Best of 2011: The Top Ten

Finally, only four months late... If the blurbs seem a little brief it's because I just want this done. And because it's hard to capture the feelings I had when I made this list back in early January -- and to separate some of the books from what's happened in them in 2012. As far as credits go, they'll vary from title to title how detailed I get. And, of course, this list draws upon the comics I read in 2011. I almost surely missed out on tons of great stuff, but, alas, I am but one man with one wallet and one pull list. Let's get to it...



10. Secret Avengers #16-20 by Warren Ellis, Jamie McKelvie, Kev Walker, David, Aja, Michael Lark, Alex Maleev, and others.
I'm amazed it took this long for a comic like this to pop up: Warren Ellis doing Global Frequency with Marvel characters. He took a title that never quite hooked me (and one I would have dropped if he hadn't come aboard) and made it a vibrant, energetic, inventive, must read every month. Each month, it was him and a fantastic artist telling a single story of crazy superhero espionage, usually with a few moments that stopped me dead in my tracks. Ellis has hit the point where he can play to artists' strengths better than almost any writer in mainstream comics. He can mix big expository scenes and KICKSPLODE! I would gladly read a comic like this every month forever.

9. Daredevil by Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera, Marcos Martin, and others.
I admire the approach Mark Waid took with this relaunch. It was thoughtful and smart, aimed at taking the book in a different direction than it's been for... well, years (decades?). And, paired with two incredibly talented artists, it was a great pop superhero comic this past year.



8. Holy Terror by Frank Miller.
Not to be too simplistic, but it's a graphic novel drawn by Frank Miller. Forget the story, the characters, everything. It's a big book of new Frank Miller art. It may be Batman pastiche, it may get a little sloppy in parts, it may feature some of his weakest writing (goddamn, that ending is lame), but this is a book that I can flip to any page and find something to stare at, to pour over, to love completely. Most of the books on this list have some great art, but this is the only one that made it here almost solely on the art.

7. Ultimates by Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribic, Dean White, and others.
Speaking of great art... Esad Ribic and Dean White became one of my favourite art teams this past year thanks to their works on Ultimates. Stunning, gorgeous, lush pages that manage to show a strange, foreign world that's large and insane, while still filled with these small, human moments. Thor's beard dripping with beer... Nick Fury looking completely fucked... the Black Widow's streaky mascara... the City in all its glory... the Children killing Asgard... this book lives in the extremes. Jonathan Hickman took all of two issues to completely hook me, to make me think that this is a comic that may live up to its potential and go completely batshit crazy. It was the best blockbuster comic of the year bar none.



6. Punishermax by Jason Aaron, Steve Dillon, Matt Hollingsworth, and others.
I have said this many times, but I am astonished that someone could follow Garth Ennis on this title. Ennis's run was so fucking good, such a definitive take, that the idea of others trying to write 'mature' Punisher stories in this little universe seemed destined to fail. And it did for a time after Ennis left the title. Under Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon, though, Punishermax has thrived, managing to add to and equal Ennis's run. Aaron's take on Frank Castle after he returned from Vietnam is chilling, especially with how he relates to his family. And, what's worse, is that it doesn't feel like a wrong approach to the character. It feels natural and that's insane. I don't think this title will make next year's list, so let's just pretend that the final two issues came out at the end of 2011 and remember this as one great comic. That final battle with Fisk and the final issue were both brilliant (though I still don't like the last couple of pages...). It brought Frank Castle's story to a fitting end. I still can't believe the balls in getting Steve Dillon to be the artist on the follow-up to Ennis's run, either. Awesome.

5. Batman, Incorporated by Grant Morrison, Yanick Paquette, Chris Burnham, Cameron Stewart, Scott Clark, and others.
Originally, this didn't make my CBR list of the top ten comics of 2011. That was a mistake. By the time December rolled around, this series was woefully behind and the last issue we'd gotten was that putrid Internet 3.0 issue. You can understand why, when it came to make that list, I passed Batman, Incorporated over. And, then, I talked to Tim and thought about it and Leviathan Strikes came out and reread the series and... well, here we are with it going from 'not on the list' to number five. That's because it's a damn entertaining comic. Thoughtful, energetic, crazy, layered, nuanced... and with great art by everyone not named Scott Clark. It's the next step in Grant Morrison's Batman and it genuinely comes off as something new and exciting -- something more than just a regular Batman comic. To me anyway.



4. Deadpool MAX by David Lapham, Kyle Baker, Shawn Crystal, and others.
Damn, this comic made me laugh. It was subversive and absurd, never going where you thought it would. The approach Kyle Baker brought to this comic was a combination of 'not giving a fuck' and pure straight man. Everything looks so serious that it adds to the absurd comedy. His Cable blows my mind with how it captures the over-the-top Rob Liefeld design while undercutting it with the monocle and sense that this is some prissy old dandy underneath it all. Every issue that this series went on, I was surprised that Marvel was still publishing it. I'm just sorry they never got around to using Captain America somehow...

3. Vengeance by Joe Casey, Nick Dragotta, and others.
These lists are always subjective, but this entry strikes me as more subjective than usual. Vengeance, from beginning to end, felt like a comic that Joe Casey wrote for me. He didn't obviously, but it's a comic that's so steeped in his work at Marvel that it feels that way. This is a comic so perfectly aimed at me, filled with allusions and references, starring characters that I haven't read about in years... Beyond that, it's a damn entertaining comic -- epic in scope, wonderful in its humanity, and filled with some of Nick Dragotta's best work of his career. He's quite adept at switching up his style in subtle ways. But, really, this is the comic I've been waiting years to read and it makes it this high on the list because... well, how often do you get something that seems so squarely aimed at you and only you?



2. Butcher Baker, the Righteous Maker by Joe Casey, Mike Huddleston, and others.
I agree that the Eisners didn't need to nominate anything for the "Best New Series in 2011" category -- because they should have just given the award to the goddamn Righteous Maker. If Vengeance was the comic my inner Joe Casey obsessive fan was waiting for, Butcher Baker was the comic that the Automatic Kafka fan inside was waiting for. An all-out look at superheroes that wasn't afraid to shy away from the 'adult' stuff without simply putting it out there for the sake of it. A hero comes out of retirement to kill all of his villains, except some survive and he pisses off a highway patrol man... Mike Huddleston is channeling Ashley Wood to a degree, except you can understand everything he draws. Everything about this screams thematic sequel to Kafka and, yet, it also manages to be its own thing.

