Star Wars #1 (Comic Review)

Star Wars #1 
Written by Charles Soule
Art by Jesus Saiz 
Published by Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99

I haven't really been following the Marvel Star Wars line. I think I bought the initial issues of Star Wars and Darth Vader when Marvel got back the publishing rights from Dark Horse 5 years ago. While I found them interesting, I'm really bad at commitment. When I saw a flyer about the launch of this comic I felt like maybe it was time to delve back into it.

This first issue picks up right where The Empire Strikes Back ended with Luke, Leia, Chewie, R2, and 3PO on the Millennium Falcon hyperspacing to the Rebel fleet. Luke dealing with learning Darth Vader is his father and the loss of his hand in their lightsaber duel. Leia and Chewie are still suspicious of which side Lando is on, theirs or HIS.

Meanwhile the rebel fleet our heroes are trying to reach are being attacked by the Empire, led by Commander Zahra (I assume she's a character from the recent Marvel line, but I've never heard of her). Among the forces fighting the Imperials are Poe Dameron's parents.

Out of all the Star Wars movies, Empire is my favorite. I could watch it over and over. It was just the greatest mix of tragedy, action, humor, and chemistry that hasn't been topped by any of the other films and probably never will.

This comic was a good start. Not great by any means, but enough to make me buy the second issue, which is coming out in about 2 weeks. It's really to cool because in a sense, the movie can go on. Everyone is still young and alive and can remain that way forever as long as there are still artists to draw them. I always regretted that Han, Luke, and Leia never got a chance to be together on screen in the new trilogy. Here they can be, and continue to have adventures.

The writing was decent. It's really too early to tell the quality of it. As for the art, I could take it or leave it. I've noticed that Marvel doesn't really put a lot of priority towards the best artists on their Star Wars books. I've picked up some real stinkers over the years when I've glanced at them. Jesus Saiz can at times get too photo realistic with Carrie Fisher especially and she can get uncanny valley really quickly. Another minor complaint about Saiz's art is that sometimes he makes Chewie look INSANE, like he's screaming and yelling. I just have never seen Chewie looking THAT crazy in the eyes, like a lunatic.

I found it interesting that Luke is exhibiting some overpowered Force abilities akin to Rey in this issue. A part of me feels that might be related to all the complaining over her Mary Sue abilities after the fact. Because one of the complaints was that Luke wasn't as powerful as she was at their respective levels. But here, we can show Luke doing some stuff and say, hey, this is canon, see he COULD do stuff like Rey. You just didn't see it in the movies.

Story and Art Grade: B

The Life of Captain Marvel #1 (Comic Review)

The Life of Captain Marvel #1
Written by Margaret Stohl
Art by Carlos Pacheco and Marguerite Sauvage
Published by Marvel, $4.99

Carol Danvers has a lot of anger inside her because of her childhood. Her father was an abusive drinker and her brother seems to have inherited the drinking side of that lineage. She doesn't really have a good rapport with her mom either because she subliminally has no respect for her because she put up with her husband's behavior for so long. Issues from her childhood are starting to effect her work as a superhero. She just lays into supervillains and with her super strength, that's a dangerous situation. In this first issue, Carol decides to go home and face the past and try to make some sense of it, and maybe put the demons to rest.

I've never really been a fan of the modern version of Captain Marvel. I liked the character back in the day when she was known as Ms. Marvel in her own comic and when she was an Avenger back in the late 70s and 80s. But the new version of her character with its lesbianish overtones and Marvel's attempts to turn her into a feminist icon leave me cold. Marvel has been trying to shove her down our throats as hard as DC has been doing with Cyborg. Both companies have been trying for YEARS to elevate these unimportant side characters into full fledged holy trinity status with Iron Man, Spider-Man, Thor, Superman, and Wonder Woman. And I've just never drank that Kool-Aid.

The first half of the book was exactly what I had expected, Carol walking around with her boy's haircut and men's clothes. But something miraculous happens towards the latter half...Carol's hair grows out, she starts wearing women's clothes and appears, dare I say it, FEMININE! I guess I could give kudos to Marvel for not being afraid to design Carol as a woman again, but the cynical part of me thinks they're only doing it to match her up with the look of the new Captain Marvel movie coming out early next year. The same thing happened with Aquaman a few months back. Whatever, the reason, the turn away from her old look is refreshing and gives me hope enough to buy the second issue.

