Dylan's Sequential Theology 01.30.2013

For those of you that are looking for another comic to fill out your weekly stack, I have returned with more reviews! I've read a lot of great books this week, but I'm just going to share three that really stood out for me.

As always, you can purchase these comics digitally by clicking on the title, or buy them at your local brick and mortar store. It's a good idea to find it now, so you don't feel supremely awkward when you head over there on Free Comic Book Day later this year.

---

Angel & Faith #18
Story by Christos Gage, Art by Rebekah Isaacs

I have certainly changed my opinion of this book since I first started reading it. "Angel & Faith" has quickly become my favorite in the Buffyverse. As soon as I put down an issue, I immediately want to marathon old seasons. It's nice to have a book that feels like a natural extension of the series, while still bringing something new to the table. 

Rebekah's art has grown on me. Her fight scenes are engaging, and her monsters are very well designed & eerily rendered. They aren't incredibly detailed with every tiny inked bit of sinew. There's a vague fright in the amount of skin they seem to have. Like so much razorblade horror wrapped up in a fleshy bag.  

It's full of the snappy-pop-dialogue the show is known for, without feeling like parody. And for anyone that liked Buffy but hated Buffy herself, then this is a series you might really enjoy. The Buffyverse does have a bit of a dense continuity these days, and the comics have added a lot of characters that may not be immediately familiar, but Christos Gage has done his time at Marvel and knows how to sell a character with a small economy of dialogue and a whole lot of action. 

---

The Shadow #9
Story by Victor Gischler, Art by Aaron Campbell

Victor Gischler continues to play with the limit of The Shadow's power, and shows him as much more fallible than he is often presented. I'm not entirely sold on the idea when it leads to melodramatic statements like, "their emotions... they're unknown to me... I must rely on their body language to tell me what they are feeling." But this is a character of theatrics and high-melodrama so it's not inexcusable.

He has certainly amped up the adventure angle that Garth Ennis brought to the forefront in his opening arc. The Shadow is usually much more street-level, but it seems to work quite well. I think it has something to do with the visual of the scarf billowing in the wind.

Aaron Campbell draws an excellent sequence highlighting his sadistic determination as he jumps between airplanes that is quite thrilling, even if at times it's a little muddy. But Aerial combat is a very difficult thing to pull off in a comic book, so I cut him a good deal of slack. While each issue has some small thing that makes me cringe, it's still a fun book that definitely delivers on action & adventure.

---

Star Wars: Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets #4 
Story by John Ostrander, Art by Davidé Fabbri & Wes Dzioba

This series surprised the heck out of me. It's set at a point in time where the Empire and the Old Republic are still trying to figure out if they can co-exist. The clone wars are over, but the rebellion is just beginning. 

It follows the story of one Imperial secret agent as he treads the line between doing what is right, and what is in the Empire's best interest (I'll give you a hint, he's a heroic protagonist).
I enjoy seeing that not everyone in the Empire is a generic British person who wants to kill all the Americans that want to separate from the Empire... er...
Anyway, Davidé's art is quite strong, and the velvety guache-like colors of Wes Dzioba makes this book a joy every month. I hope this book finds a way to live on after the Star Wars license reverts to Marvel, but its ultimate fate is anyone's guess.

---

That's it for me this week. Come back next time when I will be sharing my sudden disappointment at a particular series that has quickly become my favorite book on the stands.

And as always, if you disagree with me, then prove me wrong.

Dylan's Sequential Theology 08.29.2012

Welcome back to Sequential Theology! This time around we have the continuing adventures of "Angel & Faith: Trans-dimensional paranormal investigators," more wacky highjinx from the Nicolle brothers on Axe Cop, and Darth Maul: Death Sentence is a giant robot kick to the teeth.
As always, if you disagree with me, prove me wrong.

Angel & Faith #13
Story by Christos Gage, art by Rebekah Isaacs

When we last left our heroes they were in the hell dimension of Quor'toth attempting to
a) Restore magic to their dimension
b) Save a tribe of demons that worship Connor (Angels' son) as a messiah
c) Not die.
All while Quor'toth slowly corrupts each of them and makes them give in to their dark side. Being a fan of crazy Faith, it was great seeing her struggle with that aspect of herself, and this series has the potential to bring some much needed motivation for her which was lacking when she was in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4. She was crazy, and wanted to live life to the fullest, but that's not a character motivation and Christos Gage uses internal monologue to its fullest advantage with her.
Since this is the penultimate issue, this little detour to Connor's "homeworld" was pretty brief, but definitely fun. Not sure why I accept the over the top fantasy aspects in Angel & Faith, but can't stand it in Buffy... Most likely the general concept of "cheerleader living a normal life while fighting demons at night" tends to box in the rules of what is "too big." Anyway, I digress. If you want more Faith and Willow, this book is excellent. I don't know if I'd recommend it to Buffy & Angel fans outright, but it's definitely worth a look.