1. Scalped by Jason Aaron, RM Guéra, and others.
And Scalped finally makes it to the top of the list after how many years of coming oh so close... Actually, it hit the top this time by a wide margin. When I make my lists, I tend to write down all of the comics I bought that year and begin putting contenders in a separate list. Once I do that, I begin eliminating things that I don't think make the top ten while also putting ones that will for sure make it near the top. There was a lot of movement this year for every spot, except the number one spot. Nothing else I read this year could challenge Scalped for the best comic of the year. Constantly surprising, moving, and just damned impressive... I don't know what to say. It's a book that gets better every year and, as it moves towards its end, it was at its peak in 2011. Maybe it will top itself in the first half of 2012.

Later

Best of 2011: Ten Pre-2011 Comics that I Read in 2011

Something that always gets lost in the end of the year round-ups of the best comics published that year is the influence of past works upon the year. No one just reads brand new work the entire year and ignoring the comics from prior to the year in question gives an incomplete view of the year. When I used to run down my favourite albums of the year, I'd always do a section for the albums from prior years that I'd only just gotten that year. I figured I'd do the same for comics this year. Presented in alphabetical order are my ten favourite comics (or groups of comics) that I read in 2011 that were published prior to 2011.

Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Box, Astonishing X-Men: Exogenetic, and Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis by Warren Ellis, Simone Bianchi, Phil Jimenez, Kaare Andrews, and others. I honestly can't remember if I got Ghost Box this year or in late 2010. Let's just assume it was this past year to make things easier. These three trades comprise Warren Ellis's three stories on Astonishing X-Men and, if you're a fan of Ellis's writing, they're entertaining little stories where he treats the X-Men like the frontline response of an endangered species struggling to stay alive, protect the future, and fuck up anyone who crosses them. Not a take that everyone likes, but I really like it. Ellis's approach to the characters is very much in line with where Cyclops is right now and that's an interpretation of the character that I enjoy. Hell, it may be my favourite version of the character. Ellis also focuses heavily on genetics, alternate realities, and variations on the idea of a 'mutant.' He's paired with some good artists and is obviously just having some fun with the tools available.

'Breed: The Book of Genesis and 'Breed: The Book of Ecclesiastes by Jim Starlin. With Image publishing 'Breed III this year, they also put out trades of the first two 'Breed mini-series. The three volumes function together as a whole to tell one big story: Ray Stoner discovers, while serving as a soldier in Vietnam, that he's not human -- he's half human, half demon. Demons have been softening the world up for decades to make it right for them to come here and consume it. So, he must go against the demons and other 'breeds to try and destroy the leader of the demons, his own father. I didn't know much about 'Breed before reading 'Breed III and these trades made that a lot clearer. Jim Starlin has said that this is his favourite series and it's one that allows for a wide range of concepts and stories. He may have stuck to a fairly strict straight line, but, in there, is magic, sci-fi, war, romance, noir... basically, it's a series that accomodates everything. Hell, in 'Breed III, he brought in all of his other major creator-owned characters to help Stoner out! This was a major gap in my Starlin knowledge, now filled.

Elektra Lives Again by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. I got one of the reprints that's regular comic size, something that Retailer Tim informed me was a mistake. Me, I'm just happy to have gotten a chance to read this story. Frank Miller applying some his later style to Matt Murdock and telling a story where Murdock wanders around not knowing what's really going on. It's a story about a superhero out of his depth and utterly ineffective. So much happens that we don't know about because we're so tied to Murdock. It's original and rather astonishing. And utterly gorgeous.

The Flash: The Trial of the Flash by Cary Bates, Carmine Infantino, and others. I got this because of Graeme and Jeff talking it up so much. One of those rare instances of DC using their 'Showcase Presents...' books to collect a big story rather than just X number of issues of a title. The story itself is a rather loose one throughout with a lot of the usual superhero bullshit popping up. What made the biggest impression upon me was how this changed my opinion of Barry Allen. Before this, I thought he was a boring, one-dimensional character. Now, I understand that he's a selfish asshole like every other Silver Age DC hero. One of the main subplots of the story revolves around Barry's fiancee going crazy because he stood her up on their wedding day -- where the Flash apparently killed the Reverse-Flash to save her life. Instead of just telling her that he's the Flash and he was late because he was fighting his arch-nemesis, he lets her get put in a mental hospital and, then, fakes his own death. Now, if this Barry Allen was the one currently in the DCU, I think I'd be much on board with the character. This was also my first extended exposure to Carmine Infantino's art. I know it's later in his career, but he made a lot of strange choices. Lots of slanted panels mixed with extreme close-ups that left you wonder what you were looking at. Very different from most superhero art.

Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 by Jack Kirby. DC has finally begun releasing these omnibi in softcover for those of us who missed the hardcovers. This first volume is mostly introductions and Jimmy Olsen comics. I rather like the way that Kirby was establishing his own little corner of the DCU with four comics, each offering a different perspective. He just hits the ground running and doesn't look back. The common thread through all four titles is Darkseid as he schemes to find the human who can comprehend the Anti-Life Equation. You can already see the connection to The Eternals, which was more focused and shied even further away from the superhero stuff. There isn't a lot of straight up superhero content in these comics aside from Superman. The New Gods all wear their costumes and have powers, but don't seem like 'superheroes.' I'm curious how those ideas will further develop over the next three volumes -- all of which I'd love to see released in 2012.

Various Hellblazer comics by Jamie Delano, Si Spencer, Peter Milligan, Ian Rankin, and a whole host of artists. I continue to own more Hellblazer comics than any other series. I added, what, nine trades, two original graphic novels, and a "Vertigo Resurrected" reprint to my collection this year? The bulk of that was comprised of comics written by the first Hellblazer writer and the current one, Jamie Delano and Peter Milligan. I don't buy single issues of Hellblazer much and, usually, wind up reading big chunks of issues. It's strange to read the beginning of the series and where it is now in the same year. John Constantine has changed quite a bit -- although not as much as you'd think. Jamie Delano's Constantine is a bit of fuck up and neophyte when it comes to magic. He knows some stuff and is a player, but he's got a lot to learn and is definitely not the biggest man on the block. By the time we get to Milligan, Constantine is the fucking man. Guys like Warren Ellis and Brian Azzarello wrote him in a way where magic wasn't a problem at all. He could almost do anything. His main problem is that he's a selfish bastard. Milligan amps that personality defect up to the point where it gets in the way of magic. Everything is so easy for him that he has to struggle with his true nature to not abuse his power -- and there are always types of magic out there that he still knows shitall about. Milligan's version of the character is one that definitely goes back to its roots. Before 2011, I'd read more Hellblazer comics than any other series (probably) and, yet, I was missing a big chunk of what makes the character who he is. And I'm still missing stuff. Bring on 2012.

