100 Bullets: Brother Lono #8 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (story), Eduardo Risso (art)

The Story: The better question is who doesn’t die at the end of the issue?

The Review: I’ve come to expect the unexpected when it comes to Azzarello’s comics, but one thing I never expect from him is a happy ending.  Not that he’s incapable of delivering one—Wonder Woman #18 ended on a hopeful note, at least—but it just doesn’t seem to be part of his makeup.  Even if it was, it certainly wouldn’t seem to fit into the pervasive grimness of Brother Lono.  This series has been a lot of things, but sentimental is not one of them.

This final issue is still bleak, though, even for Lono.  I’m not just talking about the gruesome outbreak of violence, which is only to be expected once our protagonist decided that the gloves should come off.  Spoiler alert—while the orphanage is ultimately saved, the price paid by all the major characters makes the victory feel a bit hollow.  Cesar and Paulo are dead, Manny is blinded, June (a.k.a. agent Linda May) gravely wounded, and Lono is back on the hell train.

100 Bullets: Brother Lono #7 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (story), Eduardo Risso (art)

The Story: Cortez gives new meaning to “The truth will set you free.”

The Review: While I’m not the most religious person in the world—I may love the word “bitch” a little too much—I think it’s relevant to point out that in most other respects, I’m fairly devoted to my Catholicism.  As such, I feel qualified in saying that Brother Lono has been admirably nuanced in its depiction of the Church and of Father Manny, in particular.  Manny is no saint, but he is a man who sincerely tries to act on his deeply-held beliefs.

Like many people of faith, Manny struggles most in situations where he must balance the value of human life against his own moral integrity, and like many of people of faith, he chooses to compromise himself to save the lives of others.  In this case, lying about lying to persuade Cortez to release Lono, in itself a measure to save Cortez and his men from Lono’s wrath, does more than add a venial sin to Manny’s heavenly docket; it also puts him at Cortez’s mercy, which makes him vulnerable to further, probably worse, temptations.

100 Bullets: Brother Lono #6 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (story), Eduardo Risso (art)

The Story: Lono has his own temptation in the desert.

The Review: This just tells you how much I take comments to heart, but I still remember the somewhat vitriolic reaction one JamesLM had when, in my review of Wonder Woman #8, I compared Azzarello’s writing to Earnest Hemingway’s.  What I was talking about, of course, was the sparseness of their writing styles, not their respective literary brilliance.  If you must know, I still believe Azzarello has one of the most effective minimalist writing styles around.

I think more than a lot of writers in the comic book biz, Azzarello appreciates that one’s choice of words can convey meaning that is independent of their actual substance.  For people like me, whose life’s work is the parsing of words to find the layers of meaning within, there’s nothing better than reading over what seems like an inconsequential, passing moment, and realizing how important it is to the story’s development.

100 Bullets: Brother Lono #5 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (story), Eduardo Risso (art)

The Story: Lono learns that turning the other cheek is not all it’s cracked up to be.

The Review: As much as Christianity has become a religion of peace, love, and compassion, its Old Testament origins were hardly strangers to the notion of violence.  Two verses are particularly appropriate.  Deuteronomy 20:12 advises, “However, if [a city] does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it.”  And of course, Ecclesiastes 3:8 admits that there’s “[a] time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.”*

But you don’t need biblical support to navigate the moral quandaries that confront Lono in this issue, as he receives a vision of Christ Himself.  Whether this is a true spiritual experience or merely the manifestation of Lono’s subconscious turmoil, when God purports to speak, you listen and figure out what He’s saying.  Christ, suspended from the cross, asks Lono for help, but rebukes him when Lono begins removing the nails.

“We all have our roles in life,” He explains to the confused smoter.  “Mine is to die for you.  Yours is to kill me.”  But when Lono exclaims at the idea that he’s his Lord’s murderer, Christ replies, “You think very highly of yourself, don’t you?  You’re not that important…  And you’re not alone.”

What this seems to be leading to, of course, is a situation where Lono would be forced to test his resolve to remain on the better path against direct and unavoidable threats, perhaps quite literally, as you see Cráneo bearing down on Lono in an SUV.  Even Father Manny foresees such a scenario and implies that “trust” (which is a handy stand-in for faith) alone may not be the right response.  When he asks if Lono go back to the way he was “before, given the right circumstances,” he’s clearly alluding to the biblical conditions for violence I mentioned earlier.  Even though he quickly berates himself for making such an suggestion, it lingers on, begging the question of what circumstances would be the right ones.

