Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Dear god... between these guys and GrayHaven, I’m having a carpal tunnel seizure right now... must... stop... formatting... I mean, I’ve still got that FOUNTAIN review and that PETER PAN review and that BUBBA HO-TEP review to write tonight...
Oh, but we’re here to talk about comics, aren’t we? By the way, Village Idiot... you owe me the money for a new monitor, since I sprayed mine with cherry Slurpee laughing when I read your BUFFY review below. Nice freakin’ work, sir...
Hola, my fellow @$$holes, Cormorant here! This is one of the more eclectic and exciting weeks we’ve had here in @$$hole-ville in some time, and I’m pretty proud of the review diversity. We cover our fair share of mainstream superhero outings, including ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, AVENGERS, DETECTIVE COMICS, ELEKTRA, and HAWKMAN, step a little outside the box for RUSE, BUFFY, GUARDIAN ANGEL, BASTARD SAMURAI, and ALIAS, and get unapologetically indie with THE BIRTH CAUL and THE CASTAWAYS. Plus we cast a hypothetical DR. STRANGE movie.
Don’t tell me that’s not eclectic, my friends. I’ve got a hair-trigger temper and I’ll snap on ya.
By the way, last week a TalkBacker threw out the suggestion that we @$$holes take review requests on occasion, and I think the idea has some merit. At this point, the notion hasn’t gone before the @$$hole Council for official discussion, but if anyone’s got some specific requests, let’s go ahead and hear ‘em. I know one TalkBacker expressed interest in the indie martial arts book, INFINITE KUNG-FU, which we plan to review soon, and maybe we can tackle a few others (please suggest erotic manga, please suggest erotic manga, please suggest erotic manga).
In the meantime, on with show!
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #24
Brian Michael Bendis – Story
Mark Bagley – Pencils
Art Thibert – Inks
Published by Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Village Idiot
You know, I’ve been hearing a lot of comparisons lately between ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN writer Brian Michael Bendis and playwright/director/script doctor-for-hire David Mamet. The comparisons are based on dialog; mainly, I suppose, on what could be called “David Mamet-speak”: the linguistic hyperconsciousness you get in movies like OLEANNA, HOUSE OF GAMES, and HOMICIDE; dialog where the quirks of conversation, the breaks, stutters, and repetitions, etc., are not only left in the dialog, but are enunciated more clearly than they would be in real life. As a result, Mamet-speak and Mamet movies (and plays, if Mamet is directing) tend to feel a bit surreal.
I bring this up because, frankly, I never get this sensation in reading Bendis. Bendis also tries to incorporate conversational quirks into his dialog, but the effect is more natural. In fact, Bendis’ dialog is one of my favorite things about the ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN series. Unlike other comic writers, Bendis takes his time with his scenes, again, letting the dialog unfold naturally, imperfectly, but he never wastes time. The result is a compelling presentation that I find enjoyable even when the actual plot of a given story may be a bit ho-hum.
This was my experience with ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #24. Although the overall story wasn’t enough to really light my fire, the presentation was so earnest that it won me over to the point where I’m recommending the issue.
In the previous ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, issue #23, Normal Osborn, aka the (incredibly hulking) Green Goblin, has a talk with Peter where he tells him that he knows Peter is Spider-Man. Furthermore, he gives Peter an ultimatum: If he doesn’t let Osborn become his guru, he’ll kill Peter and everyone in Peter’s life short of Stan Lee, and he’ll do it in a most unpleasant manner. This was a truly chilling scene in a pretty great comic book (still on sale!). Never have I seen a villain in a comic book that was so cold and so vicious. While Lex Luthor and Doctor Doom are still preening like Dr. Evil, the Green Goblin is getting the job done like Michael Corleone by way of Frank Booth (see: BLUE VELVET). Peter spends the rest of the issue appropriately freaked-out, while you, the reader, are freaked-out right along with him.
Continuing in ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #24, Peter is still freaked-out when he gets a secret visit at school from everybody’s favorite Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury. Apparently in the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Nick Fury is played by Avery Brooks, Captain Sisko from DEEP SPACE NINE. Captain Sisko tells Peter that he knows all about his secret identity and that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been monitoring him for some time. In fact, they heard Goblin’s threat to Peter from the previous issue. Fury tells Peter he should refuse Osborn, and he let’s Peter know how much support he can expect from S.H.I.E.L.D. in the whole Goblin situation. Later, Peter, as Spider-Man, confronts the Goblin on the roofs of the city and Spidey tells Goblin his decision regarding the ultimatum. The Goblin doesn’t take it well...
This was a story that was mainly exposition/set-up for the next issue, but Bendis was able to present it in such a way that it packed enough drama to be truly enjoyable. Peter’s conversation with Fury is revealing and even a little pithy, and Peter’s anxiety and dread throughout the conversation is palpable. However, it’s in that second half of the issue, when Spidey confronts the Goblin, that Bendis’ crafting of this story is really felt: Peter has a unique relationship with Osborn, a relationship that transcends the usual hero/arch-villain talking-at-each-other dynamic. In ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #24, it isn’t the fact that they really talk to each other, it’s the fact that they try to talk to each other, and fail; they fail in a way that is unique to these characters in these circumstances. Spider-Man’s frustration with this failure, along with the entire situation, had a humanity to it; a verisimilitude that reminded me of WATCHMEN. It’s this attempt at human communication, not at the end of the story (like THE KILLING JOKE), but in the midst of the story, that set this relationship apart from what I’m used to seeing in comics, and brought a unique sense of dimension to what was going on. Good stuff.
The art was pretty good too. Of course, this may have to do with the fact that I’ve begun to associate Mark Bagley and Art Thibert’s art so closely with ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, that any other artwork would feel like heresy. To be honest, it initially took me a little while to warm up to Bagley and Thibert: I’m usually attracted to art that’s a bit more traditional, a bit more realistic; and Bagley and Thibert’s work tends to be a bit more like caricature, a bit more cartoony. But I find there’s an energy in their art that seems to work well with Bendis’ writing. Much of this energy seems to be conveyed through the character’s eyes, which are drawn wide, open and emotive. The eyes of Peter and Fury really seem to be alive throughout their conversation in the first half of the book. There’s also a brief interlude where Peter dodges his friends at school, a scene totally without dialog, and again, the eyes of the characters tell the story, whether it’s Peter’s anxiety or his friends’ baffled surprise.
