Uber #0 – Review

By: Kieron Gillen (writer), Caanan White (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Digikore Studios (colors) and Kurt Hathaway (letters)

The Story: Nazi Germany develops super-soldiers in the final days of World War II.

A few things: 1). More alt-WWII than alt-superhero – The best thing about Uber was something very subtle.  Comics already has a LOT of alternate versions of superheroes: “What if the Nazis developed Captain America?” or “What if Superman landed in the Soviet Union?” and that’s before you get to all the stories like, “What if Wolverine turned evil?” or “What if Lex Luthor became a hero?”  It isn’t that those sorts of stories are terrible, but we’ve seen lots and lots and lots of them.  Uber treats the superhuman as more of a weapons system than a human.  The superhumans in Uber almost aren’t even characters.  They’re more like tanks or airplanes.    So, this issue FEELS a lot more like one of those alt-WWII stories where we ask, “What if the Nazis had developed nuclear weapons?”  Once you put that spin on things, the comic becomes more interesting.  We don’t have a lot of war comics anymore and I appreciate this addition just for the sake of variety.

Fear Itself: Book of the Skull #1- Review

by Ed Brubaker (writer), Scot Eaton (pencils), Mark Morales (inks), Sunny Gho (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Sin seeks an ancient weapon from her father’s past.

The Review: I’m often a bit wary when it comes to “prologue” issues.  Will I get a solid comic and a sign of things to come, or will I get a cash-in/extended advertisement?  Thankfully, Ed Brubaker’s Book of the Skull is entirely the former.

The script that Brubaker turns in for this one is rock solid.  While it’s largely Brubaker doing something he excels at (an old school, WWII Invaders story), it also sees him stepping outside the box, dabbling in a storyline that has occult elements.  The combination of Nazis and paranormal summoning almost feels Mike Mignola-esque.  The combination also makes the read a comfortable one, due it being a familiar Brubaker setting, but not boring or overly safe.

Tone-wise, Brubaker absolutely nails all of his characters’ voices, with each getting their moment.  Bucky battling a giant monster is a piece of the comedic charm that works so well for the character.  Namor’s rage is similarly well-portrayed, and his reaction to the tragedy that befalls his fellow Atlanteans in this issue is eloquent and restrained in execution.  Then there’s the Red Skull.  I’ll admit that I’m a Herr Skull fan and, while he’s not been dead long, it was fantastic seeing him again.  His ruthless arrogance and cackling villain persona is always awesome.

Then there’s Sin, who Brubaker continues to carve out as a unique, compelling villain.  She brings that same arrogance and ambition that distinguished her father, but injects a good amount of rabid insanity that is all her own.  Brubaker has always excelled at internal monologues, as he’s always been able to get into his characters’ heads in gritty fashion.  Seeing him give Sin this treatment this month is a real treat, though its never verbose or overwritten.  Her interaction with Baron Zemo is also solid, and a really weird team-up, leading to a parting of ways that hints at cool stuff to come.

Unknown Soldier #21 – Review

by Joshua Dysart (writer), Rick Veitch (art), Oscar Celestini (colors), and Clem Robins (letters)

The Story: The “life” of one AK-47 is followed from creation to present day.

What’s Good: In encapsulating the history of an AK-47, Dysart has to traverse quite a bit of time over the course of this one-shot.  The result is an issue that has a truly panoramic feel to it.  From decade to decade and period to period, Dysart’s script really manages to deliver the sense of time, and history, passing.  This makes the book feel big and fairly epic in its scope despite its focus on something mundane (a single rifle).

Dysart makes the surprising choice of having the gun itself narrate its history, which takes a little getting used to but is also a gamble that ultimately pays off in its sheer creativity.  The gun’s voice is an interesting one; it’s nuanced and complex enough to seem remarkably human, if cold.  It seems surprisingly adverse to slaughter and violence, feeling more content in its role as liberator or protector than as killer.  It also has what seems almost to be a touch of ego.  It appears irritated to be handled by children or used as a “starter gun” for a young boy.

This irritation also shows the gun’s unique ethics, or lack there of.  While it sounds mildly offended at being handled by children, this seems to be a purely professional issue, one totally unrelated to ethics.  Yet, of course, this contrasts wonderfully with the gun’s ideal use for itself, as a barely used tool of protection for an isolated farmer.  What results is a fascinatingly equivocal and contradictory.  The gun would prefer to be kept in peace, unfired, but has little problem with being involved in heinous violence.  Essentially, Dysart makes it clear that the gun’s morality does exist, if only in subtle flickerings, but is completely different from a human’s. This leads to a really great, self-deprecating ending for the issue where the gun reminds us of this very fact.