100 Bullets: Brother Lono #4 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (story), Eduardo Risso (art)

The Story: Holy land, shmoley land—let’s make some drugs!

The Review: Without naming names or calling any particular group to task, have you ever noticed how often the most overtly self-righteous people end up behaving as if they’re none of those things?  One minute, they’ll rant about everything going wrong with the world and the next, they become part of the problem.  Principles without hypocrisy are a rare thing, hard evidence of the difficulty of rising above human fallibility when one is in fact human.

For exactly those reasons, Father Manny’s religious convictions drive far more of the series’ tension than perhaps you gave him credit for.  He may have had to accept certain ugly realities to preserve his church, but there’s no doubt that of all the characters, he has the most sincere desire to do the right thing.  Even though Paulo left of his own accord, and his mistakes afterward are entirely his own, Manny still blames himself for how his adoptive son has turned out and, of all things, begs forgiveness from someone who spits on his shoe.

100 Bullets: Brother Lono #3 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (story), Eduardo Risso (art)

The Story: This’ll make the kids think twice before they ever eat vegetables again.

The Review: One of my creative writing professors used to tell his classes that every story is actually two stories: one about what happens—the plot—and the other about what it means—the message.  With most stories, it’s usually easier to catch on to the plot first, whereas the message reveals itself over time.  Some writers get so fixated with the ongoing action that they neglect an overarching purpose entirely, what I call a lack of direction.

The unusual thing about Brother Lono is we have a case where we already know what the series is leading up to—Lono’s redemption, if such a thing is possible—but we still don’t know exactly what plot will get us there.  Azzarello spent the first two issues establishing the bleak setting and the equally grim cast of characters, giving us a very general sense of the story’s tension.  We know life is essentially a drag in this part of Mexico, and the Twin Towers are behind it somewhere, but nothing more specific than that.

100 Bullets: Brother Lono #2 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (story), Eduardo Risso (art)

The Story: Serving the poorest orphans of an impoverished city—sounds like a great gig.

The Review: It’s one of those odd quirks of humanity that some of the unrepentant criminals have the greatest dedication to their faiths.  In my line of work, I’ve encountered gang members who have already settled upon a lifetime of sex, drugs, and violence—the trifecta!—and yet will decry harm against a priest, or pray during moments of crisis, or even continue attending church.  It’s this strange intersection of religion and sin that reveals the power of faith.

Azzarello seems intent on exploring this intersection, and unlike many of his peers, who would rather oversimplify that tension into one of pure hypocrisy, he clearly plans to give us a more complicated view of how one might abide by religious principle in a place that has no care for it.  Why else would he choose for his protagonists a priest who takes bribes, a nun who’s beautiful and knows it, and a wannabe monk who must continually put himself in prison to stay straight?

Many of us might question the sincerity and point of Lono’s attempt at a life of faith, especially those of you who’ve seen his grisly exploits in the original 100 Bullets.  This seems to reveal more about ourselves and our own notions of what can be forgiven than anything else.  There’s no doubt that Lono is plagued not only by his past, but by his nature as well; he can’t seem to help going into a bar, checking out the hotties, and stirring up potential fights.  From his wake-up in a jail cell last issue, this seems to be a regular occurrence—so why bother trying?

100 Bullets: Brother Lono #1 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (story), Eduardo Risso (art)

The Story: Can you really repent when you’re still in the middle of your latest sin?

The Review: Some might say it’s a bit cocky, even foolhardy, to read a spin-off without having ever read the original series it actually spun off from.  What can I say?  Call me a fictional daredevil.  I sort of enjoy flinging myself into unknown situations and seeing if I can get a handle on them just by reading the circumstances.  What’s possibly more reprehensible is the fact that to date, I still have not read 100 Bullets, which I gather is rather seminal comics reading.

So yes, while that fact is enough to make me a terrible person, I must point out that it’s not entirely certain that having read 100 Bullets would necessarily make reading this series any more enlightening.*  The first issue of Brother Lono by and large functions pretty well on its own.  Azzarello steeps us completely in the heartless, violent world these characters exist in, and while he makes some introductions more effectively than others, you certainly have no problem sorting out the relationships among the cast.