And now for the reservations: This first problem speaks to an artistic choice in the series as a whole: The purist in me misses the scary-bizarre Green Goblin of years past, rather than the scary-monster Goblin of ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN. There was something about this big fanged monster that seemed wrong. Hulking and devious aren’t adjectives I’d normally put together. (And funny, I always thought that goblins were supposed to be like elves.) On the other hand, I recognize the need for the Green Goblin in this story to be physically intimidating for Spider-Man, and by this reckoning, the scrawny old Green Goblin wouldn’t cut it. Still though, the horned and buff Green Goblin tends to remind me more of a Green Gargoyle, or maybe one of those DRAGONBALL Z characters I flip past on TV. Another problem, on a more minor level, had to do with what is essentially Nick Fury’s cop-out: Osborn is recognized by Fury as a serious criminal, yet not serious enough to engage in a full-blown, organized sting operation. The government does that you know, just ask John Delorean and Marion Barry.
When I was in the comic store last Wednesday, I was looking at this issue on the shelf thinking to myself, “Do I want to give yet another boring, positive review of ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN to the internet community?” This moment says a lot about what this title has been able to do so far: it’s created the expectation of good work. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #24 was good work: delivered a well-scripted, solidly-rendered segue chapter in the “Ultimate” Spider-Man story. David Mamet should be so lucky.
(Of course, many of you probably know that David Mamet was rumored to have worked on a draft of Spider-Man. What if Mamet ended up not only writing it, but directing it as well? One can only imagine what Bill Macy would look like in a Spider-Man costume.)
Bastard Samurai #2 (of 3)
Image Comics
Mike Oeming, Miles Gunter, Kelsey Shannon
Reviewed by Lizzybeth
I like the Samurai Jack cartoon because it looks like a Mike Oeming comic. So I was pleased when Michael Avon Oeming, artist and co-creator of Powers and Hammer of the Gods, came out with his own modern-day samurai miniseries. It's rather like an R-rated illegitimate cousin of the all-ages Cartoon Network program, only - here's the beauty part - no animation will hold still for your admiration like this. You can appreciate every graceful movement in perfect freeze-frame, without having to hope for a lucky strike from your pause button. With its cinematic, cleanly executed (heh) action sequences and Oeming's usual skill for shadow and profile, books like Bastard Samurai remind me why images don't have to be animated to come to life.
But wait. I didn't actually realize until I picked up issue #2 that the artist for this miniseries is actually…Kelsey Shannon? With Oeming only on ink? Who the hell is this Kelsey Shannon person whose art looks enough like Oeming to fool me? Long lost relative? Alter ego? Is Mike Oeming leading a secret art school a la Adam Kubrick, turning out a legion of stylish fluid-form artists to take over the industry? However the Oeming/Shannon team has collaborated on this effort, the effect is very positive. It's Oeming+. Just look at these page layouts, many-paneled as other Oeming books have been, but deftly arranged and even better constructed. Just look at p.7 where Toshi is detailing her, uh, surveillance activities, the way your eye is drawn across the page. The arrangement in the facing page of the girl, the jaw, and the dart board. Nice stuff. Much more movement here, more rotation of p.o.v. that keeps the pace hopping along more furiously than your average Powers issue. Excellent use of color schemes that intensify from scene to scene, including a red-light effect for the most violent sequences in both issues. Shannon's art, now that I examine it, becomes more distinct in issue #2, looking less like a direct Oeming imitation while retaining the influence. This is a good comic to look at, nice work from everyone involved.
And a decent read as well. Our samurai protagonist is Jiro, who has been trained in the ancient ways, now turned out onto the modern streets to fend for himself. Fending apparently includes fighting Yakuza death matches for other people’s fun and profit. In a strange twist, Jiro wins a match he's not supposed to win, and kills someone he should have known. Now, he's out to dismantle the death games, with the help of a mysterious yakuza babe. That is, if I'm understanding correctly. I was left slightly bewildered by the first installment of this series (not being an evil genius like our AICN writers) but it was a not-unpleasant sensation. I gathered enough to be intrigued, and I find in Issue #2 that what I thought happened in Issue #1 was mostly correct. Okay. But now we've moved on a bit from the dreamily episodic feel, and though the exposition helps it also gets away from the uniqueness of the previous issue. It's also not nearly as humorous (there's nothing like "You dishonor these DVD's!" this time). But it makes up for it with some much-needed characterization. The opening sequence is an interesting fever dream that works both before and after you understand what's happening. This issue, like the last, also includes a little extra at the end: a backstory called "The Field Trip", drawn by Oeming in twilight hues, that shows just what kind of schooling Jiro has received.
Verdict: Good art, good action. It's a cool summer read.
GUARDIAN ANGEL # 1
Written by Jonathan Peterson
Art by Aron Wisenfeld, Scott Williams, Kevin Conrad, Jeromy Cox
Published by Image
Reviewed by Buzz Maverik
As all of you know, I am a young French peasant lass at the turn of the 20th century. Each Wednesday, I scamper barefoot across the countryside to the sacred grotto, Four-Color Fatimas, where I fetch a pail of comic books.
Last Wednesday, as I was about to enter into the air-conditioned kitschiness, a beautiful lady appeared out of thin air, and hovered glowing in the doorway. Although I could see through her, I could not see through her clothes, so I was sore disappointed.
"Do you know who I am, little French peasant lass?" said the lady.
I took out a cigar and made a v-cut in the cap. "I'm guessing you're not the Virgin Mary since you're all dressed in a red baby doll."
She said, "My name is Mary, but I am no virgin. I am called Magdalene."
"Oh yeah. That hooker from the Bible. You were my favorite part of Sunday school. You know, you look a lot like that actress Rachel Weisz from ABOUT A BOY and those stupid Mummy movies." I struck a match on the back of my teeth, ala John Bender from THE BREAKFAST CLUB, then proceeded to light my double corona.
Magdalene sighed. "I get that a lot."
"So, is this a religious vision or a wet dream?"
"You don't talk much like a French peasant lass at the turn of the 20th Century."
I put down the issue of SHOTGUN NEWS I was perusing. "What'd you say?"
"I am here to give you prophecy. There is a comic book inside called GUARDIAN ANGEL. It is a four issue series from Image. The artwork by Aron Wisenfeld is incredible. He's an artist to watch. He'll be up there with the biggest names in the business one day."
"What's the book about, Holy Hottie?"