I thought it was really cool that Life of Captain Marvel did exactly that, it focused on her LIFE. Emotional issues and scars that happened to her outside of superheroing. It made me care about her character. Made me have more interest than if she was barreling around the galaxy with Alpha Flight. So I loved that aspect of the book.

Tony Stark as Iron Man in this book was again an attempt to connect the book to the Iron Man as seen in the movies. He LOOKS like the Marvel comic book version but acts and talks exactly like Robert Downey Jr. To me, the movie version of him is quite jarring in the comics. There's even one panel where he lifts his arm and exposes his midriff like he's a millennial. His body is 22, but his head is like 38. It's quite comical how writers now need to try to make all the characters seem like hipsters.

I will definitely be buying the next issue of this book.

My Grade: A-

Nick Fury #1-3 (2017) Comic Review

Nick Fury #1-3 (2017)
Written by James Robinson
Art by Aco
Coloring by Rachelle Rosenberg
Published by Marvel
Cover Price: $3.99 

This comic series is not about the cigar chewing Nick Fury that I grew up with in the early 80s. Neither is this the Samuel L. Jackson version from the Ultimate line and the Avengers movies. Nope, this book focuses on the Ultimate version's son, Nick Fury Jr. For all intents and purposes he IS the Samuel Jackson version, just younger. Like his dad, he works for SHIELD and has the Infinity Formula running through his veins, which slows down his aging. Think of him as a cooler, younger American James Bond.

 The thing that jumped out about these comics off the bat is the art by Aco, which is great. It has the feel of the Batman 66 series from DC in terms of information overload and color but tones down the kitsch and the creepy photo realism. Aco does a lot of nods to Steranko and reminds me a lot of Mike Zeck. This feels like an 80s comic book mixed with millennial chaos and quick movie editing. But I was never at a loss as to what was going on. The comic is busy with lots of panels but it had its own internal flow which I loved. By the way, the coloring is by Rachelle Rosenberg. To me, without the art, this comic would have been mediocre at best. Aco's art and Rosenberg's color transcend the rather pedestrian writing.

Another aspect of these comics that I enjoyed and that also reminded me of my childhood was the fact that each issue focused on one mission, one conflict. That's unusual in comics of this age. Usually, you have some sprawling saga lasting multiple issues and spanning across other books. I liked the simplicity of the stories here. One and done. So you could pick up the book at any point and not have to know 50 years of backstory. Really, the only recurring baddie so far in the book is Frankie Noble, a Hydra Agent, who takes killing Fury as her personal mission from God.

This book would make a good jumping on point for someone that is a new comic fan or someone that has just seen the Marvel movies. The writing isn't very strong, but the art is superb. I will definitely try the next issue.

Writing Grade: C
Art Grade: A+

Master of Kung Fu #1: Comic Book Review

Master of Kung Fu #1
Written by Haden Blackman
Art by Dalibor Talajic
Published by Marvel, $3.99

In ancient times the realm of K'Un'Lun was torn by the strife of warring fighting schools. The land was laid waste until there were only two fighters left: the masters of the ten rings and the iron fist. Realizing that the land and the people were dying, the two warriors started the tradition that every 13 years in the 13 chambers, the ruler or K'Un'Lun must face a challenger to his rule and defend his throne thru one on one combat. If the challenger wins, they become the new emperor. The current ruler, Zheng Zu, was crowned 100 years ago (no explanation as to WHY he is so long-lived). In a few days time, the doors to the 13 chambers will open. Will anyone be strong enough to wrest the empire from his hands?

It's probably not going to be his son, Shang-Chi, wanted for murder, and living in the ghetto underworld as a drunken bum. After he gets into a scrap with some of Zu's police force, his identiy is revealed to the world. It's time to fight or die.

I've been aware of Shang-Chi thru the years, though I never really bought his comics. They always seemed to have gorgeous art, but I hardly ever saw copies of the book at my local store. So I came to this title with relatively little knowledge of its backstory. It was kinda cool that the Morlocks from the X-men comics show up as aspiring rebels against the emperor and look to play a big part in the plot. I'm also thinking Iron Fist will show up at some point as well.