Pretty much the complete Marshal Law by Pat Mills and Kevin O'Neill. I already owned some of Marshal Law and read most of what I didn't own since my dad had them when I was growing up. But, this year, I bought everything I didn't have and read the entire run of mini-series and graphic novels, including the two novellas Mills and O'Neill did. It's funny how influential these comics were (something that's still not recognised really, even though everyone who writes about them mention how influential they were) and, yet, how, with each progressive series, they became more childish, more self-parodic, and less influential. That doesn't mean that they stop being 'good,' just that there isn't much new said after the initial six-issue series. There are small moments in the rest that add to the good Marshal's character or further explore the concepts of abuse of power, guilt, and sense of betrayal by the government and superheroes. That the character is continually pushed to the point where, in the novellas, he suffers a full psychotic break between his 'real life' as Joe and his 'night life' as Marshal Law. Towards the end, neither Mills nor O'Neill seem to care as much. And why would they? What is there to say in a crossover with the Mask except that no matter what, Marshal Law is the dominant personality? They even forego the usual parodies by the end. How long can you keep making the same jokes? The Boys found some more to make, but even those grew tired at times. It's funny that, by the end, Marshal Law returned, in a sense, to where it began: focusing on broader statements and the characters, not worrying about sticking it to specific superheroes.

100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso. I don't know what to say about this. I read this series for the first time in a week? Maybe less? It's all kind of a blur. A blur that I really enjoyed, which is why I read through it so quickly. A big series about violence and power that was every bit as good as everyone told me it would be. The way that it mixed in the larger story with the smaller contained elements, building on what came before was impressive. I'd read a few things that Risso had drawn before, but prolonged exposure to his art was something entirely different. Watching him build the world and characters with Azzarello, making the visuals matter as much as the writing (more in places). I think that's part of what makes these longterm Vertigo series work for me: a strong, consistent visual voice. It's part of what makes Preacher and Transmetropolitan so great -- and part of the reason why The Invisibles is always lacking to a degree for me. If there's one comic I want to reread in 2012, it's 100 Bullets. A slower read where I can take my time and really think about things as I go.

Ronin by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. Another comic that my dad had and I'd flipped through a bit. I'd never read it proper. Bought the original issues cheap this year and... wow, this is Frank Miller throwing everything he can on the page. Every influence, every bit of craziness, all of it is just tossed out like this could be the last comic book he ever gets to make. And why not? It was his chance to do six issues of a comic where he wasn't stuck working with decades of continuity and expectations -- these were his characters, his world, and he didn't slow down or back off of anything. You can see the grotesque side of his art coming out in places here and that's the Miller I like best. I like the messy, ugly Miller. This isn't my favourite work of his yet... probably not top five. But, I've only read it once and moved on. It was a busy year of catching up after finally getting a full time job. Hopefully, I'll get the chance soon to go back and slow down, give it the look it deserves. Hell, I can say that for everything here, can't I?

Silver Surfer: Parable by Stan Lee and Moebius. I buy the issues and Marvel decides to put out a new collection a few months later. That's my sort of luck. I'm great at hunting down original issues only for a collection to be announced within the year. Anyway... The original issues didn't age well (which is why I'm getting the upcoming hardcover). Not the best way to read this series for the first time -- still, Moebius art on shitty paper is still better than no Moebius art at all, right? His Silver Surfer is just so casual on his board. It's not an intense riding the waves look. It's a guy who stands completely secure in who he is and what's going on. He looks like a guy standing on a street corner waiting for the bus, not someone flying an insane speeds hundreds of feet in the air. It's one of those odd approaches to a character that changes how you see them. I wound up looking at these two issues every day for a few weeks. Just flipping through them, checking out a panel here, a panel there. I did the same thing with that Incal hardcover that came out with the original colouring. Moebius is one of those artists whose work I can spend hours lingering over.

28: The Critics aren't Impressed (Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Well Fuck You)

[Another in my series of posts that are far behind schedule. And like the ones before it, this one is disjointed, barely thought through, and probably doesn't actually say anything...]

One of my favourite pieces of critical writing is found in an issue of Spin from, probably, 2004. I have the issue in a box somewhere around here. It's one of the few issues I kept when I moved out of my parents' house and threw the rest away along with most of my Rolling Stones and Wizards. It's a column by Dave Eggers for that brief period where he wrote a column for the magazine and details a contract between musicians and their fans inspired by the realisation that he (like many of us) are prone to giving up on beloved musicians as they age and become 'less good' (less cool). Basically, the contract is an agreement to just give the new stuff a chance and not instantly write it off because it's different and new and maybe not the best work of their career but could contain some cool ideas and one or two songs that will number amongst your favourites someday. Even in my early twenties, I could see the wisdom of Eggers's contract (though it may have been meant ironically... I can never tell). In my late twenties, it seems essential.

Yesterday, Ryan Adams released a new album, Ashes & Fire. It's his first new studio album since 2008's Cardinology (he released some 'lost' albums in between the two like 2010's fantastic III/IV, which stemmed from the same sessions that produced 2007's Easy Tiger). I've listened to the album a bunch of times via a stream supplied by Adams since I pre-ordered the album off his site and, then, the downloaded copy that will tide me over until my CD arrives in the mail. Right off the bat, I was unimpressed. Later, I was grooving on it. Now, I'm at sea with it... of many minds. And I love that. I absolutely love that I don't just think one thing about his music. It winds up being a comparison to everything he's done before and trying to fit it into its creative context. Like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, or Lou Reed, Adams does what he wants and, if it coincides with what other people like, well, hey, look at that! I love that. For me, those are the people worth following and sticking with -- worth signing a lifetime contract with.