"It is about a movie star named Christian Angelos. He makes action movies and is a bit of a player with the ladies. He keeps saving people from accidents on the set. But Christian has amnesia. He has a scrapbook about his life with missing pages. And biomechanical demons are out to get him. This was written by Jonathan Peterson, who, with Wiesenfeld, does a decent job of building up the suspense."
"Sounds good. Anything wrong with it?"
"Well, there's an absolutely pointless 12 page action sequence that has nothing to do with story. It's a misleading gag, designed to make you think you're reading one kind of story when you're really reading another. It looks good. It's exciting. The worst thing about it is that if you know anything at all about movie making, and who doesn't these days with all the behind the scenes stuff, you know that detailed action sequences are never shot in real time. I could suspend disbelief about the amnesiac action star, the biomechanical demons, and Christian's love life, but this action scene would take a movie crew weeks to film. And the dialogue and special effects would be added later. That really bugged me."
"I'm sure it would bug me too, Mary Magdalene," I said, scratching my ass as we French peasant lasses do. "Would you recommend a second issue?"
She thought it over. "If it picks up the pace and tells the real story, yes. This could be a good series with a dumb part in the beginning. I think a second issue is in order and worthwhile."
With that, she vanished.
And that's how I came to be locked up here at the Vatican. It's not so bad. The food is good. There's some great art to look at. They have a killer occult section in the library. But I'm surrounded by creepy guys. Good thing I'm a French peasant lass who went all C.I.F. in wrestling when I was in high school.
DETECTIVE COMICS #772
Greg Rucka – Writer
Sergio Cariello – Pencils
John Nyberg – Inks
Published by DC Comics
Reviewed by Village Idiot
During World War II, in an effort to ration gasoline for the war effort, people in the U.S. were encouraged to ask themselves the question: “Is this trip really necessary?” The question became a media buzz-phrase at the time, a bit like “You ARE the missing link...,” popping up in bumper-stickers and conversation. Eventually it was used for satire in Warner Brother cartoons where in the midst of an elaborate chase, Bugs Bunny would turn to the camera and ask the audience: “Was this trip really necessary?”
This is a roundabout way of creeping up on the first thought I had upon finishing reading DETECTIVE COMICS #772: “Was this trip really necessary?”
DETECTIVE COMICS #772 is part 16 (!) in the “Bruce Wayne: Fugitive” storyline. (It occurs to me as I write the title of the storyline how much of a misnomer “Bruce Wayne: Fugitive” is. We never really see Bruce Wayne, and we definitely don’t see him being a fugitive; Batman is free to go wherever he wants.) The story for the issue takes place in prison as Sasha, Bruce Wayne’s bodyguard, ruminates over her predicament: she’s incarcerated for a very long time, while Bruce Wayne, guilty or not, is free and doing nothing to get her out. Soon she receives a visit by a mysterious stranger who offers to get her out of prison if she’ll give up Wayne, concocting his involvement in the murder for the record. Does she weaken? By the end of the story we have her answer.
Another thought I had soon after reading this story was when the David Spade in my head said: “I liked DETECTIVE COMICS #772 the first time I read it. When it was called DETECTIVE COMICS #767.” Yes, I’m afraid “Bruce Wayne: Fugitive” has actually lapped itself: In #767, we had Sasha in prison, ruminating over her predicament, tempted to give up Bruce Wayne to save herself, finally having a dramatic epiphany at the stories conclusion. Which is exactly what happens in #772. What’s really inexcusable is the fact that it’s written by the same writer, Greg Rucka. Come one, Greg, was this trip really necessary?
And yet, despite the fact that we’ve read this story before, the story did manage to generate a degree of suspense (albeit the same degree of suspense as the initial version). Sasha does have a dilemma, and it is still compelling to see her waver and wait for the “does she or doesn’t she?” climax. Rucka wrote the tale fairly well. But really, once is enough.
The art by Sergio Cariello and John Nyberg was durable enough. Nothing about it really wowed me, but nothing really turned me off either. The coloring by Jason Wright primarily used oranges and yellows, which was an interesting choice, and that more than anything else gave the comic a distinctive feel. But I think the most marvelous thing about the issue was the cover: a painted image of a dark Batman crouching on a small cage with the figure of a woman inside, all against a blood red background with bleached out Bat insignia behind Batman’s back. It’s a powerful image.
As “Bruce Wayne: Fugitive” rolls on like a juggernaut, it’s plagued by the same problems that mark the bad crossover: bad pacing, inconsistency, and comics with frivolous connections to the main storyline. But “Bruce Wayne: Fugitive,” the trailblazer that it is, has managed to add a new one: blatant repetition. Obviously for DETECTIVE COMICS #772, the trip wasn’t really necessary. And sadly, it’s beginning to look like that’s the case for the entire “Bruce Wayne: Fugitive” storyline as well.
Title: AVENGERS # 55
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Penciler: Patrick Zircher
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
Last week, in my CAPTAIN AMERICA #3 review, I talked about Marvel’s mistake in bringing real world events to the world of comics. I brought up the point that creative stories can convey relevance to current events and hot issues without having to specifically name said events and issues. It doesn’t take a talented writer to replay current events and plop a spandex-clad hero into them. The real challenge is to make stories that are relevant on their own. Stories that are so universal that those reading them can attach their own meaning and make them their own without having it force fed to them. As an example of this, I talked about an old Cap story line, “Streets of Poison”, where Cap decided to rid the Super Soldier Serum from his bloodstream and how it was a thinly veiled, but creative way to tell an anti-drug tale. I preferred this type of story to John Ney Reiber’s take on Cap. Well, I just finished THE AVENGERS #55 and I have found the perfect example of what I was trying to illustrate.
Issue #55 is the Aftermath issue of the year-long “Kang War” story arc. Kang unleashed a full scale attack on the world, destroying major cities, and causing a multitude of casualties. It was the Avenger’s greatest battle and this issue ties up all of the loose ends from the past year: from the court-martial hearing of Warbird to the resolution of the Triathalon/3-D Man subplot; from Iron Man’s regrets concerning a fallen comrade to Thor’s decision to stay with or leave the team - this issue has it all. Busiek has a firm hold on a team whose membership is now in the twenty-something range, and not a single character or scene seems short-changed or rushed.