I liked the art in this first issue but I also DIDN'T like the art. Dalibor Talajic seems to concentrate more on posing his fight scenes instead of giving them fluidity and the illusion of motion. It's almost as if he WANTED to do a shonen jump type cinematic comic style....but didn't really know how to pull it off. Also, the fact that he seems allergic to motion lines doesn't help either. I'll probably buy another issue or two to see if the art gets better.

Haden Blackman's writing was pretty weak. The opening setup of two fighters reminds me a little too much of Naruto and Sasuke from the Naruto manga. Also, Shang-Chi's intro drunken fight seems ripped off from old Jackie Chan Drunken Master films. And lest I forget, throw in a little Afro Samurai as well. Master of Kung Fu doesn't have the feel of an epic book. Instead, it's going to tell forgettable tales taken from superior sources.

I might give the second issue a shot if it's a slow release week, but I did not have a very positive reaction to #1

My Grade: C-

A-Force #1 : Comic Book Review

A-Force #1
Written by Marguerite Bennett and G. Willow Wilson
Art by Jorge Molina
Price: $3.99

The multiverse has been destroyed and only the planet of Battleworld remains, composed of isolated islands of life where Earth's superheroes are living out alternative lives from the ones we know. Dr. Doom is the supreme ruler of all existence. But he is more than a ruler. He is a GOD.

The A-Force, led by She-Hulk, is an all female version of the Avengers, whose duty is to protect their city of Arcadia. Life is pretty blissful with just a few petty crimes, so the girls don't have a lot to do to keep the peace. All that changes when the team is attacked by a giant megaladon shark that should have been extinct 2 millions years ago....at least in the destroyed earth of our past.

I was prepared for either of two reactions to this book: It was going to be a man bashing feminist tract OR it was going to be targeted at horny men with females in tights and big tits jiggling everywhere. Much to my relief, this first issue of A-Force is neither. It's just good clean fun and very old school in its writing. It's also a great jumping on point for the marvel universe. There are identifying boxes as each character takes action and they also give some exposition about the nature of their powers before they use them. It was really great. And the fact that the girls are fighting against a giant monster makes the plot carry a lot less baggage than if it had been some supervillain with 50+ years of backstory. I loved the fact that this book doesn't really target men or women. It targets comic readers!

 I am really intrigued by the hispanic Miss America since I don't follow Marvel very closely and am getting my first exposure to the character. She's beautiful and I love her spirit and her costume design. I'm definitely gonna have to check out her other appearances in the Young Avengers. By far she is the strongest character in this book. She deserves her own title!

Besides making me a fan of Miss America, this first issue has also made me a devotee of Jorge Molina. The art is just so godly. He can just do it all, handling the action and non-action scenes with equal skill and technical mastery. I am completely blown away and need to start tracking down his other work.

While this is part of the Secret Wars crossover, you really don't need to read any of the other titles to GET the story. In fact, my basic rule is that I'm not just going to pick up every book. I'll look at each title and if it looks interesting, I'll buy it. In fact, I think the main Secret Wars title is frankly quite boring.

This book is a must read and I look forward to issue #2

My Grade: A 

Star Wars #1-2 (2015 Marvel) : Comic Book Review

Star Wars #1-2
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by John Cassaday
Published by Marvel Comics

My first real movie memory as a kid was watching the original Star Wars and one of the first comic books I remember owning was an early issue of the Marvel Star Wars comics! It was #7 if I remember correctly.

I collected issues here and there over the years and was even reading the title pretty regularly at the end of the Marvel run, which was pretty awful at its finish. It was kinda sad really that a universe that was so rich in environments and character ideas ended up being so bad in terms of story and art. I never really got into the Dark Horse era of things. And now it's back at Marvel, where it started all those years ago.