Spaceman #6 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Eduardo Risso (art), Trish Mulvihill (colors), Clem Robins (letters), Mark Doyle & Will Dennis (editors)

The Story: Everyone is trying to get Orson and “save” the little girl they think he has kidnapped.

Recap/Review: There are two things really impeding my enjoyment of this issue (and series).  Sorry to say, they’re both art related problems.  From the strict standpoint of aesthetics, I love Eduardo Risso’s artwork.  He works with dark spaces so well, does wonderful eyes and cartoons enough with his characters that I can tell what they’re up to.  But, this issue brought a nagging issue to a head.  Namely, I can’t easily identify two of the main characters in many scenes.  The first problem is with differentiating Tara (the kidnapped little girl) from all the other street-urchins that Orson (the Spaceman) hangs around with.  They’re all small, light of frame and brown skinned with floppy black hair.  In a many panels, I just can’t locate Tara and thus can’t really tell if it is Tara speaking OR one of the other kids.  Would it have killed them to give some of these kids distinctive tattoos or earrings…or maybe make one wear sunglasses all the time…or wear their hair in a pink Mohawk?  Tara is an important character and I couldn’t pick her out of a line-up.

Spaceman #3 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Eduardo Risso (art), Trish Mulvihill, Clem Robins (letters), Mark Doyle & Will Dennis (editors), Dave Johnson (cover)

The Story: Now that our titular “spaceman” has rescued the little girl, he has to figure out what to do with her.

Five Things: 

1. The nuspeak is very cleverly done. – The nuspeak adds a LOT of flavor to Spaceman.  Not only is it a subtle way to make it clear on every page that THIS world is not OUR world, but it also leaves a lot to the imagination.  For example, the characters often use the phrase “braining” to mean “thinking”.  But, consider how many synonyms we have for “thinking”: considering, concentrating, speculating, etc.  They all mean roughly the same thing, but not exactly the same thing.  So, when Azzarello uses a word like “braining” he creates a mushy spot for our imagination to work and we get to speculate on what precisely he means.  It’s like in a prose novel where you guess what characters look like or sound like.  Lots of creators feel like they need to show/tell us everything, but comics are always better when they invite the reader to use their imagination to fill in some intentional gaps.

2. Seeing another Spaceman gives it an Elephantmen vibe. – Towards the end of this issue, another Spaceman pops up and he’s clearly taken a very different path in life since whatever “event” changed this world.  Our protagonist is POOR and seeks out a living digging up things from sunken downtown areas.  The other Spaceman seems wealthy and willing to use his genetic advantages to his benefit.  Clearly these two characters have a past and it reminds me a LOT of the dynamics among the central characters in the Elephantmen series (which is outstanding).

3. Things look bleak for our protagonist. – Maybe it’s a little telegraphed, but the protagonist’s plan (Hide the kidnapped girl at your home until it’s “safe”) isn’t going to work well.  But, even though it is telegraphed, our protagonist doesn’t seem that intelligent, so you kinda cringe the whole time as he’s making what is surely a big mistake.  “GAH!  The dimwitted spaceman kidnapped the little girl!  Did he touch her!?!”

Spaceman #2 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Eduardo Risso (art), Trish Mulvihill, Clem Robins (letters), Mark Doyle & Will Dennis (editors), Dave Johnson (cover)

The Story: Our titular spaceman get’s tangled up in a kidnapping plot while having semi-explanatory flashbacks to the past.

Five Things: 

1. Story is starting to round into shape. – Last issue spent most of its time establishing the basic atmosphere of this semi-dystopian, quasi-post-apocalyptic future world.  Here we start to really get into the meat of the story as Orson, our central “spaceman”, stumbles upon a little girl who has been kidnapped while picking for junk out on the open ocean.  It looks like there’ll be a bit of an odd-couple vibe: Hulking spaceman who is a societal outcast protecting little girl (who will doubtless be kind to him because children aren’t burdened with society’s baggage).  But, this issue will make any 100 Bullets fan feel right at home as the whole fight on the ocean is gritty and grimy: dude laying there with his guts handing out, talking all tough, gunplay, violence, slang language….  It’s like sci-fi 100 Bullets.