Although “The Kang War” began before the events of 9/11, it is obvious that Kurt Busiek reworked his epic story line to fit in real world aspects. But to his credit, he never outright says this. The heroes are dealing with a national and worldwide tragedy. A war has been fought, victories are being celebrated, heroes are being honored, and casualties are being mourned, but Busiek doesn’t shove 9/11 in our faces or insult us by saying, “Marvel’s heroes were there too.” Characterization and feelings are universal when done right. After reading the entire “Kang War” story arc, I am convinced that Busiek has done it right and made a memorable tale that not only fits in perfectly with the events of today, but could be equally relevant during the WWII era, the Vietnam era, or any time in history where the odds were large, the losses were great, and the heroes carried on to fight the good fight..
Patrick Zircher does a good job filling in on the art chores for this issue. Not a lot of action takes place in these pages, but his panels convey the emotional depth needed to pull this type of heavy story off. He’s come a long way from when I first saw his work on NEW WARRIORS many years ago.
“The Kang War” story arc was an extremely long and complex story, but entertaining throughout. Busiek has crafted a poignant tale about a war, its heroes, its villains, and its casualties. Those who missed it should by all means pick up the trade paperback if one is ever published. The creators behind the current CAPTAIN AMERICA title should take notice of this arc. They might learn a few things about storytelling and how to make stories relevant to current events without clumsily shoving them down our throats.
ALIAS #11
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Michael Gaydos
Published by Marvel Comics
The Pretentious Jon Quixote: Act 3, Scene 1
To buy, or not to buy, that is the question:
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The wit and curses of Jessica Jones,
Or to take arms against a sea of acolytes
And by opposing save them. To read, to see;
Her sleep, perchance with Cage. K.Y., there’s the rub,
For in that glimpse of sodomy, what sales may come?
When we have opened up this month’s tale,
Must find here pause. There’s the art
That makes waste of such little space.
For who would bear the art shall find,
The pangs of profane speech, the lawman’s wit
A love-interest cliché, and the banter
That merits patience of th’audience’s lunch.
But then the dread of something awful makes way,
The undiscovered country; from mystery borne
New characters come to puzzle the mind
To fascinate and hook and tease
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know will not
Use characterization to make readers of us all;
And thus the gimmick of mutation
Is sprinkled o’er with the pale cast of incest,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard my criticisms turn away
And lose the name of rejection. Soft you now,
The fair Bendis. Neither an Orpheus nor a Zimmerman,
Be all your sins remembered.
Still, I’ll catch the issue twelve.
ELEKTRA #12
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Carlo Pagulayan
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Cormorant
I’ve gotta start with the cover: http://www.marvel.com/comics/onsale/covers/0702/elektra_12.jpg.
It’s eye-catching all right, but in all the wrong ways for a book like this. The artist is Greg Horn, who specializes in a very slick, very modern, very computer-enhanced sort of cheesecake style. His Elektra is a come-hither temptress, always glistening with a faint sheen of sweat and looking ready for a tumble in the hay no matter the setting. This month, the straightjacketed Elektra appears to be cowering slightly upon a couch…and still she looks sexy. She’s got the long legs going on and there’s even a glimpse of her panties, giving the image a lurid, rape-fantasy veneer. And this is a typical cover from the new ELEKTRA series. When I read Miller’s original Elektra stories as an impressionable kid, Elektra’s most outstanding characteristic was that she was scary as hell. Now, fulfilling Bill Jemas’ promise of “bad girls for fanboys,” her most outstanding characteristic (or at least the book’s selling point) is that she’s a sexpot. I have nothing against cheesecake art or Greg Horn in general (he seems very good at what he does), but these types of covers are pandering, lowest-common-denominator enticements that completely mis-market a crime/suspense book as yet another friggin’ bad-girl outing.
So quit that shit.
This is a good book that even women might want to look at, but intelligent readers aren’t going to give it a second thought with Horn’s MAXIM-esque covers as the lure. Elektra deserves better, audiences deserve better, and current writer Greg Rucka sure as hell deserves better
Now if you’re at all a fan of Frank Miller’s DAREDEVIL work, including the creation of Elektra, you probably gave this book a look-see when Brian Bendis gave it a high-profile launch some months back. I did, and I was disappointed too. It was some of Bendis’ least-inspired writing, and the stiff CGI artwork, as one friend put it, looked like it was “painted on a carpet.” Okay, but just put that inauspicious debut behind you now. It doesn’t have any bearing on the current book, and all you need know is that Elektra is once again plying her mercenary trade in the Marvel Universe. Writer Greg Rucka is taking the book in new directions and the new artist, Carlo Pagulayan, doesn’t truck with no CGI carpet-art.
The current story began last issue, which was a surprisingly fascinating look at Elektra having trouble finding a job of all things (strange circumstances having discredited her as an assassin). It sounds like a joke, but Rucka made it serious business as this woman who literally lives for violence, for the satisfaction of the kill, found herself stymied at every turn. What does a person like that do with all her pent up energy? You don’t wanna know. Well…actually, you do, and I recommend tracking down that issue (#11) to get in on this story from the start.
Issue #12 is the intense follow-up, as we learn who’s responsible for Elektra’s inability to find work, why he wants revenge, and the strange means by which he intends to exact this revenge. Revealing more would spoil the plot, but I can say that what really grabbed me about the story was Rucka’s willingness to boldly paint Elektra as a cold-blooded murderer. She’s a hired killer who’s always had a sympathetic side, if only because of her love for Daredevil, and yet she’s as brutal as Daredevil’s most famous foe, Bullseye, with scores of hits to her name. How can readers continue to sympathize with her? And should they? These are the difficult questions Rucka’s story is asking, and while it’s hard to imagine that level of intensity being maintained on a monthly basis, Rucka’s hooked me at least for the time being with a mere two issues. Not too shabby.
After that strong endorsement of the writing, I wish I could say Carlo Pagulayan’s art is equally stunning, but alas, it’s merely quite good. Pagulayan strikes me as one of those artists who, like Sal Buscema, will rarely be cited as someone’s “favorite”, but he knows his storytelling, has an appealing realistic style, and shows a particular knack for subtle facial expressions. This is the kind of artist I find myself increasingly appreciative of as stylists like Jae Lee and Ashley Wood, neither of whom seem to give a lick about drawing convincing settings, become increasingly popular. Also, Pagulayan’s take on Elektra is very down to earth and human, a thankfully far cry from Greg Horn’s fetishistic covers.