The new Marvel series picks up shortly after Episode 4 ended. The characters are even pretty much wearing the same wardrobe that they had on at the end of that movie! I guess it would have been too much to expect that Han or Luke owned more than one set of clothes? Even Leia's outfit is only a slightly modified cross version of the stuff she word in Episodes 4&5. To me, that's a bit of a bummer, because it says that the writer and artist are really lacking in imagination and are reluctant to change anything up. Perhaps I could be wrong, but if the three stars are wearing the same clothes by issue 20, I'd say the series is going nowhere.

The first two issue's storyline is centered around a botched attempt by Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewie to infiltrate and destroy an Imperial weapons factory. Of course, C3P0 and R2 are there as well.Their cover story was that they were representatives from Jabba the Hut, sent to negotiate a deal to supply resources to the Empire. When Darth Vader shows up as the Imperial negotiator and Chewie tries to take him out, things go south in a hurry!

I didn't know if I was going to be able to get into Cassaday's uncanny valley photo realistic art at first, and it still gives me a bit of the creeps. It seems like in some panels, he is trying SO hard to make the art look like the actors, that the art becomes WAY too static, especially in the first issue. You almost get the sense you're looking at statues. When the artist does draw the characters in action, the poses seem really awkward and out of proportion. The art does get better in issue #2, so maybe Cassaday's discomfort lessened as he fully got rolling on the project. Hopefully, it will just continue to improve.

I would say Aaron's writing has the same problems as the art in that the story seems a bit forced at first. I mean, ALL beginnings are difficult, and I'm sure there was a lot of pressure for this first issue to be really good. What really sealed the deal for me and where I started enjoying the book was when Luke and Darth Vader meet for the first time and Vader recognizes his old lightsaber! It was moments like these that were missing from the old Marvel comics which had to really tread lightly in terms of plot and character so they wouldn't step on the toes of the ongoing movies.

By the end of the second issue I was enjoying the title and settling into the new canonical universe. I'm definitely going to buy the next issue!

My Grade: B+ 

(There are also short previews of the new Darth Vader and Princess Leia titles. Vader looks good. Leia's art looks HORRIBLE)

The Amazing Spider-Man #9 (Comic Review)

The Amazing Spider-Man #9 (Spider-Verse Part 1)
Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Olivier Coipel, Guiseppe Camuncoli 
Price: $4.99 

Amazing Spider-Man #9 is the first installment in the 3 month biggest ever Spider-Man event known as Spider-Verse! The event promises to bring EVERY SINGLE SPIDER-MAN ever concocted by Marvel for the first time! Time and space really have no meaning in this book. Let's get EXCITED!....um....anybody? anyone?

What menace would cause this awesome assemblage of arachnids you ask? The Inheritors, that's what! They're a creepy dimension hopping family of powerful power mad energy sucking vampires whose favorite meal happens to be Spider-Men. One of the family, Morlun, has a particularly strong obsession with "our" Spider-Man, known as the Spider-Man of Earth-616. The Inheritors are hunting Spider-Men all across time and space, even Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham! Somehow, our Earth-616 Spider-Man holds the key to saving his web slinging brethren and sisters, even though it's not exactly clear what the key is...something about the "Great Web" converging with him or some such.

I have to say, I don't really buy into Marvel or DC "Events" because they do them so much that they lose any sort of uniqueness. Events are kinda like Call of Duty in that they just do yearly installments without really worrying about the quality of the storylines or really changing any of the universe for very long or the better. It's just about selling books. The Spider-Man events have been particularly bad lately. Spider Island anyone? Doc Ock as Spider-Man?

I was a little shocked when I first opened the book because Slott and Coipel seem to be turned on by showing Peter Parker in his undies, partially nude, or with his buttcrack showing. And there's also Silk, whose presence causes a mutual horniness between her and Peter. What audience are they trying to appeal to exactly?



Even though there's all kinds of information saying that Dan Slott has been planning this event for years, the writing is hella sloppy, rushed, and of poor quality. When a host of Spider people show up on Earth-616 and tell our Spidey about the Inheritor threat he's like "oh, ok" and just completely accepts everything they say as truth without questioning it that much. He doesn't really react very realistically.

Because Slott is trying to cram in so many Spider people, you don't really form any connection to any of them. Sadly, even when some of them get killed, it feels like an old 80s slasher flick where primitive horny teens get slaughtered and you don't really feel very bad. Most of the Spiders in this first part are just glorified cameos.