It's no secret that Joe Casey is my comic Ryan Adams. It's part critical repution bullshit, but it's mostly that his work is almost always interesting in some way. There's some little nugget of greatness sitting in his done-for-money work, or he produces something like Automatic Kafka, Wildcats, Mr. Majestic, Gødland, etc. You never know. Literally. YOU NEVER KNOW. Who thought his final year on Adventures of Superman would be what it is? Or that he could do the wonders he did on Cable before jumping to fucking Deathlok? Look at Wildcats! He's fucking earned my signature on that contract that says I'll stick with him and do the work and try my best to stay with him wherever the fuck he goes.

That's not to say that you have to go where an artist goes, just that you should make the effort. I don't agree with David Brothers on Holy Terror, but I admire that he put in the effort. He tried. He read and reread and he thought about what he was reading and looking at before he made up his mind. Basically, he held up his end of the contract he'd developed with Miller over the years. It's not that Miller earned his undying loyalty; he simply earned an honest shot and that's what David gave him.

It's been fun to see people just turn on Miller for that book. It's not new, it's more a completion of the turn that began with The Dark Knight Strikes Again and continued with All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder. He's kind of like '80s Neil Young right now, isn't he? Strangely political and doing stuff that even longtime fans are scoffing at... But, I wonder how many people actually gave it serious thought before dismissing it. Hell, how many dismissed it without reading it? (Obviously, not everyone can read everything, especially when it costs $30 or so, but that's a boring pragmatic point...)

And this is the guy who people love. Same with Alan Moore. And look at how quickly everyone turned on them. Not just their work, but them. Part of me can understand it, because I'm not an idiot. But, fuck, part of me just doesn't get it. How are people not even trying? I'm definitely guilty of that myself and I can't explain it besides a lazy excuse like, well, laziness. Is it our desire to tear down everyone that's 'great?' We can't stand someone who stands too far above the pack and eventually turn on them because we love them? Nah, probably not that either.

Yet, people keep buying X-Men comics because they feel loyal to the characters no matter the quality of the comics. So I'm stumped.

Sketch Reviews (September 29 2011)

And so ends the wild ride that was September Comics. If I'd gotten my comics yesterday, that would have also ended on the same day as the end of the wild ride that was September Baseball... and it was a pretty fucking wild ride last night, wasn't it? Both Wild Card spots determined, two collapses completed, a few insane comebacks (with Tampa Bay's being the most insane), and just a ton of excitement for those of us who care. Plus, earlier in the day, while I was at work, the Jays won their final game of the season. So: good day. Same with today and the final batch of September comics. As always, these are brief thoughts and anything I'm reviewing for CBR isn't mentioned.

Annihilators: Earthfall #1: Already more enjoyable than the first Annihilators mini, which I found to be a bit of a letdown. I loved the part where everyone was ganging up on Quasar for wanting them to take it easy because they're on Earth when he has no problem letting loose on 'alien' planets. To the rest, Earth is an alien planet, so suck it, kid! The promise of the return of the Magus also has me engaged. More than that, Tan Eng Huat's art has a rougher edge this time out, more reminiscent of his work pre-Annihilators and I dig that look more. The back-up story is a back-up story. [***1/2]

'Breed III #5: And, just like that, 'Breed III becomes Starlin's version of what Vengeance is for me. That final page seemed fairly obvious once Wyrd mentioned having gathered some allies, but that doesn't stop it from being a total geek out moment for this Starlin fan. Besides that, a really good sustained bit of action in this issue and done in a visually inventive manner a lot of the time. Maybe finally reading the first two 'Breed series has gotten me more into this book, but I'm really excited to read the final two issues now. [***1/2]

Captain America & Bucky #622: Entertaining. Gorgeous. Yup. [***1/4]

Journey into Mystery #628: Talk about art just killing a comic... I like the writing, but the art made this a chore to get through. It's the sort of art that causes my eyes to slide off the page and hope for it all to be over soon. Gillen brings it... Portacio takes it and dumps it in the toilet. [**1/4]

Justice League Dark #1: Some interesting bits. Some great art. Like a lot of #1s I've seen this month, nothing about this felt complete or like anything more than the barest of introductions. Which I guess is where we are now in comics. This was the first act of an hour-long TV pilot... and those tend to have five acts. But, what I liked I liked enough to bring me back next month. [**1/2]

Secret Avengers #17: Not as distinctive as last issue with the dialogue, but pretty damn entertaining. I've liked Kev Walker's work for a long time now and glad to see him as one of the artists for Ellis's run. Lots of fun little moments in this issue like the eyeball mood speedometer or the final page or Steve's "Oh hell" panel. Already looking forward to the next one. [***3/4]

The Ultimates #2: Wow. This was a wonderfully constructed little comic that pretty much told a complete story within the larger story and pulled off something big... in issue two. I liked the first issue, but felt a little underwhelmed at the same time. For all of the "You can do anything in the Ultimate universe" talk I heard, I wasn't seeing that. Well, here it is. Shit. And Esad Ribic continues to draw the hell out of this comic. Skipping this new Ultimate relaunch looks like a mistake right now, anyone who did that. [****1/2]

Holy Terror: I'll keep this brief: I wasn't offended. I didn't find much in here particularly offensive. I'm also pretty hard to offend. I found it cartoonish and ridiculous in a laughable way. I'm not offended mostly because there isn't anything here worth taking seriously enough to be offended. The story is rubbish and the dialogue is Miller at his worse. The art is stunning and gorgeous and worth studying. I haven't encountered a disconnect between amateurish writing and masterful art this large in quite some time -- maybe ever. So: writing [-**]; art [*****]

Later

Blogathon 28: Put on Your Tights and Give Them Hell Part Seven

[Concluding my discussion of The Dark Knight Strikes Again.]

