2008 COMICS IN THE REARVIEW (aka Quick Reviews)

2008 COMICS IN THE REARVIEW
by John Judy

This past year saw no shortage of excellent comics work in spite of a dry-spell of inverse-proportion in quality movie adaptations. (I’m looking at you, “The Spirit” and “Punisher War Zone.”)

“The Dark Knight” and “Iron Man” may have brought a few curious citizens through the doors of our nation’s comic shops, but if they came back for more it’s likely due to some of these titles being on the shelves:

AFTER 9-11: AMERICA’S WAR ON TERROR HC & SC by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon. The team behind the excellent 9-11 REPORT graphic adaptation now presents us with its tragic sequel. While the creators strive to be fair to all concerned the Bushies come off almost as badly as they deserve. Hey, misleading a nation into a bankrupting, unnecessary war will do that sometimes! Highly recommended for 4,149 reasons as of this writing.

AL JAFFE TALL TALES HC by Al Jaffe. Collecting 120 installments of the world’s first and last vertical newspaper comic-strip from the veteran MAD artist who gave us “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions” and the folding back-cover gags of about a million issues of MAD. Very cool stuff.

ALL WE EVER DO IS TALK ABOUT WOOD GN written and illustrated by Tom Horacek. A collection of Horacek’s morbidly funny single panel cartoons. Definitely for fans of Charles Addams, Edward Gorey, and Ivan Brunetti.

AMERICAN FLAGG: DEFINITIVE COLLECTION VOL. 1 HC and SC written and illustrated by Howard Chaykin. Collecting the legendary first 14 issues of the series that put Howard Chaykin on the map. Twenty-five years in the making this one’s finally coming out from Image.

AMERICAN WIDOW HC by Alissa Torres and Sungyoon Choi. A powerful, autobiographical account of Torres, a woman who lost her husband and the father of her unborn son in the attacks of 9-11. About as far from escapist fantasy as you’re going to get. Recommended but too intense for younger readers.

APOCALYPSE NERD SC written and drawn by Peter Bagge. Kim Jong Il has nuked Seattle (just go with it) and now software engineer Perry and his friend Gordo struggle to survive in the aftermath. Dark humor and adventure from the creator of HATE and THE BRADLEYS.

ASTRO CITY: THE DARK AGE BOOK 1 HC by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson. Collecting the first eight issues of “The Dark Age”, the story of Astro City in the seventies when the Silver Agent got whacked. Great stuff, too infrequently seen on the weekly racks.

AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. Imagine a darker version of the Disney movie “Sky High” and that’s what you’ll find in this on-going title about young heroes being registered and drafted into their nation’s service, mental and moral fitness aside. Early issues are now available in trade paperback.

THE BAKERS: BABIES AND KITTENS HC written and illustrated by Kyle Baker, the Greatest Cartoonist of All Time. Two cats are adopted into Kyle’s home against his wishes. Hijinks ensue. Beautifully drawn hijinks. Recommended especially if you have kids who like bedtime stories of hapless daddies.

THE BOYS by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. This notorious series continues chugging along just fine since DC Comics dumped it for being a little too close to home in the superheroes it skewers. Anyway, it’s Garth Ennis and if you enjoyed his PREACHER series back in the day you’ll enjoy this as well.

CAPTAIN AMERICA by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Technically this title hasn’t featured the real Cap since Brubaker “killed” him in March 2007, but Bucky the long-lost boy sidekick and his amazing friends have been providing very respectable entertainment since then, a feat I wouldn’t have thought possible but for the talents of the creative team. Good stuff for teens and up.

CLOUDS ABOVE SC written and illustrated by Jordan Crane. A book-length, all-ages adventure of a boy and his cat. Originally a HC release in 2005 this paperback edition contains five pages of new material. Very cool with appealing qualities for young and old alike.

COMIC BOOK COMICS by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey. A bit of hyper-stylized graphic non-fiction from the geniuses who gave us ACTION PHILOSOPHERS! This time their target is the History of Comic Book Publishing in America! So far in 2008 we’ve enjoyed #1, “The Pulps” and #2, “Our Artists at War” featuring the early WWII adventures of Siegel and Shuster, Simon and Kirby, Stan Lee and Walt Disney! Previews can be found on the company website www.eviltwincomics.com if you need more proof of this title’s wonderfulness. Look for the next two issues in early 2009!