There's also an "AR" mark on this book which is supposed to unlock "extra-special exclusive features" using the Marvel AR App but the only thing it unlocked was a short video featuring editor Nick Lowe plugging the Spider-Verse event.

I'll probably try reading a few more of the Spider-Verse event books, at least the November titles, before I decide on whether it's worth my time and money. At the moment my gut tells me it's worth neither. But then again, this is the first part, so Slott had to do a lot of exposition and cram Spiders in the book to show its scope and supposed epicness.

My Grade: B-

Action Comics #1 (2011) Comic Review

Last time I did a review of the "New 52", the first issue of the new Justice League had just hit and I was excited about the reboot, and I bought most of the next week's books via Comixology. But I fell away from it because of work and just never got back to the New 52 hoopla. So I'm just now getting around to reading some of the books I bought about 6 months ago. Going alphabetically, I started with Action Comics #1, written by Grant Morrison and with art by Rags Morales (I hope Rags is a nickname).

From what I remember of Golden Age reprints I've read, Superman never really faced off against exotic super-powered super-villains in the early days. He fought against wife-beaters, common crooks, and even saboteurs. This first issue of this new series is a throwback to that time. Superman doesn't even have an official costume at this point. Instead, he flies around, or rather leaps, in a Superman top and cape mismatched with jeans and work boots! There's not even an origin story in this first ish. Instead, Superman mysteriously appeared in Metropolis 6 months ago with no explanation and is fighting against injustice and crime Batman-style, except without the darkness of Bats' personality. If anything, Supes reminds me a lot of Spider-Man so far, dropping quips and playing around a lot, even though his job is very serious. Since he's such a loose cannon the cops and the military see him as a very dangerous man and want to find a way to control his power since his powers seem to be evolving and becoming stronger. Enter Lex Luthor, who has been called in by Lois Lane's dad, who happens to be an army general, to either capture or destroy Superman.

I enjoyed this first issue. If you can believe it, I've never read a comic by Grant Morrison. I try to avoid overhyped writers and I also believe people like Morrison do not allow room in comics for up and coming talent, since they control so many titles. But I guess I could call myself a reluctant possible fan after reading this first isssue. Time will tell. The art by Rags was good as well. I think it's hard to come up with new designs for such iconic characters but he handles that burden well. It's nice to see Superman, Lois, and Jimmy look so young. I think DC always controlled their images a little too much so that the Superman Family became the most conservative looking cast in the comic world. I also thought it was cool that Morrison didn't start off the series with the same boring origin story that we already know so well. He started Action Comics off with "ACTION". Wow, who would have thunk? Am currently downloading issue #2 onto my Ipad.

My Grade: A

Published by DC Comics
Digital copy price: $2.99

Book Review-- Showcase Presents: Secrets of Sinister House

I don't know why, but I've had a hankering for 1970s DC these days. I recently bought 2 other Showcase Presents, Batman volume 5 and Ghosts. I didn't experience these comics when they came out, so I've always been a little fascinated with them, mainly because they always had such cool covers.

Secrets of Sinister House was originally called The Sinister House of Secret Love for its first 4 issues. Issues 1-4 were also double-sized comic books with one main story, and one brief back up comic, making them essentially graphic novels. These early issues had a definite horror/romance slant to them, usually involving a woman marrying an enigmatic or super attractive dude only to find out he was cursed or was in league with the devil. It was all in good fun.

From issue #5 to the end of its run at #18, the title of the book changed to Secrets of Sinister House. #5 was the last issue in the romantic horror graphic novel style, with #6 introducing its new format of 4-5 shorter tales in a normal length comic book. Eve, the mom of DC horror commentators Cain and Abel, also showed up to introduce each story Cryptkeeper-style, sometimes even becoming a character in the action. After issue #5, the stories shifted away from romance to standard scary stories involving werewolves, ghosts, and monsters. But here and there, some pretty good yarns unwind themselves that rely more on suspense, mystery, and clever endings.

