, best demonstrates the dual elements of hope and cynicism that have always been a part of Ellis's greatest works over his career; in the beginning, vomit-filled toilet bowls and "The Inseminator" jokes set the scene, but by the end of the tale, Ellis is a new father, startled and grateful for his infant daughter, already extraordinary, already exceeding expecations, already justifying Ellis's unkillable hope for a better world. As a testament to his creative powers, both reproductive and artistic, Available Light is an essential work of words and pictures, and beauty and drama.
Overall: 10/10
Blade of the Immortal #65
Written and Illustrated by Hiroaki Samura
Published by Dark Horse Comics: Studio Proteus
Hiroaki Samura delivered another great issue this month -- one leading to some very new and great things.
The first half of this issue shows the young Rin all alone, trying to fend for herself as she's the only one she can count on at this time. She's trying to be just like Manji remembering the lessons he taught her, trying to reenact them to put some food in her belly, and trying to find a place to crash during the cold winter nights. The only problem is that she's just not Manji and she can't do it. Not successfully anyway.
So in an effort to fully rely on herself, she realizes she has to do just that. As she ponders how while bathing herself of the dirt and fleas she has acquired on her lonesome journey, yet another example of the cruel, real world rears up and smacks her in the face. Rin, now the victim of a thief, has to continue on her way, but now broke and even more helpless and alone.
After all that, we meet up with Manji and his one time nemesis, Magatsu, as they both realize they have been seriously screwed by the same guy. Magatsu reveals that he's on a mission to avenge the death of his girlfriend who was murdered by another swordsman for no reason. After Magatsu's explaining of that and his fury over those who don't live (and die) by samurai etiquette (bushido), Manji plays like he has moved on past the level of caring about simple right and wrong, criticizing Magatsu for seeing things so black and white. Obviously an attempt to build up the facade that he is here because he cannot die and remains a simple, stone faced killer. Nothing else. Yet, despite his view of such foolish things as vengeance and revenge, he offers his service -- to fight at the side of his former enemy and take down the man who both men still hold unsettled business with.
Samura does a great job at pacing these events so you get enough in every issue, but come the end, you simply cannot wait to find out what happens next. Samura knows just how to play on your curiosity as well as cut a scene before it gets tiring. Another great aspect is the character development. Samura knows exactly how to stay completely true to the character while letting them grow at the same time. For example, we've been seeing Manji breaking down one wall, showing an almost sensitive side regarding some of the other characters, while putting up the new, "I don't care, everything is futile" poker face which we got a good look at in this issue. More than any comic out there, manga or otherwise, you really feel like Samura's cast of characters are real and you can more than likely relate to most of them in some way.
That art is as great as ever. There are some great pages of Rin traveling through some rugged landscape as well as some really nice shots of a bathing Rin realizing all might not be well in the great outdoors. From Rin to Manji and Magatsu, all emotions is nicely captured as well as the body language. Exactly what is needed to tell this story so vividly without an over abundance of narration and dialogue.
Things are picking up and I haven't a clue as to where things will go. Exactly what a great comic should do.
Overall: 10/10
Fused #1
Written by Steve Niles and illustrated by Paul Lee
Published by Image Comics
I'll tell you right away what Fused is not: it's not The Coffin, the Oni mini-series that came out last year. When Fused was solicited, a few paragraphs of copy seemed to be enough to some people to imply that this title was a rip-off of that one, or maybe of Iron Man, or any other tale about a man in an iron suit. Which is unfair to both books, but especially to one that is only now hitting the stands.
So, what is Fused, then?
In simplest terms, it's the story of a married man, Mark Haggerty, a man with a prosthetic hand who works as a robotics engineer. Mark works with a team of designers who create automated machines for use by organizations like the LAPD. Of course, we don't learn any of this until after the opening, which shows Mark not only inside a suit of armor, but under heavy attack by the military, who are attempting to make Mark and the suit part of a large crater.
The book then backs up to give us the tale's beginnings, which finds Mark at home with his wife. Knowing that he gets "fused" into an iron suit makes their conversation about having children take on added grativas. He then leaves to test a robotic hostage negotiator, which ends badly. For those of us in LA, who've seen footage of this very thing end with similar results, it's a pretty funny scene. There is an intriguing interlude, where a person in a female-shaped suit of armor wordlessly blows up an experimental tank at a government facility.
Afterwards, Mark is in a lab talking to (of course) Dr. Smith, the (of course) slightly "off" scientist who is showing off his newest creation, a cy-bot, a cybernetic armored suit for which he needs a test subject. Mark volunteers immediately, and as he's getting hooked up into the suit, the book ends with the NSA showing up at his house to track him down.
Now, when this book was originally announced, it was by the Spawn: The Dark Ages team of Steve Niles and Nat Jones. Jones seemed a good choice for a book about large robots, but after seeing his late-inning-replacement, Paul Lee, work his magic on the first issue, I think the book will be in even better hands. Lee does a form of painting and drawing that works well together-like clean pen lines colored in with watercolors. The effect is actually akin to the style Dawn Brown used on her last Little Red Hot book, but cleaner and with sharper lines. It's a distinctive look that suits the book well.
As always, Niles works a minimalist style, keeping word balloons and exposition to a minimum. The result is a first issue that doesn't explain much to the reader, but that's entirely the point. At the forefront of the questions is why a man with a robotic hand would be so anxious to be hooked up to, in essence, a body-sized prosthetic. And the title implies that he becomes "fused" with the cy-bot, which has all kinds of other implications.
The setting, dialogue and characters thus far don't seem to be anything we haven't seen before, but in a first issue, a sense of familiarity is nice to see, before the book really gets into its raison d'etre. A thoroughly pleasing and intriguing start.
Overall: 8/10
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