Veitch’s art is really enjoyable, as he does very well in maintaining the spirit of the series and the style established for it by Ponticelli.  Still, Veitch’s work provides a certain freshness for the series while providing it with an accessible, easier going feel.  He also makes great use of shadows and lighting, using both to get across the African landscape.  Veitch also shows an uncanny awareness of when best to remove a background and have a panel show its image against a blank color for dramatic effect.

The Brave and the Bold #28 – Review

by J. Michael Straczynski (writer), Jesus Saiz (artist)

The Story: After sustaining injuries from an experiment gone awry, the Flash finds himself in World War Two Belgium and joins up with the Blackhawks in an effort to survive the war long enough to heal and find a way back to his own time.

The Good: It isn’t often that a comic can be entertaining as well as literate, but this is the second time this comic has defied expectations and delivered something more than just another superhero story.  A theme has begun to emerge in Straczynski’s work, a meditation of sorts on the nature of heroism, and it is one he explores to great effect here.  The Flash is characterized as being a man just slightly removed from the human condition, so consumed with superheroic ideals of justice and doing the right thing that, even in his weakened state, he tries to deal with the war as if it was another superhero battle.  Limping around the frozen battlefields of Belgium in his brightly colored costume, he is literally viewed by the Blackhawks as an abnormality and a joke.  When Flash crushes a Nazi ambush by knocking them all unconscious with rubble from a bombed out building, he isn’t praised for saving the day but instead admonished for letting the Germans live.  Straczynski uses this disconnect to underscore an incredibly important point about how, given the gruesome circumstances they were all forced to adapt to, the Blackhawks are every bit the heroes that Flash is, and perhaps even more so.

The Not So Good: I’d have to say my only complaint with this issue was that it wasn’t longer!  I generally prefer reading “done in one issues” and often use them when recommending comics to new readers, but that style of storytelling can actually work against the reader when the writer imbues it with as much thematic value and insight and JMS did with this issue.  I found myself wanting more story and was upset that more pages couldn’t be given over to further explore Flash’s time spent with the Blackhawks because as good as Straczynski’s story was, I couldn’t help but feel like it would have been that much better if he’d had another issue.

Conclusion: The Brave and the Bold seriously impresses me with stories that are as entertaining as they are insightful.  This is some quality storytelling here, and I have a feeling it’ll just keep getting better.

Grade:  A-

-Tony Rakittke

 

Judenhass (Graphic Novel) – Review

By Dave Sim (writer, artist)

Judenhass is the most sobering experience I’ve had in a comic book this year. It’s a painful reminder of the past – more specifically, the atrocities that happened to the Jews during World War II. Dave Sim, gives us a running narrative of this event, shedding light on worldly views of the Jews then and before. It’s not just about Nazis, but about how people have negatively perceived Jews throughout history.

From the opening pages, Sim points out that without Jews, there  wouldn’t be a comic book industry. Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Joe Shuster, Bob Kane, Will Eisner, Jerry Seigel – these are all Jewish creators and key pillars to the kingdom of comics. Can you imagine a Marvel or DC Universe without their guidance or souls? Me neither.

After making this note, Sim brings the grim reality of the Holocaust to the page. Using many photographs for reference, he painstakingly renders horrible images from concentration camps with an eerie sense of accuracy. What we see isn’t pretty, nor is it supposed to be. What happened is real, and I can’t imagine how hard it must have been to work on these pages. The eyes of many of the persons illustrated in this book tell a story by themselves. At many moments, Sim begins at one point of a person like the face, and slowly brings the camera back over a series of panels, revealing the defeated, tortured soul for us to see. It’s heart wrenching and moving.

And while the imagery in this book is powerful stuff, the narrative and quotes researched and provided by Sim are more so. He’s done a lot of homework for this book, making sure to point out every acknowledgement and source with his bibliography. Quotes taken from famous persons like Mark Twain, H. G. Wells, Russian proverbs, Voltaire, and even the Catholic Church. You’d think what they have to say might be inspiring, but it’s less than flattering. These quotes purely show that even the most highly regarded persons and institutions in society have had their share of anti-Semitism, or as Dave Sim poignantly notes, “Judenhass” or Jewish Hatred.

This book is a real eye opener, and is something that needs to be read and shared. It’s too important to ignore, and it’s something we all must come to understand so that something like this never happens again… to the Jews or any other race. (Grade: A)

– J. Montes

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