Django Unchained #7 – Review

By: Quentin Tarantino & Reginald Hudlin (story), R.M. Guéra (art), Giulia Brusco (colors)

The Story: Django’s finally letting loose—everybody run for cover!

The Review: To be honest, it’s a little hard to summon up the appropriate enthusiasm for this final issue—not that the series has stretched on for too long or gotten boring or anything like that.  It just feels like the most exciting parts of the story have already passed.  The deaths of both Calvin Candie and Dr. Schultz, Django’s primary antagonist and most charismatic figure respectively, felt very much like a kind of climax; what’s left now is mostly the wrap-up.

But if one’s idea of tying loose ends involves a lot of blades and guns, even that can be quite entertaining.  Without his mentor to advise restraint, Django completely fulfills the mandate of this title and goes all out in taking down everybody who’s ever wronged him, and when I say everybody, I mean everybody.  Not even the Candyland dogs who fed upon a poor, worn-out Mandingo in #5 get off scot-free.

Django Unchained #6 – Review

By: Quentin Tarantino & Reginald Hudlin (story), Denys Cowan (pencils), John Floyd (inks), Jose Villarubia (colors)

The Story: It takes balls to pull a con on Candyland; they have ways of dealing with that.

The Review: Freedom is best described as intoxicating; it certainly encourages you to take chances and do things you wouldn’t otherwise.  It’s no wonder that most of the regrettable things you’ll ever do in your life happen between ages 18 and 30.  Away from your parents, given the power to eat, say, or do pretty much whatever you want, whenever you want, and the law of averages dictates that good sense will take a backseat sometimes.

Django has been experiencing that wild ride ever since Schultz freed him in #1, and we saw that even from the start he’s taken full advantage of his liberty.  Although satisfied to follow his liberator’s lead most of the time, he’s always made it clear that he does so by his choice alone and that he has no qualms about calling his own shots, even against Schultz’s mild judgment.  Basically, he’s been setting himself up for a fall from day one.  For us modern folk, that means drinking binges and one-night stands; for Django, it’s going to be much, much more painful.

Django Unchained #5 – Review

By: Quentin Tarantino & Reginald Hudlin (story), Danijel Zezlj (art), Giulia Brusco (colors)

The Story: As a glorified butler, it’s probably not a good idea to give lip to a man with guns.

The Review: Last issue, I talked about the hierarchy of disenfranchisement that existed for the African-American population in Django’s world of the antebellum South.  Slaves weren’t the bottom, amazingly enough; that position belonged to the Mandingo fighters, whose value and longevity lasted only as long as their last fight.  At least slaves generally had longer productive lives.  By comparison, house servants lived in the lap of luxury, some more so than others.

I had thought Cleo, with her fine mastery of language skills and social graces, represented the very top of the house servant’s life, but the introduction of Stephen, the steward at Candie’s main estate, proves otherwise.  Not only does he have a position of power in the cushy environment of the indoors, he can take liberties in his behavior to his master that probably no other slave could.  In response to Candie’s warm greeting, he grumbles, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, hello my ass…”  Undaunted, Candie asks if Stephen missed him.  “Yeah, I miss you like I miss a rock in my shoe.”  Stephen even has the privilege of addressing Candie by his first name.

Django Unchained #4 – Review

By: Quentin Tarantino & Reginald Hudlin (story), Jason Latour & R.M. Guéra (art), Giulia Brusco (colors)

The Story: Beware—the following story may be offensive to hillbillies.

The Review: Still haven’t seen the movie, folks.  I’ll get to it eventually, but I really just don’t have two successive hours to spend on anything lately.  But even without seeing it, I’ve heard a great deal about the controversy surrounding the film, though I can’t really comment on the particulars.  I don’t know how Tarantino handled it—I’m sure he added his usual fearless spin to things—but try to remember Django Unchained takes place in a controversial era to begin with.

The use of the word “nigger” is the least of it.  If we thought Schultz’s unhesitating willingness to shoot down a father in front of his son last issue was cold, Django’s lack of mercy in the role of a Mandingo “one-eyed Charlie” here is downright freezing, to the point even his mentor seems sickened.  Seeing Schultz avert his gaze when Django gives the go-ahead to set some dogs upon a runaway slave, Candie remarks, “Your boss looks a little green around the gills for a blood sport like nigger fightin’.”

“Naw, he just ain’t used to seein’ a man ripped apart by dogs, is all,” Django replies.

“But you are used to it?”

“Well, him bein’ German an’ all, I’m a little more used to Americans than he is.”

Django Unchained #3 – Review

By: Quentin Tarantino & Reginald Hudlin (story), Denys Cowan (pencils), John Floyd (inks), Jose Villarubia (colors)

The Story: At the Schultz School and you, too, can learn how to shoot a snowman in the heart.

The Review: To this date, I still haven’t seen the actual movie of Django Unchained, but even just reading its comic book adaptation, I think I’ve caught on to its unique appeal.  It’s a story of opposing forces existing side-by-side: blacks versus whites, the freedom of the bounty hunters versus the servitude of the slaves, the practice of killing without mercy against the travesty of enslaving one’s fellow man.

For an example of these strings of contrasts, you need look no further than in our dual protagonists.  Aside from the differences in their race and class, you can see that there’s a kind of tension between Schultz’s obvious kindness and patience with Django and his utter lack of sympathy for their intended targets.  It’s the kind of strange tension you see with mafia men who nevertheless love their families, and it seems to embody the fundamental paradox of humanity: a species in whom depravity and virtue can coexist very, very comfortably.