Funnily enough, I actually liked the initial horror romance format of this book better. It just seemed like the writers could develop the stories better and and the climaxes had more power because of it. With #6 on, the stories became so short that the plots became ridiculous. It would go something like this. Guy is in woods, gets bit by werewolf, becomes werewolf, gets shot, the end. It's almost like watching teaser trailers of a full-length horror movie. Or they seem like story ideas, not stories themselves. It's a real shame because a lot of those issues contain some gorgeous art from some I have heard of like Don Heck, Larry Hama, Alfredo Alcala, Howard Chaykin, and Gil Kane, and some I haven't heard of like Rubeny, Alex Nino, and Jess Jodloman.

Definitely worth a read even though you will probably be disappointed with the writing of the greater half of the book. Appreciate it more for the art and the unintentional rushed humor.

My Grade: B-

Published by DC Comics
Price: $17.99
This Book contains Issues 1-4 of The Sinister House of Secret Love and Issues 5-18 of Secrets of Sinister House

Justice League #1 Review

Justice League #1 written by Geoff Johns. Pencils by Jim Lee and inks by Scott Williams. Price: $3.99, 29 pages.

While this first issue is called Justice League, the team doesn't even exist as the comic opens, which is a flashback to events from five years ago. Batman appears to be chasing a terrorist alien and both are being pursued by a miltary/police force that doesn't hesitate to take out Batman as well. In the new 52, super heroes are recently arrived on the scene and are the targets of a lot of suspicion and fear. It seems that none of the heroes we took for granted in the last universe have made much of a name for themselves yet. Luckily for Batman, Green Lantern shows up to save his ass just in the nick of time. Most of the heroes haven't met each other either. When GL first meets Batman, he exclaims in a shocked manner "You're real?", as if Batman were an urban legend.

With only Batman and GL taking centerstage, the first issue of Justice League is more like the first issues of The Brave and the Bold instead of being a team book. But of course, we are starting from scratch. I think it would have made more sense to get all the solo books going first BEFORE bringing them together for Justice League. That way we would know a little more of their backstories instead of being thrown into the water of the New 52 to sink or swim.

Unlike some comic book readers I do not worship Jim Lee as Jesus Christ. He's a good artist but he tends to overdo his line work and add an almost psychotic amount of detail. But not in a good way. He draws a beautiful scene and then studies it too long and keeps adding stuff George Lucas-yo yo style. There are so many lines in GL's and Batman's costumes they begin to look like androids. The weird thing is that Lee keeps using this sharp linework even when he draws flesh. It even reminded me a little of Michael Turner. But I guess I can deal with it.

I'm all for the new 52 because I fell away from mainstream DC and Marvel superhero comics back in the late 80s and never found a good inroad back into either universe. I'm actually excited about the new reboot. I'm very interested to see how it goes and plan to buy most of the books except the surefire stinkers like Frankenstein and Static Shock.

My Grade: A

Book Review: Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World Volume 2 by Bryan Lee O'Malley

After a short flashback to how Scott started his band Sex Bomb it's on to the most serious problem in his current life. Namely, what should he do about his besotted high school girlfriend Knives Chau. Is really ready for slightly psychotic reaction, and more importantly, is Ramona Flowers prepared to duke it out in the name of her love(?). Thankfully, O'Malley isn't going to make Scott be the only one having to resort to old 1970s kung fu stunts in this relationship. Scott also gets introuduced to evil ex-boyfriend #2, Lucas Lee, a semi-famous movie star stud. He also finds out that the ex-boyfriends have organized themselves into "The League of Ramona's Evil Ex-Boyfriends"! So far they have just come at him one at a time. What happens if they decide to come en masse? Scott would be in big trouble.

I have to say that after some initial reservations about this series due to my abhorrence of Michael Cera and the overhyped freak show that was the run-up to the Scott Piligrim movie, I have begun to love these books. It's always easy for me to like a book, movie, or comic where the main protagonist is struggling and poor. It's what first sucked me into Cowboy Bebop years ago. Mainly because that situation was mine for most of my life. But Scott isn't letting his financial situation bring him down, even if he has to mooch of his gay best friend for everthing. He doesn't even have a bed to call his own. In fact, I think you could say that Scott spends most of his time getting to know Ramona and sorta trying to move his band up in the music world. One of those pursuits has a future (hint: it doesn't have a bass guitar in it).