2. Still a LOT we don’t know. – Although this issue starts to tease things, we still don’t know what really happened to the world to make it this way.  The creators give just the right amount of teasing to keep us interested in that part of the plot.  You know how it is: When the creators keep ending scenes one panel too soon?  If they’d just keep the scene going for one panel longer we’d understand everything?  Sometimes that can be frustrating, but these guys are doing it very well.

3. Love Risso’s art! – Honestly, a LOT of the attraction to this series is the art of Eduardo Risso.  It isn’t just the drawing, but the overall sense of graphic design that pervades the issue.  He always seems to pick a wonderful angle to illustrate a scene from and Risso is also a master of directing the reader’s eyes across the page in the order he chooses.  A fun thing I like to do with a Risso comic is use your hands to cover up parts of a panel, but leave the “main” part alone.  It’s really cool how you still get the idea behind the story that way, but it makes you appreciate how well he constructed the panel to make it a richer experience.

Spaceman #1 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Eduardo Risso (art), Trish Mulvihill & Giulia Brusco (colors), Clem Robins (letters), Mark Doyle & Will Dennis (editors)

The Story: In a dystopian future, a genetically altered man must find a way to live amongst the normal humans.

Five Things:

1.  Dystopian Sci-Fi Future.  Is there any other kind of future in fiction these days?  It’s been awhile since I saw any fiction with the future being peaches and cream, but even if we’ve all seen dystopian futures before, it is always fun to try to figure out what happened because these books all feel like they’re from our future.  Compare that to a comic like the Avengers that supposedly happens now (but it clearly isn’t any “now” that we’re familiar with since we don’t really have superheroes), and in addition to enjoying the story of the comic, you also wonder how did we get from “our” 2011 to this.  When is it?  What happened to make it dystopian?  The journey to find these answers can be almost as much fun as the main plot itself.

2. Story is a little unclear right now.  After one issue, I couldn’t really tell you what this story is about.  There’s this main character who was genetically modified for a mission to mars (which seems not to have happened?).  He seems like a big, strong, ox of a guy, but not too bright and he eeks out a living by scavenging metal and artifacts from under the ocean (since the seas have risen due to global warming).  And, there is a kidnapping of some celebrity couple’s kid that seems loosely tied to our main character until the ending.  So, there are lots of niblets of story here, but it isn’t really clear what the main thrust of the story is.  Some of that could be Azzarello and Risso knowing that fans of 100 Bullets will give them a lot of time to develop their story, but it’s also worth keeping in mind that it wasn’t really clear what 100 Bullets was about until around issue #40.  So, I do wonder how the creators will pull off this story in a 9-issue miniseries.

3. Risso’s art is really unique.  If you’re a fan of comic art you’ll know Risso’s name.  Mostly that is due to his work on 100 Bullets (which is “must read” material), but he’s done some other stuff too.  Risso has one of those styles that is immediately recognizable for his page layouts, faces and distinctive use of shadow.  He’s also incredibly gifted at eyes and giving each character unique eye shapes that speaks to who they are and what they’re up to.  The eyeballs he gives the little girl toward the end of the issue are really creepy.  It’s really masterful stuff and I’m really glad to see him back on a book like this.

Flashpoint: Batman – Knight of Vengeance #3 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Eduardo Risso (artist), Patricia Mulvihill (colorist)

The Story: I would’ve staged an intervention for you, Martha, but they weren’t invented yet.

The Review: While the bulk of DC’s alter-reality stories come under the Elseworlds imprint, Flashpoint and most of its tie-ins follow more of Marvel’s What If…? tradition, positing new continuities on the face of specific divergent events.  Knight of Vengeance has really risen to the top of the heap, however, because not only does it use a slight change in circumstance to create a whole, new, complete reality, it does so with a wonderful reflection to the one we all know.

The whole premise of the Batman mythos relies on convincing you that a man, in reeling with the pain from a traumatic event, can choose to focus his pain in a way that would otherwise seem insane.  But while Bruce had the adaptability of his youth to keep him in (relative) control, the death of their son drives Thomas and Martha against the wall of life, which adults of course see so much more acutely.  The madness of their current lifestyles is the result of each taking a different path to manage their anguish, but on parallel lines.