Why The Dark Knight Strikes Again is awesome:

Superman fucks Wonder Woman so hard the Earth literally moves. Batman gets together his old buddies so they can fuck some shit up with the kids. Green Arrow's cybernetic arm. Giant frog Brainiac. The callback to Superman's beatdown from The Dark Knight Returns. The Elongated Man advertising Gingold as a sexual stimulant drug. Barry Allen's short shorts and black Flash costume. How ridiculous Catgirl looks. Carving a zed on Lex Luthor's face. Steve Ditko's Question. The many costumes of Dick Grayson. "I'm done talking. Get out of my cave." The grizzled, cracking look of the Martian Manhunter. The giant SHAZAM! Captain Marvel's final speech. The way Wonder Woman just looks strong and proud. Hawk and Dove in their costumes. The Hawk-kids. Hal Jordan's otherworld family life. The Batman TV show climbing up a building page with the insane inmates of Arkham. The way that Batman loves his life in a way that he never does in other comics. That first shot of Superman in space. Creepy fat thug Lex Luthor. Computer colours that also uses solid colours sometimes. Dick Grayson catching his own head. Batman rallying the youth to rise up and fuck shit up. Catgirl swallowing the Atom. Bizarrobot. More visual references than you can shake a stick at. The giant eye of Batman on the cover of the trade. Beaten to a pulp Superman. The way his S symbol looks different when he and Wonder Woman are about to have sex and from that point on. Mini-Kryptonians and their harsh justice. Green Arrow 'debating' the Question. The Batboys. The grief-stricken Wonder Woman after Captain Marvel sacrifices himself. Superman's locket. The 34-panel page. How Plastic Man and the Elongated Man hate one another. Big green gloves. Virtual president. The commands to blow up the Batcave and disarm the self-destruct sequence. The way that Batman doesn't give a fuck what Superman thinks. Wonder Woman throws lightning while riding a pegasus. Superman and his daughter. Hologram Batman looking straight out of The Dark Knight Returns. Crashing the flying Batcar through hired goons. Taking a beating just for the hell of it and following it up with some tea. Pages I could stare at for days (and probably have by this point). The excitement I can't help but feel at the end of the first and second issues. The final panel.

In 30 minutes, I'll begin discussing Omega the Unknown.

[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative! (Details in this post.) After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]

Blogathon 27: Put on Your Tights and Give Them Hell Part Six

[Continuing my thoughts on The Dark Knight Strikes Again.]

The way the media is depicted in The Dark Knight Strikes Again is a radical shift from how it's shown in The Dark Knight Returns. Part of that is the change in the art from the grid to the loose pages. But, even with that, Miller's loose ADD-esque pages reflect modern media better. It's a channel-flipping style of depicting the media. With 24-hour news channels, it's become standard to flip back and forth, see who has the best coverage, the latest scoops, the most interesting news. Don't stay anywhere too long. Back in the '80s, you stuck with it, you watched these debates play out between pundits. The content itself hasn't changed much, just the time spent with it and how quickly it goes from zero to a hundred. In DKR, there was build-up to someone losing their cool; here, that's how they begin. I don't know how exaggerated the media representation is in DKR (if at all), but even if it was exaggerated, the contrast is striking. At least, there, there was some semblance of an attempt to inform people and have an intelligent discussion. It eventually broke down, but the intent was there. Or, at worst, the lipe service to the intent was there. Here, it's just noise. There's no questioning, no thought, just apes shouting and grunting in an effort to get the most attention.

The discourse in DKR, while satirising the media, had some merit to it. The idea put forth had some germ of an idea in them that you could think about. What effect would a person like Batman have on a city? Would he attract the mentally unstable and his presence influence them to engage him? The debate eventually became nonsense, but those ideas... they're part of what give DKR depth. There are no such ideas in DKSA. No one talks long enough on TV to present a fraction of that sort of depth. No one listens, no one thinks, everyone sinks to the easiest argument to bring in the viewers.

Each book is a comment on their time, but, fuck, DKSA is meaner and... more accurate. Its disjointed narrative and approach to the media is entirely appropriate for 2001. Hell, it's still appropriate for 2011. But, I remember those days post-Bush's 'election' and the sense of outrage in young people. And I live in fucking Canada. The media becoming a fucking joke in the wake of the 2000 election (it was already a joke, but people stopped laughing then, I think). I don't know. More than any other comic, this reminds me of my final two years of high school. Of my early days on the internet. Of being an angry young man. Of being a stupid young man. Try telling that guy that this comic is anything but awesome. You won't be able to, because it's pure fucking awesome.

And, in 30 minutes, I'll tell you why to finish off the discussion of this comic.

Also, we're up to $225! Keep those donations coming!

[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative! (Details in this post.) After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]

Blogathon 26: Put on Your Tights and Give Them Hell Part Five

[Continuing my discussion of The Dark Knight Strikes Again.]

Seeing where The Dark Knight Strikes Again differs from The Dark Knight Returns brings to mind the influence of the series on All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder. How does one reconcile the role of Dick Grayson in the two? Or even Hal Jordan? What's funny is seeing how Miller's take on the other heroes' reactions to Batman when they first learn about him to how they all follow his lead in the future. It's a shift from Superman and Wonder Woman to Batman. They begin by following raw power and, eventually, follow brains and skill. Or, at least, that's the way that Miller sees it.

The Dick Grayson question is harder to pin down, because we haven't seen where All-Star Batman ends. (Will it ever end?) He follows up a book where Dick Grayson is a grotesque Joker-looking unkillable man that slaughters his way through heroes to get at Catgirl and Batman with a book exploring Batman rescuing and adopting Dick Grayson? Anyone who wondered about Frank Miller's sense of humour look no further than that juxtaposition. More than that, he insisted that the title not just be All-Star Batman but All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder. That could point to the Dick Grayson in DKSA being the biggest middle finger of the book. More than Superman getting beaten down in the exact same way, more than the art or utter willingness to 'spit on the grave' of DKR. He fucked up Dick Grayson for a laugh. Hell, he fucked up Dick Grayson for a gay joke. In DKR, the Joker was hinted to be in love with Batman, so, in DKSA, the same is implied with Dick through the Joker look and the way he attacks Catgirl and speaks to Batman. But, Miller being Miller, takes that Batman/Robin gay thing and twists it by having Batman basically shout "I ain't no queer, faggot!" (pardon the language) and kill him. The ultimate declaration of his masculinity. He wasn't creepy for keeping a young boy in tights in a cave; he was just a misunderstood good guy who is too damn sexy to resist. Does one read All-Star Batman and think of DKSA? Do you see that little boy as a twisted freak falling into a pit of lava?

The jump from the Hal Jordan of All-Star Batman to the one of DKSA is dramatic. It's almost like All-Star Batman #9 is the beginning of the reeducation of Hal Jordan where he sees just how good Batman is and starts to listen and learn. After all, in DKSA he's practically a god that leaves his home just to do Batman a favour. That's a far cry from the idiot that got beat up by a little kid.