A lot has been made about the influence of manga on O'Malley's art, but I don't see it. And while I'm at it, I think the art in this second volume is a lot better than the first. O'Malley's art remains a bit crude, but its technique is noticeably cleaner, more refined, and more consistent in overall quality. If there is any manga influence I would say it's more in the realm of plot than art. O'Malley can go for over 100 pages of slice of life relationship storytelling. Then he throws down a knock down dragout fight between Ramona and Knives that makes the battle sequences in The Matrix look like playing a game of patty cake. Manga has this habit of throwing elements of total ridiculousness and surrealism into very normal stories. So I think a US comic book reader might run into some snags reading Scott Pilgrim that a manga reader would be more open to. I look forward to the next book in this epic saga.

My Grade: A

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Volume 2
By Bryan Lee O'Malley
Published by Oni Press, $11.99
Rated Teen 13+

You can view a 32-page preview at: http://www.onipress.com/previews/h/183

Book Review: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life Volume 1 by Bryan Lee O'Malley

I would be the first to admit that I wanted the Scott Pilgrim movie to fail, and not suprisingly, it apparently did. While costing $60 million to make it only made $47 million worldwide. Why did I have such a hostility towards it? It was for a number of reasons. First, it seemed like all the "pretty" fake nerd fangirls and fanboys were creaming in their jeans, almost willing me to accept the movie's coolness before it had even come out. Secondly, if there is such a thing as fake hype, Scott Pilgrim Saves the World was completely permeated with it. The movie trailers tried to make it look cool and hip to cool and hip people, a race of scum which I live to hate. To me, it just looked stupid. I could see exactly what buttons it was trying to push. And guess what? I said "NO", get behind me you geekfan Satan! The final nail in the coffin of any prospective viewing of the movie was the casting of the eunuch Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim. The guy just strikes me as character actor, who, as he ages, will turn into an even more screwed up version of Pee Wee Herman. I'm a complete nerd and just looking at that guy makes me think "Man, I'd like to punch that nerd right in the face!" You just know the guy has no future in the movie industry. But even though I had to find my way through this cloud of hate, I decided to give the comic a chance.

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life is, at its heart, a love story. When the first volume opens, Scott (23) is dating a 17-year-old high schooler named Knives Chau. But he doesn't really know WHY he is dating her. It's not like he's sexing her up or anything. They haven't even kissed. It's almost like he goes out with her simply because she's there. In the meantime, he's jamming on bass with his band, Sex Bomb, getting a gig here and there. Scott has a cool Rickenbacker guitar, but I wouldn't really call Sex Bomb record deal material. But then he has a dream. A goggled girl roller blades up to him in a lonely desert and tells him he isn't alone.  Scott would have probably written this off as some Freudian ache of isolation but he sees the girl of his dreams delivering an Amazon package at his local library. Then he sees her at a party. The girl is real, and her name is Ramona Flowers. Added bonus? She's single! Their first encounter doesn't goes south pretty fast, but then he meets her again by ordering something from Amazon. She agrees to go out with him and so begins a love story that will reverberate through the ages! (one quick note: Ramona fails to tell Scott that in order for them to date, he will have to defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends).

I wasn't expecting a lot from this book, but was pleasantly surprised to find that I really enjoyed reading it. It took a bit to get used to O'Malley's art. It's hard to tell whether he's just a poor artist or whether his art is a result of his choosing a particular cartoonish style. I do like the fact that he's so heavy handed with his ink and stays away from screen tone. His art, though crude, is perfect for what he's doing. Sometimes, if your art is too cartoony, it's hard to take the characters seriously. This was never a problem with volume 1. I felt that the characters were real, especially the scenes where Scott and Ramona are alone with each other. O'Malley does a good job of conveying the attraction and growing sense of destiny between the two characters. I also have to say that volume 1 was really funny. O'Malley never gets on my nerves like so many other writers that make young people into deep thinking philosophers that ultimately sound so fake. Scott is just trying to live his life the best he can, and just happens to be surrounding by some pretty interesting characters. I'm definitely going to keep reading this series. Hell, I might even end up watching the movie. But I have even more reservations about it now. I just don't think this comic can be readily transferred to a film. It would need more of a tv series slow boil.

