MQ’s Favorite Things of 2011

Right around now, when most people are speculating on the year to come, I tend to reflect on the year that has passed.  I think of opportunities missed (cross-country road trips) and those taken instead (law school).  I think of people who have left my life and others who have entered it.  And of course, I think of all the things I’ve seen and read.  Now, I’m sure many other geek-culture sites will have their obligatory “Best Of” lists, all with varying degrees of integrity and sense.  Here, I just want to share my unbridled enthusiasm for the things I’ve enjoyed the most from the past year, which may or may not have any connection with what is actually good or bad.

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Xombi

I love the fantasy genre—always have.  I’ve grown up on a daily diet of sword-and-sorcery fiction, but there’s a big difference between these flights of fancy and the subtle works of magical realism, where writers make the natural and supernatural stand side-by-side.  In Xombi, John Rozum incorporated science and the occult together to craft a thoroughly weird, wondrous world where castles float on giant skulls, golems fly on rocket packs, and nuns call on the saints to bless their guns.  Rozum also developed sympathetic, even lovable characters, none of whom wore a cape or descended from any legacy superhero brand.  He made a Korean-American man his star without once calling attention to his race or culture.  And he did all this with the help of Frazer Irving, whose impressionistic art allowed the fantastic elements of the story to seep into your very senses.  It made me almost sick to see the series cancelled, and I still miss it deeply.

Jimmy Olsen

Nick Spencer knows how to make the old new again.  Nothing proves that better than his taking a campy, bowtie-wearing photojournalist/semi-sidekick and turning him into a hero of overlooked geeks everywhere.  Jimmy Olsen recalls the spirit of the great Silver Age stories by making you feel like anything can happen and the universe is one giant playground to run around in, wearing only your boxers if you please.  But more than the zany plots (repelling a massive alien invasion by boredom), what I love about this story is its enormous heart.  Through all his adventures, Jimmy shows that even an everyman with no powers and few skills to speak of can win the day, be a hero, and get the girl.  Also, Chloe rocks

The Unwritten

Nothing could have made me happier as an English major than to have an ongoing series devoted to not only exploring works of literature, great and small, but the very nature of storytelling itself.  While Mike Carey spent early issues of The Unwritten laying down a rich plot that traversed both the fictional and nonfictional worlds, this past year has seen him and critical collaborator Peter Gross tackle bigger, more profound questions, ones where even the non-answers can have enormous impact.  Ambitious in every way (you don’t make a “Choose Your Own Adventure” issue unless you have serious guts and chops), this title has the distinction of actually living up to its lofty goals most of the time.  As someone who loves words, I find reading about reading almost as much fun and stimulating as reading itself.

DC’s New 52

It’s impossible to hide the fact that I’m an unashamedly devoted DC fan.  When I think of heroes I want to meet in real life, the ones I wish were real and saving the world right now, I think of Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and so many other illustrious names in the DC canon.  While I never participated in the Marvel-vs-DC debate as fiercely as some, it always bothered me that DC was such an entrenched second banana to its longtime rival.  So it was admittedly gratifying to see the publisher take such dramatic steps to clean up its convoluted continuity, reinvigorate its brand, and place its creators on projects they believed in.  More than the fact that DC finally overtook Marvel in sales, I’m just incredibly happy with the wide variety of stories spinning out of the DC stables, and how much stronger as a whole their entirely line of comics have become.  Compared to the stuff they offered in 2010, I’m much prouder to call myself a DC follower now than before.

The Unwritten #31.5 – Review

By: Mike Carey (writer), Michael WM. Kaluta, Rick Geary, Bryan Talbot (artists), Chris Chuckry (colorist)

The Story: What a day, what a day for an auto-da-fé!

The Review: While some people would like to dismiss stories as just that—stories—they must have something more to them, otherwise why would people react to them with such passion and even violence?  Most of us understand that at the heart of every story is a message.  Sometimes that message is clear and harmless; other times it’s more subversive; and there are times when a story seems straightforward, but then reveals complex undertones when examined more deeply.

This series makes the premise that if you take control of storytelling, you can likewise control an entire society or culture’s consciousness.  History seems to support that theory, as this issue shows.  We begin with a rather dramatic example, the burning of books and burying of scholars during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang of ancient China, which results in the elimination of the Hundred Philosophies.  When you consider a philosophy as a mode or outlook on life, what the Qin Dynasty did during this time was eliminate entire ways of living.