Of course, there's the idea that these books don't exist in a continuum. I think that's hard to argue given the depictions of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Those are very consistent. They're the only characters (aside from Plastic Man, I guess) who don't change. They are who they are. The only sense of change you get is Superman towards the end of DKSA when he finally begins to embrace his potential and differences. I was always curious about Miller's promised/mentioned Superman project, but no more so than after that final shot of him with his daughter, wondering what to do with their planet.

In 30 minutes, I'll possibly finish off my thoughts on The Dark Knight Strikes Again, but who knows.

[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative! (Details in this post.) After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]

Blogathon 25: Put on Your Tights and Give Them Hell Part Four

[Continuing my discussion of The Dark Knight Strikes Again.]

I get the feeling that Kingdom Come is an induction speech to a Hall of Fame or for a Lifetime Achievement Award, while The Dark Knight Strikes Again is a roast. Both tributes that show affection and love, but do so in different ways.

Take the use of Captain Marvel. In DKSA, he's a little goofy and old fashioned -- then again, that's who Captain Marvel is. He's always been a little goofy and old fashioned. Here, he has a wisp of grey hair and wears little reading glasses. He eventually sacrifices his life and it's a truly heroic moment. He gets a similar moment in Kingdom Come, but, before that, he's treated like an evil Superman almost. A manipulated, drugged manchild that's struggling with what's right and able to stand toe to toe with Superman. Both treat him with respect; one pokes fun and the other takes him seriously. Neither is right or wrong.

The biggest difference is the fundamentally different views on Batman. That goes beyond the jokey/serious differences of the two books. In both, Batman doesn't necessarily trust the guys with superpowers, he thinks himself better and more capable than them. But, that's a universal aspect to Batman. Where they differ is their willingness to take control and change things. That's his main issue with Superman in Kingdom Come: the unwillingness to change things. He doesn't like the idea of Superman and the Justice League rounding up bad guys and won't join up. He's content to sit in Gotham and have robots police the streets. He's a fucking old man that's become set in his ways and is afraid to go outside almost. When he does go out, it's in big battle armour that makes him feel tough and scary. No one noticed the irony of that being a book attacking the '90s and their Batman wore fucking armour.

Frank Miller's Batman can't just sit at home. He has his soldiers, but he likes to get his hands dirty. He's the one to organise people and start fucking things up. And it doesn't take a big inciting event. It just takes him looking out his window and noticing a corrupt world that needs fixing. Then again, The Dark Knight Returns covered the whole 'coming out of retirement' bit that Superman goes through in Kingdom Come. Would a more accurate comparison be DKSA and The Kingdom? Ha, oh god, that would awesome. Someone get on that.

The kiss between Superman and Wonder Woman in Kingdom Come seems like a Frank Miller moment. But, Batman bossing around their kid in DKSA is funnier and more entertaining then the three adults sitting in a restaurant and talking like boring folks.

In 30 minutes, I'll continue this, I imagine.

[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative! (Details in this post.) After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]

Blogathon 24: Put on Your Tights and Give Them Hell Part Three

[Continuing my discussion of The Dark Knight Strikes Again.]

While there are some obvious points of compare/contrast with The Dark Knight Returns, I've always felt the more natural comic to look to was Kingdom Come. I don't know if Frank Miller ever read it; I don't care. Both are books that take place in the DCU's future and offer a big battle ground for heroes, particularly ones with a Silver Age feel. Where Kingdom Come put the emphasis on Superman and Wonder Woman with Batman a secondary player of sorts, DKSA puts Batman front and centre with Superman and Wonder Woman as secondary players. That simple inversion presents an entirely different sort of story, especially when you consider the radically different take on Batman Miller has from... well, pretty much everyone. His Batman is a guy who loves being Batman. That's what the Goddamn Batman really is. That's why I like Miller's take so much. He gets how much fun it would be to be Batman and how Batman would go for bigger and bigger thrills, especially as he got older. Superman is almost reluctant to come back in Kingdom Come. And his return is a limited sort, one focused mostly on making heroes 'respectable.' Batman wants to tear shit up.

It's their approach to nostalgia that I find particularly illuminating. Kingdom Come was about the '90s and the types of heroes that had become popular, about emphasising a more traditional heroism. "Back in my day, superheroes wore tights and fought bad guys and drank milk and never swore and..." It's a 'I wish things were like they used to be' nostalgia. DKSA is the sort of nostalgia that makes a guy take all of the characters he loved as a kid and tosses them into an insane situation where they get to rile up young people and attack the status quo. It's the nostalgia of being young, of wanting that feeling back instead of wanting things to be like they were. Hell, I get that nostalgia and I'm only 28. It's applying the idea of taking on the world to old men. Of giving those characters another chance to shine, albeit in a different way.

It's easy to see why Kingdom Come is more revered. It's notalgia is the popular one with the comics set. It's iconic nostalgia. These characters are icons and must be treated seriously and with respect and never mocked even though they're pretty fucking silly. Miller gets that they're silly and loves them all the more. He doesn't take them seriously. Why would he?

What's especially telling: in Kingdom Come, the 'villain' is the future. The new kids are brats and they must be taught respect. Eventually, better villains emerge; still, it's not traditional. Miller is much more traditional. His bad guys are bad guys and the kids are alright. Miller's mockering is gentle, while Kingdom Come seems to look around and declare everything shit.

I used to like Kingdom Come, but, man, it's hard to sometimes. There are moments of beauty and poetry in it. Some moments that really sing for me. Not like The Dark Knight Strikes Again, which is only, what, five years later and feels like it comes from an entirely different generation.

I just get the impression that Kingdom Come is for kids and men in their thirties, while The Dark Knight Strikes Again is for teens and people in their twenties.

In 30 minutes, we reach the halfway mark of the Blogathon and I continue my ramblings on The Dark Knight Strikes Again.

[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative! (Details in this post.) After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]

Blogathon 23: Put on Your Tights and Give Them Hell Part Two

[Continuing my discussion of The Dark Knight Strikes Again.]