Axe Cop: President of the World #2
Story by Malachai Nicolle, art by Ethan Nicolle
My god, this kid can write. This series may have absolutely nil characterization, but the stories are fantastic. It feels like a Lee/Kirby era comic from the 60s or a comic from the 30s. Just endless imagination on every page. What most writers would stretch out to three years worth of story, Malachai & Ethan give you in 20 pages. It may be "too ADD for your internet," but if you miss reading comics about Gorillas on their tippy-toes with missile launching fists fighting robots, than this is the book for you.
It twists and turns in directions that are obvious, but because of our jaded modern minds and expectations of logic, their payoffs are incredibly satisfying. With everything flying at you all at once, the simplicity of story (cop with axe becomes president of the world; fights evil) hides the ever complex onion-esque layers of this series. There is the over arching plot, the plot of each rather self-contained issue, and then the backstories of each character introduced. This formula happens every time, and can possibly feel tedious, but Malachai creates backstories full of fodder for Ethan to flesh out with his art.
I don't want to spoil anything, but I also don't know if it's possible. Just know that in this issue, a giant Chee-Rex (half cheetah half t-rex) rides a flying motorcycle, and tries to destroy the world, and that's just the splashpage on pages 4 & 5.

Darth Maul: Death Sentence #2
Story by Tom Taylor, art by Bruno Redondo

When it was announced that Darth Maul would return to the Star Wars universe in a larger role, I was excited about the prospect. But at the same time, wasn't too sure if his re-introduction to the Star Wars universe was necessary (as if his death was). And when I saw his robot legs, I just mentally re-imagined him as having regular legs due to a long stint in a Bacta tank and I was merely misremembering the robot goat legs. But that's the design they are going with, so I guess I'd better get used to it.
But, I was optimistic to see how Tom Taylor would flesh out everyone's favorite Dathomirian beyond being the one-dimensional icon seen in Episode I. And he really nailed it by showing his relationship with his brother. The first issue was a lot of explosions and very little characterization from Darth Maul, or his brother (the reasonable replacement if horribly named) Savage Opress. And while I don't expect too much characterization, the first issue told me little more than "these two are badasses and they do badass stuff." This time around, there was much more characterization and I was able to really get into the story.
More violence, more crazy action, but it becomes more than that as Darth Maul fails and has to pick himself up. By the end of this issue, Darth Maul is in charge of the lives of many innocent people, and what this dark lord of terror and hate does with that power will be very interesting indeed.

Not convinced you should buy Darth Maul: Death Sentence #2? Here's Chris' much more in depth review.

Before I end this, I want to also point out that Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison #4 came out last week, but I didn't get to it until this week. This book really deserves the praise it's getting from other comics review sites. If you love the Star Wars universe, definitely pick up the trade when it is released. It's easily one of the best things to happen to the franchise since the Dark Empire trilogy.

Thank you all for enjoying what we do here. If you haven't yet, please listen to our latest episode where we interview Joko Budiono, his latest book Teddy-1 really deserves your attention.

Dylan's Sequential Theology 07.25.2012

It's a big week for humor this time around. I'm reviewing an issue of Eric Powell's the Goon, and the first issue of Axe Cop: President of the World by Malachai Nicolle (age 8) and Ethan Nicolle (age 31). There's Angel & Faith, BPRD, and Matt Kindt as well. Plenty of fun for your lunchtime tablet reading, or one more thing to check out before you leave your local comic book store.

Angel & Faith #12

Story by Christos Gage, art by Rebekah Isaacs

As big of a Buffy fan as I am, I never really got that far into Angel. Especially when his time-torn son showed up to take revenge against his neglectful father. As "comicbooky" as that concept is, I don't always want that from my television (Michelle Trachtenberg's addition to the Buffy cast was hard enough). So when I read this issue and saw who the focal character was, I can't say I wasn't hesitant. Connor returns to the Buffy-verse, as Angel, Faith & Willow visit the hell dimension where he was raised in order to find a way to bring magic back to our world after its ties were severed in an earlier story. Hweew. Christo Gage has a lot of fun with this book and does what the Buffy-verse does best, plays with expectations. When they arrive in this hell dimension, they soon realize that Connor is scorned as the antichrist to these demons, and his very presence has them scared senseless. While waiting for another portal to open so they can jump, Sliders style, to another dimension that is a touch more friendly, they chance upon a tribe of demons that worship Connor as a god for giving them "the gift of love." I couldn't stop laughing. 

Apparently, when Connor was growing up under the care of his tenacious human guardian, he said that love would always protect him. One of these demons happened to be present at that moment, latched onto that concept, and they have been living as a community instead of a rabble of demons bent on eating and crushing for the sake of slaughter. I'm sure it's been done before, but it still managed to make me more interested in the character than I had been before.

Rebekah Isaacs art gets the job done, and the characters look like their real-life counterparts without seeming photo-traced. Everything is readable and nothing gets lost, and while I'm not paying her any terrific compliments so far, her flying bisected-arm lamprey eels were frightening.