Final judgment: Greg Rucka’s excellent miniseries, ELEKTRA & WOLVERINE: THE REDEEMER, proved that Rucka could find the balance between keeping Elektra enigmatic and mysterious and simultaneously allowing readers to get inside her head. This is a very tricky juggling act, and one I feel even Elektra’s creator, Frank Miller, couldn’t pull off. Miller’s Elektra was an unknowable femme fatale, more a foil for Daredevil than a fully-realized character in her own right. You can argue that that’s all she ever should’ve been, but I think Rucka’s ELEKTRA/WOLVERINE miniseries puts the lie to that argument. The miniseries found an approach that makes her fascinating to watch without compromising her as some sort of dark hero, and Rucka continues that approach in the ongoing monthly. I recommend both.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: “Reunion”
Story – Jane Espenson
Art – Various
Published by Dark Horse Comics
Reviewed by Village Idiot
What’s this one called?
“Reunion”
Who’s responsible?
Jane Espenson, an actual writer from the BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER TV show.
Wait a minute – what the hell is this? Who the hell are you? You’re not Hercules!
That’s right. I’m AICN Comics’ Village Idiot! And I’m brazenly ripping off Hercules’ reviewing format because I believe that’s what you’d be most comfortable with.
I see. Thanks for respecting my needs. What does TV Guide say?
TV Guide doesn’t say jack about “Reunion.” This is a comic book.
What does Hercules say about “Reunion”?
“[I]t’s an entertaining read from a great writer who pretty much sat out the second half of the season just past.”
Is Herc right?
Yes, but only if “entertaining read” is interpreted as faint praise. “Reunion” was okay. I suppose if you’re really hankering for Buffy material, it will serve in a pinch. But I probably won’t be passing along this issue to my sister. You know, my sister with the Spike wallpaper on her computer...
What’s it about?
Xander, Anya, and Dawn share speculative stories about the reunion between Buffy and Angel last season. This was the meeting referred to on ANGEL, which took place off camera in that magical place between UPN and the WB (Steve Harvey’s house?). But as the Scoobies tell their stories, they begin to learn that each tale shares a similar disturbing element. And I’m not talking about David Boreanaz’s hair.
Do the characters look like they do on the show?
Yes, but they do to a greater or lesser degree throughout the book. Each version of Buffy and Angel’s rendezvous, plus the “real-life” where Xander, Anya and Dawn are telling the stories, is rendered by a different artist. The real-life stuff has that “traced from photos,” Steve Lieber look to it, while the imagined stories have different cartoonier styles.
Do the characters act like they do on the show?
Yeah. Xander is goofy, Dawn is girlie, and Anya is daft. Actually, Anya was kinda funny and she was one of the best things about this comic.
So do we find out what really happened with Buffy and Angel’s reunion?
Of course not, silly. However, Anya’s version of the reunion begins to have a ring of truth to it that I think may reflect the way the writers think it may have actually gone down.
What’s good?
Like I said, Anya is pretty funny. Also, Buffy puts a fire-extinguisher to excellent use. As a comic sui generis, it tells a cohesive, interesting story (albeit without a lot of energy). The idea of the plot had merit, and the story does come together in the end. And I actually dug Paul Lee and Brian Horton’s traced art. Overall, the book was mildly entertaining.
What’s not so good?
The book is only mildly entertaining. Like I said, low energy and no real high points.
Further, it’s still hard not to hold BUFFY the comic to a very high standard: BUFFY the show. And in the case of “Reunion,” it didn’t really meet it. The story felt rushed in comparison to what we’re used to; consequently, the depth of characterization wasn’t really there. Moreover, nothing is really learned from this issue; no new character territory has been explored. Even Anya’s story (the one that I thought reflected how the meeting might have actually happened) felt all too familiar. “Reunion” merely punctuated BUFFY season six, about 17 episodes too late. Again, if you’re jonesing for Buffy, it might do, but it feels like a cheap fix.
And there was one other annoying thing: when the Scoobies are telling their stories, all of them “see” the same story as a visual experience and even comment on aspects of it like their watching a movie together. And yet no one comments on the fact that this shared visual experience is happening in the first place.
How does it end, Spoiler-Boy?
With an ad for Star Wars Legos. Seeing this little Lego Obi-Wan surrounded by Lego Clone Troopers is pretty funny. Never has the struggle against the dark forces of the Empire seemed so adorable.
I meant the story, jackass. How does the story end?
Willow has a flashback of her own.
Thanks, that’s great. That’s about as useless as Hercules’ end-of-the-review spoilers.
What is Village Idiot’s rating for BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: “Reunion,” via the Hercules T. Strong 5 point rating system?
**1/2
I am – Village Idiot!! Please, not the face!
THE CASTAWAYS
Writer: Rob Vollmar
Artist: Pablo G. Callejo
Publisher: Absence of Ink Comic Press
Reviewed by Cormorant
Break out that dust-gathering copy of the O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU soundtrack, my friends, or better yet, see if you can rustle up some old-school Johnny Cash music. We need some heartfelt songs about trains and hobos and The Great Depression, ‘cause those are all central elements to THE CASTAWAYS, a gem of a one-shot that you shouldn’t be afraid of just because the art has that intimidating R. Crumb look to it at a glance.
Y’see, “at a glance” is the bane of the comic book industry, just as it’s the bane of any creative industry. And I’m as guilty of it as anyone. We dismiss the stuff that, at a glance, is unfamiliar to us. We look for the shiny, repackaged versions of the same stories we’ve read or seen a hundred times over, missing out on the truly original projects because we don’t want to take the risk on an unknown quantity. And let’s face it, if you’ve got fairly mainstream tastes like I do, you’re a little creeped out by stuff that has the rough-hewn “indie” look to it, that stuff that’s more influenced by underground 60’s comics than the works of Jack Kirby. Sometime in the early 90’s, though, mainstream comics hit just about rock bottom, and I was forced to venture a little beyond the mainstream if I wanted to read good comics. This led to some wonderful discoveries, like BONE and CONCRETE and USAGI YOJIMBO, many of which practically were mainstream – they just didn’t fit the capes ‘n’ tights notion of “mainstream” that only holds true in the funnybook biz. Jump ahead to 2002 and mainstream books are once again gaining steam, winning me back in a big way, but I still keep one foot firmly planted in indie-ville. As such, I feel uniquely suited to informing my mainstream brethren of some of the more offbeat projects that they might should look into.
THE CASTAWAYS is such a project. Set in the lean year of 1932, it’s the story of a kid named Tucker who’s driven to run away from home at the age of thirteen when his hard-hearted aunt convinces him that he’s not pulling his weight. One minute he’s catching crawdads with his younger brothers, the next he’s being told, “If you’ve got a bit of sense and any kind of Christian raising, you’ll be a man about this and slip off without raising no fuss.” Terrified, he still takes her words to heart, and sneaks off that night looking to hop a freight train at the same bend his missing father once pegged as the ideal spot to hitch a ride.