The most immediate difference between The Dark Knight Strikes Again and The Dark Knight Returns is the art. In DKR, Miller based his page layouts on a 16-panel grid, four by four. While he didn't always (or often) draw all 16 panels, that was the basis. It's a dense layout and made for a dense, slow read. Here, there's no set layout. This is completely freestyle all over the place. The first page seems like a statement of intent when it comes to page layouts with eight small panels just tossed onto the lower half of the page over a full page shot of Batman's silhouette. There will be no neat order, no grids, just whatever the hell Miller feels like doing. There's no even a tier structure like he used in Sin City books. He literally seems to approach each page with the idea of doing what feels right and what he feels like drawing. Putting the two books next to one another is jarring in a way. You can see similarities, but they're so different visually that it's hard to believe that one is meant to follow the other. Three years have passed in the books' time, but 15 have passed in the real world.

The darker paints of DKR compared to the bright computer colours of DKSA are another big difference. What they add to tone is so obvious. If you ever want to see what colours can do to change a book's tone, take a look at these two books. I wonder if we would have taken DKR as seriously if it was coloured like DKSA... Then again, I'm not sure how DKR would even look that way. I'm surprised we haven't seen someone try to replicate that -- or the other way around. Would DKSA be taken more seriously if it had the painted colours of DKR? The colours add so much to the feel of the books. The paints of DKR capture the depressing doomsday feeling of the mid-'80s, while the bright and shiny bubblegum pop nature of DKSA is splashed across every page with weird computer effects and bright colours.

My favourite DKR callback in DKSA is the end of the first issue where Miller delivers his biggest insult to Superman: the beatdown that Batman and company lay down on him is basically the exact same one that Batman laid down in DKR. He bombs him, attacks his equilibrium, nails him with a version of Kryptonite, and lays a giant beatdown with his fists. Some other bits are thrown in, but it's almost exactly what happened the first time they fought. Superman is so dumb that the same tricks worked twice on him.

DKR was a Batman story, while DKSA is more of a DCU story. Batman is the central figure that the story pivots around, but so much of the book is spent examining other characters, showing us what this future has done to these characters. Last time, we saw some Bat-villains, Superman, and Green Arrow. This time, it's everyone pretty much. In that way, this one seems less like a statement about a character like DKR was and more like a wacky fan letter to a whole host of characters and comics that Miller loved. He ignores everything that happened since he read comics as a young man it seems. Everything calls back to the Silver Age, maybe the beginnings of the Bronze/Dark Age.

He was sentamental back when he was old...

In 30 minutes, I may talk a bit more about the two books, but I'll also throw in some Kingdom Come.

[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative! (Details in this post.) After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]

Blogathon 22: Put on Your Tights and Give Them Hell Part One

[Beginning my discussion of The Dark Knight Strikes Again.]

I wonder how many people who claim now to have loved The Dark Knight Strikes Again when it came out actually did. This book went from hated on release to slowly loved. There are still detractors but seem more rare than fans by this point. Of course, saying that, I immediately call into question my love for the book when it was being released. But, it's true. What wasn't to love? It was loud and crude and fun and funny and had a completely insane badass Batman breaking superheroes out of weird jails before they all ganged up on Superman and kicked his ass. What 18-year old wouldn't love that?

Miller's art is almost grotesque here and that only adds to the book. He's got that grotesque beauty thing down pat. It's messy and cartoony. Like a twisted animated series look at times. Like someone who does the DC TV shows got drunk one night and just went at it. Okay, maybe not. But, the dynamic nature of the characters -- Catgirl basically flies off the page! And she went from Robin to Catgirl! That's so insanely dumb! His page layouts are insane, just tossing panels wherever he wants before going to these wide open pages. It's a comic meant to be read quick and it speeds you along.

Superman goes from pawn of Reagan to pawn of Luthor and Brainiac. Or was that always the case? Being a Batman fan, I always liked the way Miller slapped Superman around a bit. The most pure so easily corrupted? Before, it was a sacrifice to save his fellow heroes; here, to save Kandor. The answer was always obvious: stand up and be a man about it, and actually save people instead of surrendering. Superman jumps to play the martyr almost.

The stuff with Robin made the choice of All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder an odd one in a way. Though, I still say that that book is to Year One what this is to The Dark Knight Returns with Spawn/Batman as the middle ground. Everything turns on that axis. My favourite Joker Robin costume gag is when he kills the Creeper dressed as Spider-Man right before the Question gets into an argument with the Martian Manhunter.

This book is so steeped in love of superhero comics and celebrating their brash stupidity. Miller loves them, but doesn't take them seriously. You can do both. The computer colouring is meant to be a little garish and ugly, a little overwhelming. Four colour adventures gone digital is the name of the game!

It's loose and fast and so full of energy. Maybe The Dark Knight returns is better technically, but this is the one that I'm more likely to grab and flip through.

In 30 minutes, I get my shit together a bit and begin talking about how this book relates to The Dark Knight Returns.

[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative! (Details in this post.) After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]

Sketch Reviews (June 2 2011)

I don't have too many thoughts yet on the big DC news. I question the wisdom of launching 52 titles (obviously a mix of ongoings and minis) in a single month like that, but, otherwise, until I see a full list of titles and creative teams, it's just a big question mark. Of the titles with creative teams announced so far, only Wonder Woman looks like something I'll buy. If they continue up that percentage, I'll be getting, what, 5.2 comics from them per month?

The Boys #55: Slowly but surely, Ennis has turned Butcher into a villain, hasn't he? He's never been a nice guy, always a bit of a bastard, but one you cheered for. Now? He's just another fucked up shit you want to see get gotten. And HOLY FUCK did McCrea's art kill this comic. The scene with Butcher and Mallory when Butcher went to kill the scientist -- what the fuck even happened there? Can someone explain that scene to me? I can't understand it. [**1/4]

Criminal: The Last of the Innocent #1: The interview Ed Brubaker did with Tom Spurgeon had me more excited for this than I already was. It's pretty great. I'm not sure using the Archie gang as a template is as mind-blowing as Brubaker thinks it is, but it's a useful way to make a point. I jump to Automatic Kafka #4, but that had a different point to it. Similar idea as a jumping off point. But, hey, maybe not. Phillips and Staples are probably my favourite art team. Maybe Williams and Stewart. But, fuck, that's some stiff competition. [****]

Fear Itself #3: Fraction was shooting for Morrison and wound up with Millar. Stuart Immonen carries the comic. [***]

Moon Knight #2: Okay, this comic is just kind of weird. And I like it. Not really sure multiple personalities work this way, but it's entertaining enough. All we need now is an awesome twist ala South Park and the City Wok guy to be complete. [***1/2]

SHIELD #1: Is this actually about anything yet? [**1/2]