Django Unchained #2 – Review

By: Quentin Tarantino & Reginald Hudlin (story), R.M. Guéra & Jason Latour (art), Giulia Brusco (colors)

The Story: It only takes one phony tooth to take out a crowd of surly men.

The Review: It’s something of a luxury to review an adaptation when you’ve never seen the original.  Despite our best open-minded intentions, we tend to get pretty attached to the first version of any story, and anything that comes after seems pale or too different by comparison.  Maybe if I had already seen the movie version of Django Unchained, I might be a little more cautious about the comic, as I might with the cheapie “novel” adaptation of Avatar.

As it stands alone, though, Django Unchained the comic works very well.  The last issue established the premise and introduced the characters with surprising efficiency, and this issue rolls along at nearly the perfect pace, fleshing out the general direction of the story while giving us an outline of what’s to come.  I don’t know Hudlin at all, having never read his run on Black Panther, but he melds his familiarity with the original Django with his comic book writing skills very well to deliver the ideal adaptation.

Captain America and Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers #2- Review

By Reginald Hudlin (writer), Denys Cowan (pencils), Klaus Janson (pencils), Pete Pantazis (colors), VC’s Joe Sabino (letters)

The Story: Captain America and Black Panther forage a (still tentative) alliance by fending off a Nazi invasion together, while the Howling Commandos remain “guests” of the Wakandans back at their village. Elsewhere, Red Skull is gathering intelligence to help plan an all-out invasion that will crush the Black Panther and his people once and for all.

What’s Good: Although the story’s been done before, the concept of an isolationist nation having to come to terms with the danger of the Axis menace is intriguing and enjoyable to watch. Cap and Panther are uniquely suited to their roles too: both are very important symbols of their respective nations, their positions are sympathetic and understandable, and they clearly respect each other both as warriors and as leaders. Seeing them interact, and fight beside each other, is absolutely the best part of the book.

What’s Not So Good: Hooboy. Pretty much everything that isn’t the concept, sad to say. While its fun to see the heroes team up, neither Cap nor Panther really sound like themselves. Both speak far too casually on the whole, and the few bouts of ‘formal’ dialogue that Panther lapses into come across as both forced and clichéd. Also, while Cap’s behavior is fairly innocuous for most of this issue, I have a real problem with him allowing the Commandos—highly trained combat veterans and his comrades in arms—to be reduced to a task like battlefield clean-up. Cap has always been a champion of the rank and file soldiers; it’s one of the major reasons he’s so beloved by all the allied troops. Even if he had just finished a battle, and despite the fact he was engaged in negotiation with Black Panther, I can’t believe he would allow the Commandos to be used as servants in that manner. It’s possible I’m reading far too much into what was essentially the setup for a joke, but it still doesn’t sit well with me.

Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers #1 – Review

By Reginald Hudlin (writer), Denys Cowan (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Pete Pantazis (colors), VC’s Joe Sabino (letters)

The Story: Gabe Jones and the Howling Commandos find themselves in a tough spot on the WWII battlefield. Captain America arrives in time to lend a hand though, and helps them finish the fight. Elsewhere, the Nazis have learned of Wakanda (and, more of interest to them, its supply of vibranium). They make plans to take the kingdom for themselves, and Captain America and the Commandos are sent in to stop them. What neither side has counted on, however, was having to deal with Wakanda’s guardian, the Black Panther.

What’s Good: Quite a bit! I came to this book with relatively low expectations–I’ve always been a huge fan of Cap, but just don’t feel the same way about Black Panther. I was pleasantly surprised. Hudlin’s writing is right on target, making extremely effective use of Jones as the narrator. His voice is just right for the story, and I don’t think it would have been nearly as effective if told from Cap’s perspective. All of the characters fare well here in fact; everyone sounds like themselves, and there are some very nice character moments thrown in for good measure. (The quick scene between Jones and Cap in the dining facility is my favorite, even if it is a little…blunt in getting its point across.) The pacing of the story is also excellent, starting off with a bang, establishing the villains and what they want, quickly coming up for air before the climax, and then pulling out all the stops for the conclusion and cliffhanger. This man knows how to write.

Black Panther #36 – Review

By Reginald Hudlin (Writer) & Francis Portela (Artist)

One of the nice things about reviewing comics is I get to read books I normally wouldn’t pick up. Of course, if the book is good, I’ll buy it anyway because… well, because I have a problem, that’s why. So am I going to start laying down my hard-earned money for the Black Panther now?

Not based on this issue.

Don’t get me wrong; the book’s not bad. The art is okay, though it looks as if Francis Portela learned how to draw by studying comic books rather than real people. Actually, the same could be said of Reginald Hudlin’s writing. I know that’s not completely fair—unless you have “Monarch of Small Central African Nation” on your resumé, it’s hard to write the Panther with an air of authenticity—but what we have here is a collection of stock characters going through the motions.

The premise is actually quite good. A guy named Killmonger (whose personality is a subtle and clever as his name) has seized control of a neighboring country and kidnapped the Panther’s sister, hoping to provoke an international incident. T’Challa and his team of yes-men spend almost the entire issue discussing how to respond. Now, if Hudlin had spent some time researching international diplomacy, this could have been fascinating. But when the Panther says the mission will be “surgical”, no one raises an eyebrow, which is odd considering the poor record of surgical strikes in the past few decades. At any rate, when the Panther jumps into the Mole Man’s drill machine to attack from below and Killmonger retaliates with giant mutant crocodiles, you get an idea of the level of sophistication of the whole affair.

Also, Monica Rambeau (my personal vote for most boring Avenger ever) plays a bit part. Maybe if Storm had showed up in the book, as she does on Alan Davis’ beautiful cover, things might have worked out better. (Grade: C)

– Andrew C. Murphy