It’s a dark premise, but those were dark times. What keeps the book from slipping too far into gloom is the introduction of an aging, black hobo named Elijah. If this were a movie, I’ve no doubt he’d be portrayed by Morgan Freeman, because he projects the sort of wise, paternal qualities Freeman is so often associated with. And what Elijah does is give Tucker a primer on what it means to live life on the road, including a fascinating breakdown on the social hierarchy of the destitute (hobos on top, tramps below ‘em, and bums at rock bottom). This is the stuff that really fascinated me, this glimpse into a world that certainly existed, but seems utterly alien unless you’ve lived it. Through Elijah, writer Rob Vollmar takes an unpleasant reality and overlays it with some of the excitement and discovery of a good road trip story, evoking more than a little of the spirit of Mark Twain along the way. I will say that there are times when the book leans towards sentimentalism of the type seen in movies like THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (not coincidentally, a Morgan Freeman flick), but when you consider that tens of thousands of children and teenagers really found themselves wandering, homeless across America during the Great Depression, is it really so hard to imagine there would be moments of integrity and even nobility?
The visuals on the book are something special, too, though the realist in me knows their stylized nature will almost certainly scare some readers off if they only consider them “at a glance.” As mentioned before, the art by Pablo Callejo has something of the scratchy, textured look of the work of the ultimate underground artist, Robert Crumb. Even a supposedly open-minded guy like myself was a little hesitant to give the book more than a flip-through. But if one truly appreciates the possibilities of comic books, one has to be open-minded to the possibilities of exaggeration and cartooniness, and sometimes that means books that don’t have the sleek veneer of a George Perez or a Bryan Hitch. What Callejo’s woodcut-inspired art has going for it is a wild level of detail that gives his characters and settings a three-dimensionality that’s almost tactile. His faces aren’t pretty, but they’re expressive and moody in their cartooniness, and I defy anyone to argue that they don’t capture both the sorrow and pride seen in Depression-era photographs. Oddly enough, considering the subject matter, I also found that the Callejo’s art gave me a longing for that bleak era. I’ve no doubt I’d be chewed up and spit out were I actually transported back to the Depression, but Callejo’s beautiful half-toned artwork also reminds you of the beauty of the American countryside, how a hobo camp can seem inviting, and why hitching freight trains has an almost romantic appeal. Check out some of the detailed sample pages from Absence of Ink’s website for a hint of what I’m talking about: http://www.onypsus.com/absenceofink/castaway.htm
Final judgment: Unless you read superheroes and superheroes alone, this heartfelt one-shot absolutely deserves a look, and I do mean more than a casual-glance-and-then-put-it-back. THE CASTAWAYS is both a dark and affectionate glimpse at one of the most fascinating eras in American history, with realistic dialogue and many a memorable scene. It’s also surprisingly sweet, and I mean that in the David Lynch’s THE STRAIGHT STORY way, not the cloying Disney way. If it were a movie, I have no doubt it’d find an audience, but as a comic you might have to do a little looking for it. Any good comic store should be able to order it for you, even if they didn’t stock it initially, or you can nab it straight from the publisher: http://www.onypsus.com/absenceofink/order.htm At a reasonable $5.95, this is a damn nice graphic novella.
Title: HAWKMAN #5
Writer: Geoff Johns/James Robinson
Penciler: Rags Morales
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
Last year, comic fans were treated to the return of Ollie Queen - AKA Green Arrow - into current continuity, and sales went through the roof. A talented creator took a character who hadn’t seen the light of day for years and made him cool again. A year passes and DC decides to try it again. This time they don’t go after big name Hollywood talent for the revamp. They sign on the best writing team in the super hero biz to bring a convoluted and long absent character back into the forefront. “The Return of Hawkman” story arc from the pages of JSA was highly popular, well written, and brought Carter Hall back as the Winged Warrior. I imagine the higher ups at DC were licking their lips, thinking they had another successful revamp on their hands. They brought in a talented writing team, Geoff Johns (who currently writes two of DC’s best comics, JSA and THE FLASH), and James Robinson (from the critically acclaimed and Ambush Bug Approved series, STARMAN) and hired talented artist, Rags Morales to draw the whole thing. And HAWKMAN was unleashed again.
The story so far: Hawkman and Hawkgirl are winged adventurers harnessing the power of the mysterious Nth metal to defy gravity. They are one of the oldest characters in DC stable of heroes. If you cut through the bullshit, their real story goes like this: Every time a HAWKMAN series fails to please the comic book crowd, the creators kill them off or take them out of continuity. The characters are then revamped by a new creator with a new take. Because of this, the Hawks’ history is about as labyrinthine as an origin can get. They are said to be the victims of reincarnation, but in actuality, the Hawks are destined to be reborn over and over again until sales are good.
So the series has one strike against it before issue one. Fans already scratch their head when they look at the series, wondering which Hawkman they are going to encounter. Johns and Robinson are attempting to do the impossible. They want to make Hawkman accessible again. They are taking the best elements of past incarnations and melding them into one definitive character. The Ultimate Hawkman, if you will.
Johns and Robinson’s Carter Hall is a man who has lived many lives. He was once an Egyptian prince who traveled to Thanagar and had a few adventures there. He fought Nazis as a masked mystery man alongside the JSA during WWII. And it was revealed a few issues into the current HAWKMAN series that Carter was also an African American slave in one of his past lives. This revelation in particular definitely needs to be delved into deeper.
One thing that has always been a constant in HAWKMAN stories is that the two Hawks have been together and in love. Well, this time it’s different. Hawkgirl is a twenty-year-old rebel in search of her parent’s killers and doesn’t remember any of her past lives with Carter. Hawkman has been reborn as a thirty-year-old with his memories intact and expects Hawkgirl to resume their relationship where they left off. Being the fickle bird that she is, Hawkgirl ain’t havin’ it. This is the driving conflict of the series and it is a good one. It is a complex plot that has no easy answers and will require a lot of characterization and development for a resolution to occur.
Robinson and Johns have put together a complex story of relationships and history. After hearing the premise, I was more excited than ever to give HAWKMAN a shot. So what happened? Why isn’t this book flying off the shelves as if its staples were made of Nth Metal? Well, there are numerous reasons why this series fails to impress those flocking to read FLASH and JSA and it took HAWKMAN #5’s appearance by last year’s revamp, Green Arrow, to point them out.