And to what purpose?  We get hints from several lines of soon-to-be-burned books recited by soon-to-be-buried scholars: “Disorder is born when the untruth is received into the air” (the danger of straying from absolute virtue); “While some enjoy ease and rest, I am worn out in the service of the state” (the burdens of government); “Born to prosperity, he feared always its loss.  The man who has nothing fears nothing” (a rebuke against materialism).

These ideas clearly fly directly against legalism, a Chinese school of thought that advised how rulers could force citizens to act as they desired, even against their will, a school that endured the entire Qin dynasty and arguably still survives in the country today.  We can easily see how such a suspect philosophy would be a very attractive one to the similarly suspect cabal (whose name, we discover, is the Unwritten) that’s plagued Tommy Taylor all this time.

The Unwritten #18 – Review

By: Mike Carey & Peter Gross (co-creators), Chris Chuckry (colors) & Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: Interesting things are afoot with the shadowy organization pulling all the strings in the Unwritten universe.

What’s Good: These reviews could be cut-n-paste every month.  “Another very strong issue of Unwritten.  Interesting concepts and a few intriguing reveals combined with very solid art.  Everyone with mature sensibilities should be reading this and supporting this type of comic book.”  That review could have been used for all but a few issues that have just been over the top awesome, because Unwritten really has not taken a wrong step since its launch a year and a half ago.  How many comics get to say that?

This issue is about as close to a jumping-on point as you’ll get with a comic like Unwritten that is telling a story with a beginning, middle and end.  Sure, you’d be a little confused if you’d never read a single issue or trade, but you could hang in there.  One story in this issue has to do with this odd, shadowy group that appears to have been running the world for at least a couple hundred years.  Previously we haven’t gotten a lot of insight into this group…just snippets here and there.  While this issue doesn’t reveal their “GRAND PLAN FOR EVERYTHING” is does show us some of their internal politics, rituals and leadership structure.  That alone makes this a must read for a fan of this series.

Over in Tom Taylor land, we see that Tom has pretty much come to grips with his dual nature as both a man in our world and a medium (of sorts) for the fictional Tommy Taylor.  Basically, by accepting his magical nature and learning the true identities of his companions, this story can really move on to its next phase.  It’ll be fun to see what Carey and Gross have in store.

The Unwritten #17 – Review

by Mike Carey (writer), Peter Gross (layouts), Ryan Kelly (finishes), Chris Chuckry & Jeanne McGee (colors), and Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: Lizzie/Jane’s past is revealed and Savoy and Tom make a daring rescue effort in a special “pick-a-story” issue.

What’s Good: Is have to give props to Carey and Gross for having the balls to even attempt a “choose-your-own-adventure” issue.  The experience of reading this comic is quite unlike anything I’ve experienced reading comics, the layouts are unique, and it’s all clearly the result of an extremely labor intensive creative effort.

Format aside, the story that Carey tells here is a good one, equally divided between exploring some of the series’ early moments in greater detail while also surprisingly trucking the plot forward.   The scenes detailing Lizzie’s past do a fantastic job of illuminating events from the Unwritten’s first issues that were clouded in mystery and completely puzzling at the time.  Now, Carey clarifies them, while also showing how much sense it all makes knowing what we know now, something that’s quite pleasant when recalling how mystifying these happenings were back when we read them.

Meanwhile, the present day events deliver a satisfying feel of the gang “coming together” as character relationships are stronger than ever.  Tom and Lizzie’s relationship has never felt more meaningful, even if it ends up being solidified by a fiction, while Savoy and Tom’s banter livens it all up.  An interesting parallel between these scenes and those from a Tommy Taylor novel also give everything a heavier and more significant tone.

Unwritten #14 – Review

By: Mike Carey & Peter Gross (creators), Chris Chuckry (colors) & Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: The promise of a new Tommy Taylor book is promising to bring both purported author Wilson Taylor and his quasi-fictional son, Tom, out of hiding.  The book appears to be total “poo” and isn’t written in Wilson’s normal style, but if he didn’t write it… Who did?  And we start to learn a lot more about Lizzie Hexam.

What’s Good: There are a lot of good elements to this story and I think the overall writing is really top-shelf on this title.  Watching the various editors of the new Tommy Taylor book have to grapple with the fact that the book is a piece of crap that clearly isn’t written by Wilson, yet understanding that they are about to make a PILE of money from the fans lined up days in advance was pretty fun.