THE CREEPY ARCHIVES, VOL. 1 and 2 HCs from Dark Horse Comics. Collecting the first ten issues of this classic horror anthology magazine. At eight stories per issue you’re looking at some quantity here in addition to the quality one associates with such creators as Archie Goodwin, Gray Morrow, Alex Toth and others of that era. A pair of Must-Haves for those of us who love this stuff.

CRIMINAL by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Brubaker’s passion for noir culture in all its forms is infectious. This series traces the paths of multiple generations of dangerous losers in a city that breeds them. There are currently three trade collections out: LAWLESS, COWARD and THE DEAD AND THE DYING. All are recommended but be advised they do not contain any of the back-up text pieces featured in each of the individual comics. For those ya gotta buy the funny books. Fortunately they can be found at comic shops near you for a reasonable few bits.

THE DANGEROUS ALPHABET HC by Neil Gaiman and Gris Grimly. A dark romp through the alphabet with pirates, sewer-monsters, and organs in jars! Highly recommended for fans of Gahan Wilson and the like. Great for kids who need literacy and a good scare!

DAREDEVIL by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. Brubaker continues putting the blind lawyer of Hell’s Kitchen through his paces since taking over from Brian Michael Bendis in 2006. This title is about as noir as a comic about a guy in red tights can get, but it’s interesting to see how many twists the creative team can put on a character whose challenges have for some time been more psychological than physical. Smart super-heroics need not be an oxymoron as this comic continues to demonstrate.

DOOM PATROL, VOL. 6: PLANET LOVE SC by Grant Morrison, Richard Case and Friends. The final collection of Morrison’s surreal work on DC’s original misfit super-heroes. From back in the days when Grant was forced to tell stories that could be followed by the nearly sober.

EC ARCHIVES HARDCOVERS by Bill Gaines and Company. These full-color collections from Steve Geppi’s Gemstone Publishing have been a real delight for fans of The Forbidden as well as those merely curious to see what could be so subversive in a comic that it would warrant hearings by the U.S. Congress. This year saw the publication of CRIME SUSPENSTORIES, VOL. 1; WEIRD SCIENCE, VOL.3; and TALES FROM THE CRYPT, VOL. 3. Great stuff.

ESSENTIAL DYKES TO WATCH OUT FOR HC written and drawn by Alison Bechdel. The best strips from the past eleven volumes of DTWOF, plus sixty new ones not previously collected. Twenty-five years worth of funny, opinionated, challenging stuff. Recommended, especially for Mormons and inaugural preachers.

EX MACHINA by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. We’re currently about 80% through the run on the story of Mitchell Hundred, the fictional Mayor Of New York and ex-superhero. This continues to be extremely smart story-telling for people interested in American politics, New York history and what it would be like to talk to machines. Seven volumes of trade paperbacks currently available at finer comic shops near you.

FELL by Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith. The stand-alone stories of Detective Richard Fell, a cop banished from his home city for some yet-unknown breach of conduct. The first trade collection FELL, VOL. 1: FERAL CITY is now available. Teens and up.

FREAK BROTHERS OMNIBUS SC by Gilbert Shelton. Just like you remember them! Although if you can remember them you were probably doing something wrong… Wait, what was I saying...? Recommended.

THE GOON written and drawn by Eric Powell. This brutal supernatural comedy adventure draws you in with scraps of dialogue that justify their existence outside of any context whatsoever. It helps to know the backstory of Powell’s violent anti-hero but it’s not essential for enjoying the demented ride of this multiple-Eisner award winning series. Currently available in one hardcover and six softcover collections.

GREEN LANTERN by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Mike McKone. In brightest day, in blackest night, Johns and his rotating crew of artists have completely reinvigorated this character as the lead in a huge sci-fi space opera with a touch of police procedural. Lots of trade collections can help you get up to speed, just be sure they have Geoff Johns’ name in the credits.

HARVEY COMICS CLASSICS VOL. 3: HOT STUFF SC by Various Creators. Collecting over 100 tales of comics’ original Little Devil, the Demon in a Diaper: HOT STUFF! A perfect gateway for all age groups into hardcore Satanism! A great follow-up to the earlier Harvey collections of CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST and RICHIE RICH. Appropriate for all ages, but especially five year-old boys who can’t get enough of this stuff before bedtime.

HARVEY PEKAR: CONVERSATIONS edited by Michael G. Rhode. A treasure trove of interviews with the creator of AMERICAN SPLENDOR, spanning the years 1984 through 2007. Full disclosure: I’ve known editor Mike Rhode for a number of years and have written for his excellent website ComicsDC@blogspot.com. That said, I’ve never liked the creep and would not recommend his book if it weren’t a superb bit of scholarship about a significant creator in the American comics scene. Check it out.