First off, the series is extremely serious. Hawkman is seriously in love with Hawkgirl and is seriously obsessed with getting back together. Hawkgirl is seriously angry about her parents death and seriously annoyed with the fact that this guy blinks in out of nowhere and claims to know her right down to the birthmark of Whistler’s Mother on her right ass cheek. The book’s a real downer to read because there is no one present that acts as a normal person would in these situations. I’m not talking about throwing G’nort in as a supporting character to lighten things up, but the book needs a human element. An element that, up to this point, the Hawks are not showing. I’m sure these elements are in the characters of Kendra and Carter, but there isn’t a character present to bring it out of them.
That’s why the Green Arrow’s appearance works so well in this issue. Ollie makes my job easy when it comes to reviewing this title. He points out everything that is wrong with the series so far. Ollie is all human. Too human. He calls Hawkman out and throws his superior attitude and barbaric views on relationships into the bird brain’s face. And Hawkman doesn’t like it. That’s the kind of conflict that makes Hawkman interesting. It’s the kind of characterization that doesn’t come from ominous rooftop poses or bashing the bad guy’s face in with a mace.
Ollie also points out another flaw with the title. We have not seen Hawkman without his mask since the series began. It’s all Hawkman and no Carter Hall. Maybe that says something about the character, but to the reader, this makes Hawkman one-dimensional. They say Carter is an archeologist, but I haven’t seen him “archaeologize” anything. He’s just flying around, swinging his mace, wearing his heart on his sleeve (which is hard since he flies around shirtless most of the time). Ollie says that he has heard from others that Carter is not such a stiff authoritarian without the mask, but like the reader, Ollie has never seen it. That headgear has got to be pretty gamey by now. Who knows how interesting the character could be without it?
Another problematic aspect is that the series is hanging on this conflict between Hawkman and Hawkgirl. This book starts out like most sitcoms do, centering around a possible relationship between the two main characters. Sitcom history tells us that once this relationship is fulfilled and the central conflict is gone, so goes the interest. Pardon me while I switch mediums, but the TV show “Moonlighting” is the perfect example of this. David and Maddie were fascinating characters when they were fighting each other and their own feelings for one another while trying to solve cases, but when they got together, the series went to shit. Let’s hope that HAWKMAN won’t follow suit.
I first encountered Rags Morales’ art on another title with a winged warrior, BLACK CONDOR. He is an artist who has been around for a while, but has not become a mega-star yet and I have no idea why. He has a clean and distinct style. His characters are not all shaped the same. They don’t look like interchangeable posers. Their poses are realistic and full of energy. He draws a mean set of wings and has a good eye for “camera angles”. It takes someone with real talent to make a guy with a chicken on his head look cool. Rags does it.
I’m still rooting for this book. Having Ollie point out the flaws in this series tells me that Johns and Robinson know what is wrong with the title. Hopefully, they will be able to rectify past mistakes and save this series having acknowledged this. The Green Arrow appearance in issue #5 will be sure to give the series a boost in readership, but if these problems persist, these readers will leave the book behind when the appearance is over.
Everything is in place for this book to be a success. The title’s premise is strong. Rags makes the characters visually interesting and iconic. He’s doing his job right. Given the fact that Hawkman and Hawkgirl have numerous past lives to draw interesting stories from, the series has a lot of potentially cool stories ahead (especially an elaboration on the Hawkman as an African American slave subplot that was hinted at in issue #4). Robinson and Johns are two industry creators who respect and draw upon comic book history. This type of creator is becoming harder and harder to find these days. The series may have had a rocky start, but if HAWKMAN #5 is any indication to where this series is headed, I think good things are ahead for this title.
THE BIRTH CAUL
Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell
Eddie Campbell Comics
Reviewed by Lizzybeth
I try to remember here that many AICN readers know nothing about comics, which means I should be recounting certain things that most people like me take for granted. One of these is that Alan Moore is a master of the comic/graphic novel form, perhaps THE master of the modern era. You see, we comic book fans tend to stop praising Moore after awhile, because it's just so obvious. It's kind of like saying, "gee, Einstein was smart, wasn't he?" or, "hey, hear any of those Beatles records?" Moore has tackled nearly every style of comic in his years with us, from fantasy to history to crime. He did the definitive Batman/Joker story in "The Killing Joke", and the last superhero story I ever needed to read in "Watchmen". He single-handedly writes an entire line of comics and can actually call them "America’s Best" with a straight face. We know he is a giant of the industry, and this is how, occasionally, while we attempt to turn the spotlight to other deserving creators, some of Moore's most interesting creations can be overlooked. In 1999, a 48 page one-shot called The Birth Caul was released to little fanfare. Maybe it suggested a little more of Moore's mystic side than people were comfortable with, or its origin made it seem irrelevant; regardless, I recommend you check it out.
The Birth Caul is not a comic book, not really. It was originally a spoken-word performance given by Moore to an English audience in 1995. Eddie Campbell (of the excellent Bauhaus) was present at this performance, and was inspired to illustrate it. The Birth Caul is a long, exhausting monologue, and you can almost hear Moore reading it to a silent audience. (You could literally hear him reading it on the album release. I have not heard this myself, but would be interested in comparing the two works.) Now, I am skeptical of efforts to mine an author's outside-comics work (are we so desperate for content that we'll transcribe every viable property, especially if it has name-recognition?) and I was in a way relieved to see that the Birth Caul does not pretend to be what it is not. It does not attempt a seamless translation to comic form, which would have been a disaster; Campbell takes a much stranger approach, choosing to put us in the audience of that original performance. It is still a speech transcribed, with images to paint the picture that our own minds could have created from the power of his words…if, that is, one was as imaginative as Eddie Campbell. The images seem at first entirely superfluous, even annoying, as you follow the captions like bread crumbs to keep the speech flowing. But amazingly, the narrative pulls the reader in closer and closer, the artwork subtly putting us first in the audience (where we see a sigil-covered Moore speaking from an imposing lectern), and slowly moving deep into the mind of the speaker, and from there to anywhere he wishes to take us. Campbell does some of his finest collaborative work here, surpassing in many ways his artwork for Moore's From Hell. It's an impressive accomplishment for him.
