Moon Knight #3 – Review

by Warren Ellis (Writer), Declan Shalvey (Artist), Jordie Bellaire (Color art).

The story: The Fist of Khonshu gets into a street fight with punk ghosts.

The Review: Nobody writes done in one issues like Warren Ellis, I actually prefer his work like Planetary and Secret Avengers than I do his more structured arcs like his work on Iron Man or Astonishing X-men. The stories he weaves are not always the most complex but they’re always peppered with enough weirdness and atmosphere to compensate, Moon Knight is shaping up to be a particularly effective vehicle for this particular style of storytelling.

In this issue Moon Knight investigates a series of attacks that it is revealed were perpetrated by a spectral gang of punks, he gets his ass kicked, returns to base for a costume change that has to be seen to be believed and then heads back out for a rematch. That is the entire plot of this comic so it’s not surprising that it reads more like a tone poem than a complicated piece of narrative fiction. The violence is fast and brutal, the presence of Khonshu is unsettling and the climax of the issue is sombre, lacking the sense of victory that a reader would expect.

The partnership of Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire on this book is phenomenal, the pages are drenched in atmosphere and the design of Spector’s bird skull costume along with the extremely creepy look of Khonshu are fantastic. I had a brief but fascinating conversation with Shalvey on twitter a few days ago about the extra work that he has to put into the series as he is using an ink wash technique similar to Matteo Scalera on Black Science, the extra depth and sense of atmosphere that this creates is well worth the extra effort it takes on his part. Ably assisted by Jordie on colors who adds so much to the look of the work using a muted but dynamic colour pallette that is reminiscent of Francesco Francavilla’s restrained coloring style.

Ghosts #1 – Review

By: Way too many to list—check out the review.

The Story: Proton packs won’t work against these ghosts—not even if you merge streams.

The Review: Early in my reviewing career, I covered an intermittent anthology series called The Gathering (which has no relation to the card game that somehow survived my prepubescent years).  At the time, I felt most of its offbeat features were raw and unpolished, on both the story and art sides.  Vertigo’s Ghosts takes up pretty much the same format, only with established talents on board, resulting in a much more impressive book.  Get ready; this one’s a doozy.

DMZ #62 – Review

by Brian Wood (writer), Riccardo Burchielli (art), Jeromy Cox (colors), and Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: We get back to the present day, as Matty Roth finds himself as the eyes and ears at the vanguard of the US invasion of the DMZ.

The Review: I cannot begin to express how relieved and overjoyed I am that Brian Wood has returned the focus to Matty Roth and the main, present-day narrative of DMZ.  Usually, I really like Wood’s in-between short arcs, but I found that the last couple of issues just didn’t grab me and reading this issue, I know why.

The past couple of months lacked a compelling protagonist and the solid character work that Wood excels at.  With Matty back at the helm, all of that’s changed and DMZ has gone back to being the emotionally gripping read that it usually is.  It’s grim, gritty, and desperate, but now that Matty’s back, it also feels intimate and personal in a way that we readers actually feel attached to.  Roth’s narration returns as well, always bluntly honest in message and emotion with hints of self-loathing and cynicism.

The tension this month, heading into this new arc, is certainly palpable and Wood’s doing his best to showcase the bizarre new/old position Matty finds himself in.  It gives the series a good taste of familiarity while also feeling fresh, if not darker.  There’s something uncompromisingly bleak about Wood’s series right now that makes for a unique read.

Hotwire Deep Cut #2 – Review

by Steve Pugh (writer, artist, and letterer)

 

The Story: Alice has it out with her blue light ex while the hunted ghost soldier finds an unlikely comrade.

What’s Good: After Requiem for the Dead, Hotwire was quite easily Radical’s best property.  Deep Cut has only cemented that position, despite Radical’s larger roster of solid titles.