I’m also very happy that we are learning more about Lizzie Hexam.  She has been one of the major characters since the first issue of this series, yet we really don’t know much about her.  We’ve had teases and it is obvious that she isn’t a normal person, but just what her abilities are, where she came from and whose side she is on have been a little unclear.  There are some pretty decent reveals in this issue that I don’t want to spoil too much, but I am mostly excited that the creators have a clear intent to explore her characters a little more.

But, the topper (for me) is that we get two more very cool insights into the methods of communications between the “real world” and the land-of-books (or whatever you call it).  One is a weird/cool method that Lizzie uses to communicate with Wilson that seems only a step removed from scattering chicken bones or reading entrails.  But, the other is this quasi-government bunker that the mysterious bad guys use to track this activity.  Very cool!

The art (as always) is good.  It is actually really good, but does so in a way where you don’t get sucked out of the story to stare at the art. You almost have to flip back through the issue and ignore the words to appreciate how good the art is.

The Unwritten #8 – Review

by Mike Carey (writer), Peter Gross (art), Chris Chuckry & Jeanne McGee (colors), and Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: Prison Governor Chadron’s personal life and his children’s imaginative investment in Tommy Taylor are explored.

What’s Good: A couple of issues ago, I criticized Carey’s writing of Governor Chadrons chastisement of Tom Taylor as being a bit over the top.  Well, this month, Carey goes out of his way to make a fool of me and prove that there is pretty much no way to even nitpick his series, as he gives us an issue fleshing out Chadron and his children.

What ensues is the brilliance we’ve come to expect from the Unwritten.  While it isn’t overt, it’s clear that Carey is drawing heavily on Romantic ideas about the child.  As Chadron’s children get lost in Tommy Taylor themed role-play, the conflict between Chadron and his wife over their daughter’s seeming inability to separate fantasy from reality grows into a larger clash between Romanticism and the oppression of materialism and rationalism.  Simply put, Chadron wants his children to enjoy their childhood make believe, while Chadron’s wife sees it as a mental disturbance.

The Unwritten #5 – Review

by Mike Carey (writer), Peter Gross (art), Chris Chuckry (colors), and Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: We go back in time, witnessing Rudyard Kipling’s encounters with the shadowy, villainous group hounding Tom Taylor.

What’s Good: Well-researched and a clear labor of love, this issue is really quite the achievement on Carey’s part. This is in no small part thanks to the entire issue’s being heavily narrated by Kipling, himself.  Carey carves out a distinctive and engaging voice that really colors the entire book. This is no small feat, given that Carey is working with a real historical figure. Thus, Carey not only has to deliver a believable voice, but also a believable Kipling. Kipling’s voice sounds like one might imagine it, and it is distinctly human, never bland and not once expository. The voice adds color, emotion, and humanity, with the narration being used to add to the story’s impact, not merely telling rather than showing.

Revisionist history stories are always difficult to execute and are often a big pill to swallow, but Carey manages to pull it off, telling a story that gives off the feel of the era it describes while making the presence of real historical figures fun and intriguing, as opposed to head-scratchingly illogical or unbelievable.  Carey, in other words, successfully applies his wacky, physical, pseudo-magical manifestations of the power of writing to actual writers, legitimizing his world, and all its phenomena, by injecting it into human history.  What’s better is that we also finally get some much needed, though still hazy, background info regarding Taylor’s mysterious Illumaniti foes.

Peter Gross meanwhile puts out what may be the best looking issue of the Unwritten thus far, and that’s saying a lot. Gross manages to give the book a definite “old-timey” European feel, going a bit heavier on the shading, or at least the linework, and a lot lighter on the inks. The comic, though still recognizably “Unwritten,” looks nothing like any issue thus far. The sheer amount of creativity that went into this issue also cannot be understated. The panel layouts are at times completely bonkers, images often metaphorical or abstract to go along with the abstract paneling. Gross also makes endlessly creative use with the gutters and borders surrounding the panels. Ultimately, the comic feels like a free, dynamic swirl more than anything else.

What’s Not So Good: Well, the obvious point is that it’s a sudden, jarring departure from Tom Taylor’s adventures and the cliffhanger ending of last month. This issue is all backstory and history. It’s very good, but be aware.