Axe Cop: President of the World #1

Story by Malachai Nicolle (age 8), art by Ethan Nicolle (age 31)

Axe Cop has been a web comic for the past three years, and Dark Horse has recently stepped in and graciously started publishing self-contained mini-series of this incredible oddity. If your not familiar with the conceit, the writer is 8 years old and his much older brother is an amazing cartoonist. Ethan Nicolle does an incredible job of taking his younger brother Malachai's ideas and "crafting them into a coherent story." If you ever made your own comics when you were a kid, imagine if you could have a professional illustrator draw them for you. It's a really great series full of unending imagination, and is one of the best things to help reignite that creative spark.

One of the best parts about this series, is the subtle layers of additional context Ethan adds to his brother's ravings. In this story Goo Cop wants to seek revenge against the aliens that abducted his family and turned him into goo. But the world needs saving, and President Axe Cop has other things on his mind! So while they are defeating the evil penguins that plague the planet of talking gorillas that stand on their tippy-toes, Goo Cop looks constantly miffed and constantly inquires when they will "get back to saving his family." I love this series, and I really encourage you to pick it up.

BPRD: Hell on Earth: Exorcism #2

Story by Mike Mignola, art by Cameron Stewart

Whenever a series has more than one subtitle, you tend to be in over your head as a new reader. Expect lots of characters you've never read before, talking about things you've never seen. They tend to happen when a line of comics get caught up in a story too big for a single series, so they plaster a second title on it to show it's part of said event (see: DC's Blackest Night or Marvel's Dark Reign). In this case, the Hellboy/Mignola-verse is wrapped up in the event Hell on Earth, and this particular miniseries is all about (you guessed it) an exorcism.

This series is missing the "what is going on?" to a large degree. Yes they talk about things you've never seen, yes there are plenty of characters you haven't read before, but the story is simple enough. Travel to a demon realm, release a demon from his fiery prison, and then kill its inevitable earthly host. Everything else is like sprinkles (or jimmies if you prefer) on your hot fudge sundae. And Cameron Stewart's art is pure whipped cream (or the ice cream itself if you're not into that). When he was working at DC during the mid-oughts, I always thought his characters were somehow wooden and unrelatable even if they were impeccably drawn. Here, his art is expressive, much more cartoony and his figures seem to be ever-moving. I was so shocked that it was Cameron Stewart, I had to go back an reread it looking for some artistic tick that reminded me of his work. I love this shift and hope he continues down this road a while.

The Goon #40

by Eric Powell

I always wanted to have a drunken fever dream about drag-racing Franken-greasers during prohibition... what?! This comic was hysterical. A great done-in-one of non-stop thrills in what feels like a MAD parody of an EC horror comic. (wonder if Harvey Kurtzman ever got the chance to do that?) From the opening monologue of our kindly drunken narrator abut the horrors of our disposable culture, to the ever increasing absurdity of the Goon peddling moonshine during prohibition, I just kept thinking, "Why aren't more people talking about this title?" 

It's a series that has been going on for 13 years, and it seems like it's only ever mentioned when Eric Powell is outspoken, and preaches about the necessity for a diverse comic book landscape (something we strive for ourselves). He can't turn off the sarcasm switch, and when he talks about "the big two" he has a tendency to spew a bit of bile about comics he wouldn't want to create anyway. Yeah, his methods probably will divide more than unite, but luckily, the series isn't just his musings on the myopic comic marketplace. THERE'S DRAG-RACING FRANKEN-GREASERS!

Mind MGMT #3

by Matt Kindt

This is my first time reading Matt Kindt, and I'm already jonesin' for more. Looking back, and trying to remember what happened in the book just makes me think about the design of the pages themselves and what it brings to the story. It seems as though Dark Horse did direct color scans of his original art boards, because you can see the photo-blue guidelines for the printer, and the white gutters are anything but. Matt Kindt uses ink and watercolor with digital lettering for the bulk of the work, and it only adds to the texture and warmth of the issue. All of the accidental hand smudges of every person that touched the boards before getting scanned are visible, and it gives a tactile feel to the story. It's not about immersing you with its polish, but immersing you with its craft. Some may find it distracting, or gimmicky, but I'd rather see the brushstrokes and the effort of the artist, than a simple flat scan of their work. But enough about the  art, lets talk a bit about the story before I invariably get sidetracked back to the presentation.

Meru & her recent ally Bill Falls are searching for a man named Henry Lyme, a man who seems to bring danger wherever he goes. The story finds them in China where they talk to dolphins, get in adventures on a riverboat, get separated, and Meru meets up with an old man with a skewed perception of reality. All the while the small print on the left hand side of the page gives the reader a running commentary from the Mind MGMT field guide. Supposedly this group is out to control the populous with advertising. Clean crisp Mondrian-esque simplicity which removes humanity and injects an idea into your brain directly. And Matt Kindt attempts to contrast these harsh typefaces with the hand of its creator. It's a wonderful book and if you're into comics that have quite a bit bubbling under the surface, this is definitely one to try.

Disagree with my reviews? Prove me wrong.