Let’s start with the artwork.  Deep Cut #2, like every other issue of Hotwire, goes beyond Radical’s trademark digitally painted style.  Quite simply, Hotwire is perhaps the best looking comic book coming out today.  On a technical level, this is outstanding, gorgeous stuff that defies description.  It’s incredibly realistic, vivid, and mind-blowingly detailed.  On a design level, Steve Pugh’s work is equally impressive; his blue lights are a perfect mix of horror and hard sci-fi, while Hotwire’s world in general is cyberpunk cool.

Pugh’s characters are similarly strong.  Alice Hotwire herself is more distinctive than ever this month in her facial expressions and body language, making her even more attractive than ever.  I also greatly enjoyed Pugh’s depiction of the blue lights’ perspective, which took on a dreamy, pastoral quality that greatly contrasted with the cold, polished futuristic world of reality.

Pugh’s script is fantastic as well.  In many ways, I think his writing of the series is stronger in Deep Cut than Requiem.  It’s clear that this arc is all about characterization.  This issue really let me feel like I was getting to know Alice, from her quirks to her demons, and it made her attractive, cool, vulnerable, and fully three dimensional as a character.  Pugh accomplishes this again through the use of Alice’s blue light ex-boyfriend.  Her struggle with him is a clear, but elegant and downright exciting, metaphor for her struggles with her own past.  At the conclusion of the fight, you end up feeling satisfied; Hotwire defeated a ghost, but also made a step forward in her life and as a character.

Given this, Alice is now fully established as an awesome lead character that could very well become Radical’s Hellboy.  She’s just incredibly likable.  Pugh’s writing of the dialogue only enhances this.  Alice’s voice is an incredibly unique one; she’s hilarious and snarky, but also socially awkward and abrasive.  Yet despite this, she absolutely adorable.  She’s basically the endlessly grumpy person that you can’t help wanting to hug.

I, Zombie #6 – Review

By: Chris Roberson (writer), Michael Allred (art), Laura Allred (colors) & Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: Now that we know where zombies, vampires & ghosts come from, what about were-terriers?

What’s Good: Roberson has a pretty complex story to tell and has to deal with the challenge of establishing all of the expansive groundwork for this series without allowing the reader to get bored, because issue #6 is still explaining to the reader “what is going on”.  He does a very good job of continuing exposition in this issue while also telling a touching tale of how Scott (the zombie’s boyfriend) became a were-terrier.  Let’s just say that you’ll never look at roadkill quite the same way again!

But, there is more to his story than that.  It also tells a touching story of how Scott was orphaned at a very young age and was taken in by his grandfather who just happened to be a golden age cartoon voice actor.  Of course, Scott loves this (becoming a comic geek) and has a hard time rationalizing that to his grandfather, this is just a “job” and that he sees as representative of his failure to be a “real actor”.  Clearly Roberson was making parallels to many golden age comic artists who didn’t have any sort of passion for comic books…they just needed a job and they could draw, so they did the work.  As he grows, Scott (predictably) grows away from his grandfather but everything comes full circle in a way that is appropriate for this funny series while also slightly touching.

iZombie #4 – Review

by Chris Roberson (writer), Mike Allred (art), Laura Allred (colors), and Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: Gwen gets to know Amon, who explains the existence of monsters, while Horatio fights Claire the vampire.

What’s Good: After three issues of relaxed storytelling, it’s nice to see iZombie really lay down some big ideas.  Readers impatient with the slow pace should be somewhat appeased this month, as the book is given something of a new, or at least unexpected, direction and a great deal of information.

The core of it concerns the existence of monsters in this world and Roberson’s explanation is surprisingly intellectual and yet completely logical.  He brings forth the idea of the soul, but argues that every person has an oversoul and an undersoul.  How this ties into the various monsters who inhabit iZombie is very well put together and it’s great to see Roberson doing some world-building, crafting a kind of mythos that can be drawn upon in future.

The mummy Amon’s back-story is also explored a little bit as he takes Gwen on a tour through his memories, while introducing the above ideas.  I like Amon as a character; he adds a suave, mature voice to the comic that’s a good fit.  He’s a fun character and I look forward to seeing more of him.