Also, I really enjoyed Carey’s re-reading of Kipling’s Just So Stories into a metaphor for Kipling’s struggles with the Illuminati. It would’ve been the best part of the issue for me, were it not for Carey’s need to spoil it by heavy handedly explaining  just what the metaphor meant and how to read it. It would’ve been far better if we were free to interpret the meaning for ourselves, rather than have it hammered home directly.  Kipling’s whale story became simplified, losing a lot of its impact when it was explained at length on the next page. It felt like a rare misstep on Carey’s part.

Conclusion: As long as you go in knowing that this is a break from Taylor, this is yet another mind-blowing good issue of the most intelligent book on the stands.

Grade: A-

-Alex Evans

Unwritten #4 – Review

By Mike Carey (Writer), Peter Gross (Art), and Chris Chuckry & Jeanne McGee (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Each issue of Unwritten has been intelligent and thought-provoking in a way that few comics are. Here’s to hoping that the trend continues…

The Story: Tom Taylor gains access to his father’s room while Pullman goes on a relatively calm, collected killing spree…

What’s Good: If you like horror movies, then Unwritten #4 is going to be a real treat for you. From the gruesome Tommy Taylor opening to the slasher movie gore, it cleverly comments on (and plays into/with) genre conventions in so many ways that I couldn’t help but have a big stupid grin on my face the whole time I was reading it. But that’s not all that’s good about Unwritten #4. What really makes the issue something special is how all the gore and clever dialogue works in service of a mystery that keeps getting more compelling as the series gets older.

As far as the technical stuff goes, the latest Unwritten basically stays the course. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not! Peter Gross’ artwork effectively captures the horror flick vibe that runs through the entire issue. From the slick panel work to the lightning bolt framing that’s used, nearly everything looks great. As for the writing, Mike Carey’s work is as intelligent as ever. It’s clear that he “gets” horror and the line between a good genre convention and a bad one.

What’s Not So Good: This really isn’t a true problem, but I’m starting to miss the news clips, blogs, and commentaries that were sprinkled throughout the first few issues of Unwritten. Mike Carey handled them spectacularly and it made Unwritten really feel like nothing else on my pull list. One other thing worth mentioning is that a few panels just look a bit “off.” Either characters look a bit odd or the action comes across in a way that seems a bit unnatural (the scene with Pullman punching through glass comes to mind).

Conclusion: One of my favorite series having fun with my favorite genre?! Oh yeah, Unwritten #4 is good. Very Good.

Grade: A-

-Kyle Posluszny

The Unwritten #3 – Review

by Mike Carey (writer), Peter Gross (artist), Chris Chuckry & Jeanne McGee (colors), and Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: Tom Taylor begins to explore his memories and unlock the secrets of his father’s villa, which also happens to be the location of Frankenstein‘s conception.

What’s Good: Though it’s by no means a comedy book, I did find that dialogue-wise, Carey turns up the humor in this issue.  Taylor has said the odd line in past issues, but this month I really think he’s put in his best deadpan performance yet.  In fact, both Tom and Lizzie are starting to sound like protagonists out of a Brian K. Vaughan comic, and that’s never a bad thing.  What I didn’t expect, however, was for scythe-wielding bad-guy Pullman to make me laugh, but he managed to do just that.

I also really enjoyed the intertextuality this month, paralleling Frankenstein to the comic itself; the idea of Tom Taylor as a possible parallel to Victor’s monster is intriguing and Peter Gross’ rendition of Shelley’s novel at the beginning of the issue does perfect justice to the Gothic masterpiece.  It provided a great framing structure to this issue.

Again, metafiction plays a heavy part this month as a writer’s workshop of horror authors debate the nature of their genre. What ensues is humourous and accurate of the sort of scuffling that goes on in genre fiction and horror fans will no doubt have a blast. It’s great fun and Carey is clearly poking at some of his fellow writers.

Finally, it’s great to see Carey really rounding out the personality of his characters for another month.  After reading this issue, Lizzie only intrigues me all the more, while Tom’s memories only make him feel all the more human. With every passing issue, we feel a little closer to the characters just as we feel a little closer to the mystery. It’s still all cast in shadows, but we learn just enough to tantalize us for next month.  At the very least, a murderous Pullma guarantees action next month.

Meanwhile, I swear that Gross’ art is getting better with every issue.  I enjoyed it even more this month, as Gross seems to go for a “simpler is better” approach without ever feeling rushed, sloppy, or lacking.