HOLMES GN written and illustrated by Omaha Perez. Author Perez explains it best: “What if Sherlock Holmes is constantly out of his head and Watson’s not much better off, the Dr. Gonzo to Holmes’s Raoul Duke?” Teens and up.

HOLY SH*T!: THE WORLD’S WEIRDEST COMIC BOOKS HC by Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury. What it sounds like: Dozens of examples from all over the globe of the most bizarre, hilarious, disturbing curiosities ever to appear in sequential-graphic form. Sadly such a work can never be a definitive edition because Rob Liefeld and Frank Miller continue to publish new material. Worth having anyway.

HOUDINI: THE HANDCUFF KING SC by Jason Lutes and Nick Bertozzi. An informative episode from the life of the world’s most famous magician/escape artist. (Go away, Blaine, we’re not talking about you. Ever.)

HOW TO DRAW STUPID SC by Kyle Baker. For anybody who ever wondered how Kyle Baker does it “and how you can too!” Sadly there is nothing in here about how to get the next issue of SPECIAL FORCES on the rack. Still recommended because Baker is a gol-darn genius!


HOWARD THE DUCK OMNIBUS HC by Steve Gerber and Many Worthy Collaborators. Like Marvel couldn’t have done this while Gerber (1947-2008) was still alive… Recommended anyway because this is really great stuff. As close to the subversion of the underground comix as mainstream super companies ever got. R.I.P. Mr. Gerber. You are missed.

I SHALL DESTROY ALL CIVILIZED PLANETS: THE COMICS OF FLETCHER HANKS SC by Fletcher Hanks and Paul Karasik. A collection of the weirdly brilliant Golden-Age comics of Hanks, followed by the sad epilogue in which Karasik tracks down the artist’s only surviving relative to learn of his ultimate fate. Disturbing but moving stuff.

IMMORTAL IRON FIST by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, David Aja and Others. Since 2006 the crew on this book has taken a character who was mostly a C-lister and built an extremely credible mythology around him. Danny Rand, the Living Weapon of Kun-Lun and possessor of the Iron Fist, has turned into an interesting guy with a history and legacy going back quite a ways. The occasional peeks into the past and future of individuals entrusted with the Fist don’t always have a direct bearing on the main story, but they add to it in little ways that make the whole saga more enjoyable. We’re now up to three trade paperbacks and the on-going monthly if you’re just joining our program.

INCOGNEGRO HC by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece. Part-Mystery, Part-History describes this story of a light-skinned Northern black man passing for white (“going incognegro”) to investigate his brother’s arrest in the virulently racist Mississippi of early 20th century America. A great story that oughta be an HBO movie at least.

JLA/AVENGERS SC by Kurt Busiek and George Perez. Finally one of the biggest of Big Fights is collected in affordable, bookshelf-friendly, trade paperback form. From the days when Big Event comics didn’t suck and/or take all year to come out. Recommended for all ages.

JUDENHASS GN by Dave Sim. The creator of CEREBUS takes on the holocaust and its cultural and historical roots. Most interestingly Sim issues a challenge to every creator working in comics today to produce his or her own work on the holocaust as an expression of indebtedness to the American Jews who created the comics industry. It’s a thought-provoking idea, although I’m not sure I’d want Frank Miller in his current state to attempt such a thing. Like Miller, Sim is one of those rare creators whose gifts in one area stand in contrast to a baffling dysfunction in others. Regardless, this work stands on its own as a worthy addition to holocaust literature.

KIRBY: KING OF COMICS HC by Mark Evanier. Years in the making, this is Evanier’s tribute to his former boss and long-time friend, Jack Kirby, the guy who co-created the foundations of the Marvel Universe and a lot more. Already going back to press, this book is a must for all subjects of The King. Highly Recommended.

KYLE BAKER’S NAT TURNER HC & SC by KB. Collecting the complete run of Baker’s wordless comic biography of Turner, the charismatic leader of an early American slave rebellion. Violent in places but okay for teens and up.

LIBERTY COMICS: A CBLDF BENEFIT BOOK by Various Creators including Brubaker, Ennis, Cooke, Evanier, Phillips and Millar. Featuring original stories from the worlds of CRIMINAL and THE BOYS with lots of other goodies from today’s top creators. If you love comics and hate censorship this is your book!

MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST CRIME COMICS SC edited by Paul Gravett; written and drawn by Many People including Eisner, Moore, Gaiman, Spillane, Chandler, Krigstein and pre-21st Century Frank Miller (before he went insane)! Twenty-five of the best crime comics ever published. Mammoth has also issued collections (by different editors) of Best Horror, War, Zombie and New Manga Comics, but this is the one I personally had to buy.

MAN OF ROCK: A BIOGRAPHY OF JOE KUBERT SC by Bill Schelly. Tracing the life and work of the 82 year-old living legend of comics. Includes interviews with the artist, his family and colleagues going back to 1938 when he got his first job in comics at age twelve.

NEIL GAIMAN’S CORALINE GN by NG and P. Craig Russell. The story of a little girl who goes exploring in the wrong house. It was text with illustrations. Now it’s the opposite. (Also it’s an animated movie with Dakota Fanning.) P. Craig and Neil: Always a winning combination.

NORTHLANDERS by Brian Wood and Davide Gianfelice. This Vertigo title is actually a series of stories about (you guessed it!) Vikings (or Northlanders) and that Special Way they have of interacting with other cultures. The first arc, (“Sven the Returned”) now available in trade, was set a thousand years ago in the bleak world of the Viking village Grimness. Prince Sven, a prodigal son, returns from the Holy Land to claim his inheritance. Hijinks ensue. These bloody, fascinating adventures draw the reader in with their depictions of how desolate and empty the Vikings’ world was back then and how one determined outsider could change the entire order of such a place.

PUNISHER by Garth Ennis and Collaborators. Ennis supposedly wrapped his run on the character this year but has already come back for the six-issue PUNISHER WAR ZONE miniseries. Hopefully there will always be one more twisted Frank Castle anecdote rattling around the Ennis brainpan.

RASL written and drawn by Jeff Smith. The end of 2008 left us three issues into this intriguing sci-fi crime series about a bad scientist who takes up inter-dimensional art theft for fun and profit. Smith is taking his time, doing things his way just as he did with his earlier signature piece BONE. So far RASL is looking like a worthy follow-up.

SATCHEL PAIGE: STRIKING OUT JIM CROW HC & SC by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso. A fictionalized account of the legendary ball-player’s life, from his early days to the peak of his career in the Negro Leagues. Highly recommended, as are all of Mr. Sturm’s other works. A preview is available online at www.cartoonstudies.org

SCALPED by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera. My favorite comic: The story of F.B.I. Special Agent Dash Bad Horse’s return to the Indian reservation he thought he’d escaped forever. This is a dark crime series that quickly becomes addictive as Bad Horse stares deeper and deeper into his personal abyss. Grown-ups only. Three trades out for those needing to catch up.

SCRAMBLED INK HC by A Bunch of Dreamworks Animators. A collection of stories illustrated by the folks who brought you “Shrek” among other things. There’s a preview over on the Dark Horse website and it looks beautiful.

SKYSCRAPERS OF THE MIDWEST HC written and illustrated by Joshua Cotter. Observations of childhood isolation and existence in the American Midwest. With giant robots. Eisner Award- nominated.

SOLOMON KANE by Scott Allie and Mario Guevara. A five issue series from Dark Horse starring the only Puritan that Ed Brubaker’s ever been a fan of! “Castle of the Devil” is an adaptation of an original tale by CONAN creator Robert E. Howard. The art is reminiscent of Michael Zulli’s colored pencil art on the last SANDMAN collection so that should give older fans an idea of how sharp it looks. This one is off the beaten path but well worth the journey.

THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Mike Perkins. This five-issue series is the first chapter of Stephen King’s epic end of the world story and the strongest graphic adaptation of King’s work I’ve ever seen. It appears to be the first arc in a series that will complete the entire novel. Hopefully Marvel Comics will be able to keep this creative team all the way through.

STAN’S SOAPBOX: THE COLLECTION SC by Da Man. Collecting every one of Smilin’ Stan Lee’s interstitial manifestos from 1967 to 1980. These were the monthly asides that made a generation of fans feel like Stan Lee was standing right behind us, whispering in our ears even when he usually wasn’t. Best of all, this book has been published to benefit the Hero Initiative (www.heroinitiative.org ), a charity for older comics creators in need. A great work for a great cause and a true geek “Must-Have!”

STREETS OF GLORY by Garth Ennis and Mike Wolfer. A mini-series told in flashback about the closing days of the Wild West. Extreme graphic violence, but good for fans of Garth Ennis and Clint Eastwood. Not for kids.

STUDENTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY SC by Harvey Pekar, Gary Dumm, and historian Paul Buhle. A non-fiction account of the rise and fall of one of the most ambitious and controversial activist groups of the 1960s. For grown-ups and interested parties. A very well-timed publication, although I have to admit it is a bit preachy and all over the place narratively. If nothing else it provides a cautionary tale against the idea that self-righteousness alone will carry the day.

THOR by J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel. This latest revival of Marvel’s resident Thunder God has been receiving well-deserved praise. Between Straczynski’s steady, deliberate pacing and Coipel’s clean, dynamic art this is the best run of the Odinson’s adventures since Walt Simonson’s. The first six issues are now out in trade.

THOREAU AT WALDEN HC by John Porcellino. A graphic adaptation of Thoreau’s writings by the creator of KING-CAT COMICS AND STORIES, published by the always inspirational Center for Cartoon Studies. This one’s already getting good reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal. Teens and up.

THUNDERBOLTS by Warren Ellis and Company. For some reason Marvel entrusted one of their titles into the devious care of Warren Ellis with delightfully heinous results. These stories have been collected in two paperback volumes, FAITH IN MONSTERS and CAGED ANGELS.

TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN HC written and drawn by Alex Robinson. A really fun fantasy about a grown man sent back in time via hypnosis to the 1980s to relive high school. Hey, it worked for Batman in the fifties!

TOP TEN SEASON TWO by Zander Canon and Gene Ha. Four more issues of quality time with the good peace officers of Neopolis. Amazingly good stuff even without Alan Moore at the Sergeant’s Desk.

THE TWELVE by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston. What if 12 Golden-Age heroes did the Captain America trick and thawed out of deep-freeze in the modern world? And what if they had all sorts of quirks and character flaws typical of their times? And what if they were beautifully drawn by one of the best artists working in comics today? This 12-issue maxi-series has broad appeal for Golden-Age and Modern Age fans alike.

THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION: A GRAPHIC ADAPTATION by Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell (with a little help from James Madison). A very well-received and engaging study of a certain document that’s kept our nation up and running (for the most part) for 200-plus years.

UNKNOWN SOLDIER by Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli. Author Joshua Dysart spent a month in Northern Uganda doing research for this new incarnation of Kanigher and Kubert’s classic war hero. This relatively new series has already made an impression for its unflinching look at the humanitarian disaster in which the action is set. Child soldiers, religious mania and political apathy bring about a Western doctor’s psychotic break and the rise of a new “Immortal G.I.”

WACKY PACKAGES HC by Topps. A tribute to the product parody stickers that outsold baseball cards for a while back in the seventies. Featuring an interview with artist/fan/legend Art Spiegelman.

WALKING DEAD by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard. The ongoing saga of the last humans alive after a zombie plague wipes out civilization. Imagine if the Romero movies never ended. Incredible suspense and continuous surprises derived from the systematic breaking of formula. You never know who might die (or worse) next. A guaranteed gut-punch per issue. Too intense for kids, but engrossing for older readers.

X-MEN: MAGNETO TESTAMENT by Greg Pak and Carmine Di Giandomenico. This five-issue series reveals the life of the young Magneto living in pre-WWII Germany before he gained his powers. It’s a somber story, made more so by the absence of the usual superhero tropes and a solid historical setting. Greg Pak sheds light on the Nazi abuses that shaped an innocent kid named Max Eisenhardt into the murderous extremist he became. The creative team deserves credit for elevating what could have been a vulgar trivialization of the holocaust through their dramatic restraint and attention to historic detail. It rises above its spandex origins as only the best superhero books manage, making this very much worth a read.

X-MEN: NOIR by Fred Van Lente and Dennis Calero. Now what if the X-Men had been created and written by pulp crime novelists back in 1930-something? Imagine Mickey Spillane writing Wolverine! This one is a pure guilty pleasure with scenes like Police Chief Magnus pistol-whipping Irish gangster Black Tom Cassidy, chiding him “I have to tell you again, I'm sending you to Irish Hell, Blackie. You won't like Irish Hell, Blackie. There's no whiskey and all the women hit back.” How can anyone resist?

Y THE LAST MAN by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra. The series ended in January 2008 but is now available start to finish in paperback and hardcover. The saga of the Last Man on Earth excelled past its cheesy sci-fi premise with issue one and never looked back. A real masterpiece worthy of sitting beside WATCHMEN and SANDMAN on bookshelves everywhere. If you like this as much as Everyone did check out Vaughan’s current on-going series EX MACHINA.

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