Moore is a powerful figure in this book, appearing as himself (or as the ghost of himself that every writer invents to speak for him) and telling a somewhat autobiographical story of intimate detail, that begins with the discovery of his mother's preserved birth caul, and hands itself back in time from death (his mother's) to birth (his own). In between he describes a life of crushing ordinariness and quiet tragedy. Moore himself refers to The Birth Caul as a "shamanism of childhood", and it does have a great way of capturing the feel of the very young, and of describing the mysteries of beginnings, thoughts, time. You will either want to read this in one sitting or put it aside after a few pages - but don't do it. Read, go away, come back, read. The story only grows in power, and exhausts you, until the final benediction releases you. Okay, I have been known to overstate myself a little (stop laughing), but comics like this make me want to pretend I'm poetic. I'm just astonished by the way this graphic format can accommodate such different approaches and subject matter, and that it does it regularly. Just as astonishing is the way Alan Moore can continue to put out such fascinating material year after year, in any format he likes.
Final Word: Whether you will like this book probably depends on whether you prefer a restrained or unrestrained Alan Moore. Here, he is ponderous, wordy, full of important ideas, and some folks would prefer him chained to a more familiar and structured format. Others, I will be handing this book to with encouragement.
RUSE # 9
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Butch Guice, Mike Perkins, Laura DePuy
Published by CrossGen
Reviewed by Buzz Maverik
Is it possible that the artwork for the cover of RUSE # 9 was inspired not only by the work of SATURDAY EVENING POST/ Arrow shirt ad/ Chesterfield Cigarette ad artist J.C. Leyendecker (1874-1951), but by the work of AICN's own Cartuna as well?
Because on this cover, the RUSE detectives, Simon Archard and Emma Bishop, are dead ringers for Leyendecker's Arrow Shirt man and one of his admiring women. But the character in the middle, although in drag, looks startlingly similar to a certain redhaired, bearded and bespectacled website founder/best-selling author/ film geek/ media god subject favored by the great Cartuna.
Could it be that RUSE artist Butch Guice and crew are AICN fans, and are perhaps reading these very words? If so, then they must be told that they are doing the best monthly comic book art on the stands these days. And while the central character on the RUSE cover does not resemble the depiction of the same character inside the book, you will find page after page of great and beautiful visuals, many in double page spreads like the great adventure comic strips by Milton Caniff. The characters are all expressive and realistic, except that they look better than real people do. There's a lawyer who must have been modeled on actor Robbie Coltrane, and you perverts can add three more names to the list of Guice's gorgeous RUSE female characters: the scheming Oxford-Collins sisters and the cult priestess Yrodyne, whom Emma Bishop calls "...a poetic soul. An annoyingly poetic soul".
RUSE is a book that could be enjoyed for the art alone...except that Mark Waid's writing is so excellent that one could buy the book just for the story. Or you could buy it just for the often hilarious, always witty dialogue. Except for when Kevin Smith has Batman talking to Superman, when was the last time you considered buying a comic book on the basis of the dialogue?
I hate spoilers. I hate reviews that give away stories. All that I'm going to tell you is that Simon Archard's former partner and arch-nemesis, Lightbourne, is on the loose. Since Lightbourne is the Professor Moriarty of RUSE, there's another point of interest for those of us at AICN. Simon and Emma have to solve a murder and theft that takes place -- and here's where the book comes close to losing me -- at a gargoyle hunt. Why do they have to throw in stupid fantasy elements like living gargoyles flying around? Aren't British fox hunts stupid enough? Yeah, I know CrossGen equals Crossed Genres, but isn't crossing Victorian detectives with Depression-era newspaper comics good enough? It is for me.
I just substitute the word "fox" for "gargoyle" and mentally picture bats or pigeons or some other flying rodent when they show the damned gargoyles. That way, RUSE remains the best book available right now.
And that hirsute redhead in a frock on the cover? A bearded lady midget with some really great, pithy dialogue. Now, if that isn't reason enough to buy RUSE # 9, I don't know what is.
Ambush Bug here with another @$$hole Casting Couch. This week, we journey into the world of mystery and mysticism. Let’s enter the Sanctum Sanctorum and cast a DR. STRANGE film. A talented director is needed to tell this tale of an alcoholic surgeon who redeems himself as the most powerful sorcerer on the planet. Clive Barker (HELLRAISER, LORD OF ILLUSIONS) should dust off that director’s chair he used to sit in and helm this bad boy. The story of Doctor Stephen Strange is full of fantasy, horror, heroism, and human drama. Barker’s films have dealt with trips through the unknown and attempts at redemption. Sounds like a perfect match to me. By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth, Talkbackers, it’s time to cast DOCTOR STRANGE, SORCERER SUPREME!
Doctor Stephen Strange: Rufus Sewell (DARK CITY) looks like he has seen things a normal man wouldn’t even dream of and has the acting chops to be a perfect Sorcerer Supreme.
Clea: Naomi Watts (MULLHOLLAND DRIVE) has that innocence thing going for her, but she’s also got a little fire behind those beautiful eyes. I think she’d be good as Dormammu’s heir who falls for the good doctor.
The Ancient One: Strange’s all powerful mentor should be played by the gruff older actor, Mako (CONAN THE BARBARIAN, the voice of Aku on SAMURAI JACK).
BD Wong (OZ, LAW & ORDER) would give humanity and honor to the role of Wong, Dr. Strange’s answer to Alfred the Butler.
Baron Mordo: Strange’s arch nemesis should ooze with jealousy and rage. Sean Bean (GOLDENEYE, LORD OF THE RINGS) has all of those qualities and more.
The Dread Dormammu has to be CGI. This Ruler of the Dark Dimension should be larger than life with a computerized voice that is more like a swarm of hornets than that of a Hollywood talent. We’d save Satannish for the sequel.
Let’s not forget Rhintrah the Minotaur, Strange’s mystic apprentice. This character would have to be CGI too, but his voice should convey humility, insecurity, and sincerity. John C. Reilly (MAGNOLIA, BOOGIE NIGHTS) has all of that in his voice alone.
This week’s super special guest caster is Jon Quixote. So let’s polish off that Eye of Agamotto and see who he picked.
Dr. Strange: Kenneth Branagh
Baron Mordo: Gary Oldman
Ancient One: Some old Asian dude.
Clea: Kate Beckinsale
Wong: John Goodman
Rintrah: Jenna Jameson
As always, I invite you all to agree, disagree, tear us a new one, or put together your own cast. I’m sure every @$$hole in the Talkbacks has an opinion or two. What are they?