Like his son of another lifetime, Thomas’ work as Batman comes less from nobility and more from a desire for revenge, one that in the senior Wayne’s case is much less contained, as his bloody, unarmed assault on Joe Chill shows.  While her husband’s violence targets perpetrators of crime like the one that shattered their lives, Martha’s comes from a more complicated source: the unfairness of losing her own child for no reason while other children get to live.

Flashpoint: Batman – Knight of Vengeance #2 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Eduardo Risso (artist), Patricia Mulvihill (colorist)

The Story: There’s only one way to hurt Batman’s feelings: keep him out of the loop.

The Review: When DC announced plans to relaunch their entire line in September, I wrote that it didn’t really matter how much continuity they keep or discard, so long as they simply produce good stories.  Batman – Knight of Vengeance is a perfect example.  Even though it turns the entire Batman universe upside-down, leaving virtually no character or element unchanged, the story still works—in many ways even better than some of the Batman titles we have now.

Part of this series’ success has been Azzarello’s ability to create a completely realized world and draw you deep into it without reservations.  He doesn’t waste time explaining who’s who and why some things are the way they are.  He just lets the characters interact with each other and their environment as naturally as possible, trusting you to deduce some of the continuity details for yourself.  In other words, he assumes you’re smart enough to catch on without explicit help.

This may explain the brevity he applies to his script, which features no narration to speak of and very sparing dialogue.  As in life, a lot of the most significant information you get out of the issue comes from what’s left unsaid than anything in particular the characters say.  Oracle doesn’t have to explain why she reacts, “…No.  Jim, no,” upon the discovery Commissioner Gordon didn’t deliver her intel to Batman; she and you both know what he plans to do with it.

Flashpoint: Batman – Knight of Vengeance #1 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Eduardo Risso (artist), Patricia Mulvihill (colorist)

The Story: And you said those mutants in the sewers were just an urban legend.

The Review: These Flashpoint tie-ins serve two purposes: one, they fill in some of the expository blanks that the central storyline neglects or hasn’t the opportunity to cover; and two, they offer us a tantalizing glimpse into a world whose existence will be all too brief and yet within its own continuity has a rich history all its own.

For that reason, you have to appreciate how Azzarello doesn’t play cute with this strange yet vaguely recognizable world he gets to work with.  There are no moments where he directly points out familiar characters and explains their changes with a wink and a nudge, as many writers would.  He simply incorporates them naturally into the story, as if Barbara Gordon has always been Thomas Wayne’s psychiatrist and the Penguin his casino crony.

Even if he wanted to, Azzarello couldn’t give these minor characters such treatment anyway without detracting from the really strong characterization he gives to our favorite anti-hero.  Clearly Thomas is less refined and sophisticated a vigilante than Bruce: he tolerates, even invites criminals to patronize his businesses; he allows Gordon to know his secret identity; he privatizes Gotham’s security; he makes little attempts to soften his public image.

Even in his crime-fighting, he doesn’t come across as superhumanly competent; instead it seems like he grits his way through challenges by drawing on an inhuman tolerance for pain.  We see the source of that tolerance when Azzarello reveals the details of his origins.  By now you know Bruce, not Thomas, died that night; this issue shows that fateful change came not from an alteration in circumstances, but one in Thomas’ character, a subtle one that nevertheless makes him react quite differently to the hold-up, and which leads inadvertently to his own tragedy.

Subtle describes most of the script, as it seems as disinclined to chatter as Thomas.  Only the most minimal, necessary sounds and words make themselves heard in this story, becoming even more chilling when they finally break the largely barren silence of the issue.  The whispered mantra of “Hell…” Batman hears during his sojourn in the sewers creeps into the corners of entirely wordless panels, only to complete itself when he finds their speakers: “Hellp uss…”

Strange Adventures – Review

By: Various (see below)

The Story: A Vertigo anthology with a sci-fi bent.

[Note: The regular “what’s good”/”what’s not so good” format doesn’t work so well for an anthology like this.  Don’t worry, it’ll return…]

Case 21: (Selwyn Hinds, writer & Denys Cowan, art) A very clever story dealing with a dystopian future police state where a tattoo artist is forced to make some pretty harsh decisions.  It’s well written and has some nice dynamic artwork, including a topless lady getting into a fight with the jackbooted cops.  Cool twist at the end too.  I’d definitely be in favor of seeing more of this story.