My Grade: A

You can view a 34 page preview of volume 1 at: http://www.onipress.com/previews/h/182

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life Volume 1
By Bryan Lee O'Malley
Published by Oni Press, $11.99
Rated Teen 13+

Comic Book Review: Batman Odyssey # 1-2

When I was a tiny kid, about as big as a midget, I found a Batman comic book lying around. Don't know where it came from, don't know who it belonged to. It didn't even have a cover. I know it had been sitting in a closet for years. It was probably the first comic book I had ever seen and the earliest memory of the character Batman that I have. I couldn't even read at that point. But I could look at the art and thought it was very cool. I think it opened with a splash panel of Robin getting shot? And was Batman buried alive in a coffin? Pretty intense stuff for a 5-year-old. It was years later that I found out the comic was Batman #232 and the art was done by Neal Adams. So it's kinda cool that the first character, first artist, first comic book thing has come full circle with Batman Odyssey, which is being written and drawn by none other than Neal Adams.

Although the time of the books is never explicitly given, to me, this story feels as if it's happening in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Mostly due to the old Corvette Batmobile and the fact that a lot of the plot revolves around a gas and energy crisis. It opens with Batman recounting the story of his first costumed adventure as a lesson in why it's not a good idea to carry a gun. Batman and Robin are facing two simulataneous events in the first two issues. The Riddler is robbing the Gotham Mint and thieves are plotting to intercept a new Wayne Industries funded dinosaur exhibit coming in at the city docks. Ok, out of these two, which would you think Batman would choose to deal with first? The Riddler, right? Since he might get away with millions of dollars! Well, you're wrong, Bats goes for the dino bones, and Robin is just as confused as us. Meanwhile, Man-Bat is getting bullied by some slobbering more badass version of himself back in the Batcave.

Batman Odyssey was very hard to read. Adams seems to have no idea how to write the character of Batman. He flip flops between having him speak dialogue from a hard-boiled Dashiell Hammett detective and then makes him sound like a foppish Shakespearean actor. His personality is constantly shifting as well. At one point he threatens to blow people's brains out, brandishing two pistols all the while. And let's not forget when he goes into Tom Cruise Scientology mode as he tries to convince anybody that will listen to him about how evil guns are. Guns are bad. They really are. They're bad. Did I tell you that they're bad?

And speaking of bad, can we look at the bad grammar? For example:

"...when bullet impacts pepper a numbed body...and their very continuous impacts gyroscopically keep the jacking body from falling to the floor."

This is one of the most horribly constructed sentences I have seen in my life. Like an 8th grader using big words just to impress people with no idea of the meaning of the words. Even better is "He, his body, falls to the floor." What the hell is that sentence about?

Neal's writing is just way below standard for any time period. It doesn't feel if as if he had an editor for this book. You see the same phrases and words repeated over and over again. Get out a thesaurus! Do some revision! Batman Odyssey comes off more as unintentional comedy instead of some old dude's social commentary. Not only is the grammar off and odd, but the plot itself made very little sense to me. Instead of telling a story in these books, Adams just seems glad to be drawing Batman again. And he likes to draw him getting shot. A lot. He seems to be channeling Mel Gibson's mutilation fantasies.

One of the funniest scenes in issue 2 is when Batman is getting shot and he is "jacked around like a puppet". What ensues is some pretty nifty dance moves that reminded me of Batman getting down in the old 1966 tv show.




The artwork was another area that was inconsistent as well. There were some panels that were very beautiful and made you drop your jaw, but there were many more that look unfinished and messy. At times the characters look very old, fat, or just downright kabuki theater insane.

Adams seems to have failed in every way with Odyssey. The work of an old man no longer in touch with his trademark character or work. Hopefully, he won't move on to ruin his past with Green Lantern as well.

In the end, I was pretty disappointed with the first 2 issues of this 12 part series. I doubt I'll continue buying it, unless I just feel like laughing. And what was with the chest hair? Neal Adams makes Bruce Wayne look hairier than Austin Powers and Robin Williams put together! And why is Neal obssessed with the word "jacked"?  We may never know.

My Grade:  Art= B  Story= D-