American Vampire: Second Cycle #2 – Review

By: Scott Snyder (writer), Rafael Albuquerque (art), Dave McCaig (colors), Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: The Grey Trader is revealed.

Review (with SPOILERS): Bravo for pacing and layered storytelling!  Excellent comics like American Vampire really make me appreciate what is lacking in other, less imaginative stories.

Of course, I’m talking about the fact that we didn’t have to wait until issue #5-6 to have The Grey Trader revealed to us.  I’m would have been very easy to have an entire first cycle about the lead-up to the revelation of what TGT even looks like, much less who/what he is.  You know….the end of each issue would end with this very creepy looking man standing there in the distance with his top hat and cane?  Each final page he would be a little closer to the viewers perspective, so it seemed like he was coming closer and closer?  Until they showed his face at the end of issue #5?  I’m sure that Snyder and Albuquerque could have even made that a pretty hot story, and to be honest, that is the pacing I was expecting.

Then… bam! We get to see the true face of TGT in the middle of this issue.  I love that.  It wasn’t expected and I’m reading the issue and thinking, “OMG! I think they’re going to show what this dude looks like on the next page!”  Don’t you love those sorts of page-turns in comics?  We don’t get enough of them, in my opinion.

But, just to show what a sophisticated story AV is, the mystery doesn’t end with this reveal.  It’s really just beginning.  We still don’t really know what TGT is up to, what motivates him, what manner of creature he is, etc.?  Why does he attack other vampires?  Does TGT view all vampires the same way that the Carpathian vampires view the American Vampires (i.e. as a threat to be attacked)?  How does TGT connect with Dracula and the Lord of Nightmares storyline?  They call him “the Devil” at the end of the issue, but is TGT really the metaphorical embodiment of human evil (in the Biblical sense) or is TGT meant to be a some sort of inspiration for the Biblical “devil”?  I love a comic that begs such questions, especially when you trust the storytellers as much as I trust Snyder and Albuquerque.  They’ve got answers for all this stuff.  I guarantee you that there isn’t a question in this paragraph that hasn’t already been addressed in a story outline.  Readers just need to strap in and enjoy the rest of the story in confidence.

The Unwritten #46 – Review

By: Mike Carey & Peter Gross (creators, writer and pencils), Dean Ormston (finishes), Chris Chuckry (colors), Todd Klein (letters), Gregory Lockard (assistant editor) & Shelly Bond (editor)

The Story: Didge seeks a way to end the zombie killings.

A few things (with SPOILERS): 1) Meta-commentaries continue.  – Last month, there was a lot of meta-commentary in The Unwritten #45.  This issue made it pretty clear that my perception of those meta-commentaries are true and accurate.  This current storyline is ALL about something metaphysical causing our “real world” to have tepid storytelling.  This issue we resolve the zombie issue and learn that people were killed by similar fictional constructs the world over, but that all of these people were left severely brain damaged by their encounters with crappy stories.  I love it!  This is Mike Carey and Peter Gross saying that watching American Idol and reading the National Inquirer makes you stupid.  I can’t quite tell if they’re brave enough to include Big 2 superhero comics in that generalization or not.  Interpret things in your own way.

Punk Rock Jesus #2 – Review

By: Sean Murphy (writer/artist), Todd Klein (letters), Joe Hughes (assistant editor) & Karen Berger (editor)

The Story: Things get a little claustrophobic on the island where the J2 reality show is being filmed.

Review: This is a hard issue to review.  It’s very good, but reviewing it in exacting detail feels a little like reviewing a TV show between the first and second commercial breaks.  At this point, we’ve met the characters and are just watching them settle into their roles so we can grow to like or loathe them more as the story chugs along.

DMZ Volume 4: Friendly Fire (TPB) – Review

By Brian Wood (writer), Riccardo Burchielli, Nathan Fox, Viktor Kalvachev, Kristian Donaldson (art), Jeremy Cox (colors)

To sum things up, Friendly Fire is Brian Wood’s version of Rashomon. We have a horrific event taking place where hundreds of silent protestors in the DMZ are killed in a bloody massacre by US forces. And while it’s hard to tell who instigated the hostilities, there’s no way to deny the loss of life. It’s a PR nightmare for the United States, who intends to hold a tribunal against the soldiers caught in this mess. Because of his experience within the DMZ, Matty is tapped to investigate and report his own separate findings.

Most of this book follows Matty as he interviews a handful of soldiers, survivors, and even top brass regarding the events of the now infamous “Day 204”. With so many contradictory reports, it’s hard for him to draw his own conclusions. Eventually, he realizes that there’s no real winner to this outcome. The people within the DMZ want their own version of justice. If the soldiers involved are put to death, does it really quench the thirst for justice? Will it really change the outcome?

The questions (and answers) posed by Brian Wood are ones to be pondered. Reflecting many current events happening in the middle east, it’s hard not to distinguish the parallels this story draws. As much as I hate using the “social commentary” term, that’s exactly what this book is about, and it does it so well. The scary thing is, if continued down our current economic path, it’s very easy to see this country falling into the same trappings of the country portrayed in this book. Do yourself a favor and pick this trade up. It’s not the best DMZ story, but it’s one of the most profound. (Grade: A-)

– J. Montes