The White Room:  (Talia Hershewe, writer & Juan Bobillo, art)  I didn’t love this story as much.  It is set in the future and deals with a couple of punk-kids’ experience with a type of virtual reality/drug called The White Room.  Misadventures in virtual realities or hallucinogenic trips just aren’t my bag, so my lack of enjoyment is 100% due to the subject matter.  Bobillo’s painted and pinkish-tinged art is very visually appealing.

Partners: (Peter Milligan, writer & Sylvain Savoia, art)  This story didn’t really scratch my itch either although I think there is a clever premise within it.  The problem is that the cool twist is revealed a little too soon in the story and that robs it of some of its juice.  For some reason, the artwork reminds me of Charles Burns, but I’m not sure why.  Perhaps it’s because the subject matter is kids with identity crises sitting around a campfire?

All the Pretty Ponies: (Lauren Beukes, writer & Inaki Miranda, art)  This was one of the stars of the issue for me.  What starts out as a Surrogates-type story where rich people are paying money to inhabit and take virtual/remote control of a bunch of poor folks has a very wicked twist.  Great art by Miranda too.  This is another I’d like to see more of.

Ultra the Multi-Alien: (Jeff Lemire, writer and art)  Is it any surprise that Jeff Lemire would give us a heart-wrenching and plaintive tale?  The art is typical Lemire, emotive and stylized, and will be immediately familiar to any fan of Sweet Tooth or Essex County.  The subject matter hits the same types of notes as those other works too.  I don’t want to spoil the twist, but the story deals with an astronaut who is far from home in more ways than one.  More please!

Refuse: (Ross Campbell, writer and art) This story wins the award for the grossest, holy crap moment of the issue.  I really liked Ross’ willingness to show such a nasty looking story and anyone who is willing to draw that has got some real potential.  But, I didn’t really understand the purpose of the story and why this mother is living in such a filthy apartment that her child has been taken away by social services.

Logan #3 (of 3) – Review

Brian K. Vaughn (writer), Eduardo Risso (art), and Dean White (watercolors)

Logan has been an odd miniseries right from the start. The whole story, while extremely interesting in concept, has been a letdown for me and probably could have been told in one double-sized issue as opposed to being stretched out. I understand why it was done, but that doesn’t let anyone off the hook in this case. The conclusion here is satisfying enough, but the story as a whole feels unnecessary since Lt. Warren is little more than a bad mutant tainted by the war and Atsuko’s not much more than a window into Logan. Let me explain both the good and the bad now that the series has, thankfully, wrapped up.

First with the good: Brian K. Vaughn’s take on Wolverine has been solid enough to keep me reading, although hardly breaking new ground. Jason Aaron is doing a better job with the “Logan in pain” monologues in his fun “Get Mystique” arc and I mention this mostly because this final issue has a good amount of “Logan in pain” moments (with good reason, I have to add). Lt. Warren is a decent enough villain. The contrasts between he and Logan are the most interesting parts of the story early on. If the dialogue between Logan and Atsuko weren’t so wooden at times, I would even say a nice, if short, relationship was developed here also.

Another nice high point is the Dean White watercolors which give the whole book a surreal feeling that permeate through the entire story. They fit the story well and had Eduardo Risso’s art been stronger, I think we’d have a nice looking book on our hands.

The final thing I enjoyed was the sufficiently brutal resolution to the Warren and Logan conflict. It lifts the book as whole, if anything, because it plays off the healing powers of both men well. And the monologue given as the battle comes to a close is excellent as well. A few lines were powerful enough that they will probably stick with me as a prime example of how to write of death.

And now the bad: As I said before, the book as a whole feels somewhat unnecessary and, at times, phoned in. Eduardo Risso’s art also brings the book down, simply because it came across as either sloppy or thrown together. It seems like everything could be stronger if the surreal aspects of the story were integrated into the artwork more.