What’s Not So Good: A minor quibble is Lizzie’s manner of dress.  I’m starting to wonder if she’s going to become a sufferer of “shrinking clothes” syndrome.  It’s all the more jarring due to the conservative dress of all of the other characters, as well as Lizzie’s own personality/character, which doesn’t exactly say “sex bomb.”  I’m not sure what Gross is after here.

Impatient readers may also be a bit frustrated that nothing is revealed this month in Tom’s explorations of the villa.  Even the sought-after maid isn’t questioned yet.  Pages of unintelligible, “overheard” dialogue return once more, this time from Tom’s dad. Although it’ll make sense once we find out the truth, it’s still a bit irritating at the moment, especially given that Carey has already done this to us before.

Conclusion: Carey and Gross go three for three in the best new series of 2009.

Grade: B+

-Alex Evans

The Unwritten #1 – Review

by Mike Carey (writer), Peter Gross (pencils and inks), Chris Chuckry (colors), and Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: Tom Taylor lives a life of semi-celebrity as the inspiration for Tommy Taylor, the star of a Harry Potter-esque series of books penned by his vanished father.  As his identity becomes questioned, his life begins to fall apart; as does the line between the fictional and “real” worlds.

The Good: This comic has a premise like no other and this issue dives headlong into its winning concept, while nonetheless leaving us knowing full well that there is a LOT more to be revealed.  In that sense, this is a great first issue; it uses its premise to its fullest potential, while also hinting at limitless potential.  This comic is a literary affair, calling into question the juxtaposition of reality and fiction, as well as issues of authenticity and historicism; it’s complex stuff, yet very accessible. In this respect, I feel that the Unwritten fills a certain void in Vertigo’s line-up that was once filled by books like Sandman, Books of Magic, Swamp Thing, or even Carey’s last series, Lucifer.  These series were all of a more academic nature, the sort that you might find alongside Watchmen on a liberal-minded English professor’s course syllabus.  The Unwritten clearly falls into this position and looks to continue its honored thematic lineage. This is an incredibly smart comic that academics, students, and general literature buffs should not pass on, as it’s a concept that lends itself well to deconstructive or post-modern theory and a wide array of critical readings in general.

But of course, that wouldn’t be the case if it wasn’t well written.  Thankfully, Carey returns in prime shape.  The writing is incredibly diverse in style and succeeds in everything it applies itself to. The dialogue feels fluid, dynamic, and alive. Nothing feels at all wooden, and where Carey applies his wit, the dialogue only becomes more enjoyable.  All the characters come across as being unique and engaging. Moreover their conversations feel both real and distinct.

However, on a formal and technical level, where Carey’s writing is most awe-inspiring is where he’s able to seemingly leap between prose forms.  He balances comic-book word bubbles with television news reports, a full page internet news blog, paragraph excerpts from a Tommy Taylor novel, and at one point, an original poem. This is just such an astonishing technical feat that I can only marvel at. How one man can balance so many voices and so many mediums in the space of one comic book issue, I cannot begin to guess.

Of course, this diversity is only made possible through the art of Peter Gross.  The first thing that strikes me is just how varied and creative Gross’s panel layouts are here.  Never static, never repetitive, Gross never once follows a set formula to establish itself.  The paneling is abstract and alive, and when Carey decides to write a news blog or read from a Taylor novel, Gross follows suit, adjusting his layouts dramatically.

His actual art is solid stuff and does well to make itself just distinct enough to avoid “the typical Vertigo comic” look.  What I especially enjoyed was how Gross completely changed his style whenever depicting a scene from a Tommy Taylor novel.  Suddenly, the art becomes less realistic and more whimsical, with more abstract paneling.  It’s as though a different artist stepped in.

The Not So Good: This is an amazing book and there’s really nothing lackluster here at all.  If I really, really tried to find something to whine about, I suppose three or four of the smaller panels looked a little rushed.

Conclusion: A concept like no other, solid artwork, and writing that is intelligent idea-wise and impressive in technical execution, this is a comic not to be missed and this is a perfect first issue.  It is just astonishingly good.  Vertigo potentially has a big hit on its hands here.  It’s also only $1.00 for this double-sized issue, so you really have absolutely no excuse not to give it a shot.  One issue in and for me, this is already the best new series of 2009. Buy this book!

Grade: A

-Alex Evans