Art-wise, this is another solid outing by Mike Allred.  I especially enjoyed his creative paneling, as Amon  inserts himself into his own memories while the page reflects the fact that he and Gwen have gone on mental walkabout.

DMZ #54 – Review

by Brian Wood (writer), Riccardo Burchielli (art), Jeromy Cox (colors), and Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: Matty Roth reaches the US checkpoint, only to get assigned a new job and, perhaps, a second chance.

What’s Good: This issue features the sort of grand, sweeping gesture that manages to successfully represent an author working towards a well thought out conclusion to a long-running series.  Even though we’ve got another 12 issues or so to go, it’s clear that Wood setting up the status quo that will roll DMZ to its ending, which looks to be one that is fully organic and natural.

Wood essentially has Roth do something of a full circle, but it’s one of those beautiful rotations where, while the position may be similar, the participants most certainly are not.  Matty ends up in a place that’s quite close to where he was at when the series began but the bumbling, frantic Matty has been replaced by the grizzled, self-loathing, existentially befuddled Matty that we have now.  The result is a clash that is sure to bear fruit as already, the full circle rotation that Wood executes is elegant and sweeping.  Matty trims his beard away to resemble his old self, but really, this is a perfect representation by Wood:  the only things that are regressing to the past are the superficial and the circumstantial.

Much of this is executed via a gripping conversation between Matty and his father.  This is certainly something I appreciated, given how sparse Wood’s work can be at times.  It’s good to see him really hit the keyboard and show us some tight, dense dialogue.  It’s a further insight into Matty’s psyche, but I also appreciated how Wood better realizes Matty’s father, and later, his mother.  While I can’t call them good guys, they are no longer clear-cut sleazebags.  Much like his son, Matty’s father is a man trapped in crushing circumstances and we get inklings that, still, both parents care for their son, in whatever strange way.

On art, Burchielli’s work is at its usual standards.  Dense, desolate cities are there, but give way to great facial expressions, bang-on despite their gritty, cartoonist’s touch.

DMZ #53 – Review

by Brian Wood (writer), Riccardo Burchielli (art), Jeromy Cox (colors), and Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: While the situation in the DMZ worsens, Matty tries to survive his encounter with some unhappy Delgado relations.

What’s Good: As you might expect, MIA has proven to be a real downer of an arc.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that of course.

For instance, look no farther than the issue’s ending, which is a perfect fusion of a smaller, personal tragedy with a larger, more overarching catastrophe.  In a massive bombing, New York City loses a landmark in a catastrophe that also causes Matty to lose one of the landmarks of his time in the DMZ and his life in general.  NYC loses an icon and Matty loses a friend.  It’s a perfect blend of the public and the private.

That’s a theme that goes through much of this issue.  All of the DMZ is united in destruction.  As Matty dives for cover, so too does the faceless host of Radio Free DMZ on the other side of town.  This is a theme that Wood has continually returned to, and it’s always a good one.  It’s also well used by the unifying, desperate voice of the radio transmissions.

Perhaps more powerful than anything else, however, is Matty’s new-found role.  Well, perhaps “newly realized” is more apt.  Matty realizes that he is not a power player or an active participant; he’s a historian.  It’s an empowering moment of self-recognition and a great direction for Matty, and the comic in general.  Best of all is how Wood makes it clear that this is exactly what Matty’s role has been all along.  Though he didn’t realize it, he’d been fulfilling this function through it all, even between his loftier ambitions.

On art, this is some of Burchielli’s best work in a while.  He puts out a ton of emotion.  His explosions are awe inspiring in scale and unity.  Meanwhile, his illustrations of Matty are really well done, particularly when he juxtaposes Matty across the comic’s run, comparing his various physical profiles.  While Wood’s script emphasizes his perpetual role as record-keeper, it’s Burchielli’s art that really makes this realization hit home, drawing together and fusing the various Matty Roths of the past with that of the present.