Overall, the Logan series is extremely underwhelming. It has it moments, but not enough of them. It has a great concept, but just doesn’t run with it enough to keep it interesting. Other than a couple of nice looking scenes and a few bits of memorable dialogue, I see myself quickly forgetting I ever read this story. (Grade C-)

-Kyle Posluszny

Logan #2 (of 3) – Review

By Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Eduardo Risso (art), Dean White (colors)

After last issue’s stunning revelation of Wolverine hanging around Hiroshima near the end of World War II, I was very excited to see what would become of him and his new found woman. In a way, this is like Titanic. You know what’s going to happen, but the journey to that fateful moment is what’s going to make or break this book. Unfortunately, the journey thus far has been anything but exciting.

In an odd twist of fate, it appears that Wolverine isn’t the only around these parts who has a healing factor. The man he helped escape from the Japanese prison has a similar mutant power. Having a chip on his shoulder from when they last parted ways, he comes after Wolverine with reckless abandon, wounding him enough to where we’re given a face off between the soldier and his Japanese woman.

Everything plays out very stereotypically. The woman’s well versed in the ways of the sword and it gave me flashes of Elektra (I think it was the poses used). I just don’t understand why she couldn’t be a Japanese peasant girl? Why did it have to be something so predictable and dare I say it, lame? Of course, like all of Wolverine’s loves, she dies, too. Wow, I didn’t see that coming.

Logan’s narrative about Hiroshima and the effect of the bombing feels incredibly forced. It’s like Brian K. Vaughan is trying to say, “Look, I’m smart. I researched what happened and now I’m sharing it with you.” Really, it comes off like a book report. Most people know about the shadows of people being burned into ground when the bomb went off. This story’s a lazy one, and the art isn’t very far behind. Eduardo Risso does a decent job conveying the story, but his action sequences are too over the top for my tastes. Nothing he did this issue failed to capture my attention like he did in the previous, except for his accurate rendition of the lone building left standing from ground zero. (Grade C-)

– J. Montes

Logan #1 – Review

By Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Eduardo Risso (art), Dean White (colors)

If it were anyone other than Brian K. Vaughan writing this book, I probably would have skipped it. Wolverine is just in too many comic books each month. When I saw this book solicited, I thought, “Do we really need another one of these?” In fact, I didn’t even order it. But there I was, at the comic store yesterday, and this book was yelling my name. Begrudgingly, I decided to give it a shot.

Vaughan puts Logan back in familiar territory: Japan. If you skim through the book, you might think this is just a call out to Frank Miller’s old mini-series from the 1980s. Don’t worry, it’s not. The story takes place during World War II where Logan and a U.S. solider are held captive in a P.O.W. camp. Teaming up, the two escape their jailers and make their way through the rural Japanese countryside. When they startle a local woman, the U.S. soldier moves in the for the kill.

Logan and the man nearly get into a scuffle over whether the woman should live or die. Eventually, the two men go their separate ways with Logan escorting the woman home safely. What begins from there is another typical, and somewhat forced Wolverine romance. And in typical Wolverine fashion, this romance is destined for disaster (I’m not going to tell you why).

While the plot devices may seem familiar and even tired, what makes this story work is its setting. I don’t mean just being in Japan, but the actual time it takes place during World War II. Vaughan’s a good writer, and boy does he know how to write cliffhangers. I trust him enough that this issue is all set up and we’re going to get to the heart of the story next issue. Eduardo Risso’s cover is awful. Seriously, I don’t like it. It’s one of the reasons why I didn’t order this comic in the first place. Thankfully, the interior art is completely different – his art along with Dean White’s watercolors are gorgeous. Plucking down $3.99 for this, my initial thought was, “This had better be good.” Thankfully, it actually is. Not sure if the higher paper quality and cardstock cover justifies the price, though. (Grade: B)

– J. Montes

A Second Opinion

I agree and disagree with Jason on this one. I wouldn’t have picked this up if it were written by anyone other than Vaughan. I haven’t read previous Wolverine stories in Japan, so maybe I’m lost somehow.

I don’t really want to see a romantic story in an action series, and probably this is why they released this comic as “Logan”, the man, not the hero or the mutant. I’ve also seen this story many times; Vaughan must be working hard on Lost and probably didn’t put much effort into it. By the end of the story this woman will perish by either Warren or from the fires of war. Boring. But I’m going to keep reading. You can’t have all hits. I guess. (Grade: D)

-Daniel Yanez