Astonishing X-Men: Exogenetic: Picked up the trade today and really like the way Ellis writes the X-Men. Lots of snark that would build up over time of always being together. An entertaining plot that mixes together a lot of old things in a new enough way. The villain of the whole thing just makes me laugh. Not a great comic, but much more in the Nextwave tradition than I think people read it as. [***1/2]

'Breed: The Book of Genesis: Haven't read this yet... [N/A]

Counter X Vol. 2: Yeah, that's the actual name of this trade, but it's really the Generation X one. Unlike the X-Man one, which still really impressed me, this one doesn't hold up as well. Part of the problem is that this one tries to appeal to the existing fanbase more. Which is good at the time, but left me scratching my head a few times. It's also hurt by some pretty ugly art. I appreciate the idea behind the first story with the kids taking on an enemy that's suited to them specifically. I need to track down the uncollected issues, because I think that's where Wood really started to do some good work. I remember this one being the one I liked second-best of the three, so I'm curious how much the X-Force one will work for me. [***]

Elektra Lives Again: Bought this on eBay and it arrived this week. It's the 1996 softcover reprint and that suits me fine. This is a gorgeous book, but what stood out to me more than the art was how Frank Miller approached the writing. The story is much larger than what we get here. So much is going on, but Miller commits to sticking with Matt Murdock and we only see a small piece of it. For the most part, Murdock doesn't do anything. Everything happens around him and he's pretty fucking useless. The plot mirrors the grief and feelings of helplessness he has. He's powerless to bring Elektra back, to change the past, and everything that happens around him leaves him just as powerless. Daredevil doesn't even appear aside from some TV footage that looks kind of silly and out of place. One of the most 'adult' superhero stories I've read, honestly. True emotion, smart writing and structure... this is what the 'adult' superhero comic should aspire to. Maybe I'll expand upon that notion sometime. [*****]

Later

Booze, Broads & Bullets: Hell and Back

[The seventh of seven posts on Frank Miller's Sin City as part of a larger, cross-blog thing. David Brothers has the index over at 4thletter. He's discussed All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder, so go read! Go! Oh, and Sean has a couple of new posts, too. So go quicker!]

Hell and Back by Frank Miller with painted colours by Lynn Varley. (1999-2000.)

And so it comes to an end with the largest Frank Miller project there is, I believe, aside from his Daredevil run, but that wasn't exactly planned out like this. Nine 30-plus-page issues make up Hell and Back. Like other Sin City stories, this one is fairly simple and doesn't necessarily require the length it has, especially since it falls apart somewhat at the end. But, it's an interesting book. It reads like Frank Miller's greatest hits at times as he alludes to various past works throughout.

Wallace is an artist (who I wrongly called a photographer in my A Dame to Kill For post -- what, I thought he was a photographer... it had been a while) who saves Esther, a suicidal woman, from killing herself. While getting to know her later, he's shot with a tranq dart and she's kidnapped. When he investigates by filing a police report, he's hassled by crooked cops telling him to drop it, so he looks into it further and discovers a group doing some really nasty things. Not necessarily a plot that seems like it requires nearly 300 pages, but, you know, Frank Miller likes to have his room to breathe.

Hell and Back is driven, largely, by what Frank Miller feels like drawing. There's the chapter where Wallace is drugged and Lynn Varley does painted colours as Wallace hallucinates, seeing dinosaurs, little angels and fairies... his former army buddy shows up to help him, arriving in a splash page, looking like Leonidas except with a big-ass gun -- he quickly turns into Lone Wolfe & Cub, Captain America, Rambo, Big Guy to Wallace's Rusty, Wonder Woman, Marth Washington, Harry Callahan, Moses, Hellboy... Delia (Blue Eyes) shows up as Elektra... they go through a Dr. Seuss world in one panel... it's wacky and absurd, Miller drawing whatever comes into his head and having fun. It's a weird chapter and one that doesn't contribute much to the story. It's fun and stupid and really nice-looking.

Wallace is probably Miller's dullest leading man. He's so pure and without conflict that it's hard to get behind him. Hartigan was pure, but there was at least some tension between his love for Nancy and her love for him... there was some internal fucked up shit going on. Not with Wallace. He's ultra-capable (more so than any other Miller protagonist) and ultra-pure/focused. Delia poses as Esther's roommate and tries to seduce him, but he doesn't even seem tempted so taken by this girl he knew for one night that needs rescuing. When he seemingly succumbs to temptation, it's just a ruse to get Delia handcuffed to a bed.

As far as ability, a Vietnam vet, Wallace has no problem taking down four cops at once in a combination of Daredevil and Jim Gordon -- or taking out a sniper in a dark room with one shot through the scope. The drop is gotten on him once through a somewhat careless mistake, but it's not a case of someone being better than him or even outsmarting him. But, he's too good, too pure. Marv was amazing, but fucked up in the head. Dwight wasn't as skilled as Marv or Wallace and pretty fucked up. Wallace takes out Manute without any problems... something only Marv could do, because Marv is a fucking freak of nature. Even when Wallace works his way through the drugs, he's too aware, too strong-headed, too resistant...

It's a fine line between having a capable protagonist and one that's too capable. Maybe it's that Wallace has a dull personality. It's hard to get into him when he's so singularly focused -- the closest thing we get to a personality fault is at the beginning where he rips up a painting out of some urge to fuck with an asshole. But, the minute Esther comes into the picture, he's in full white knight mode and doesn't deviate from that path...

The connections to the other Sin City stories are tenuous. Manute appears, placing this before The Big Fat Kill. Wallace visits the bar from Family Values with the big-nosed bartender and a slightly younger drunken single mother. Delia and the Colonel appear, but both die. It's pretty stand alone -- set solidly within that world but without strong connections.

Delia appearing is interesting since we know who she is immediately because of the blue colours. That tension is great since we keep waiting for Delia to reveal herself an assassin and working against Wallace. Turns out, he figures it out pretty quickly, but goes along with it until he can get her alone and question her. Miller plays with our expectations well there, making us think one payoff is coming and then subverting it.

After Delia is killed, Miller introduces another woman assassin, Mariah, the opposite of Delia. Delia has blue eyes, wears blue clothes, has short curly/wavy hair... Mariah wears sunglasses, is coloured orange, has long, straight hair... Delia is subtle and submissive with her sexuality, while Mariah is overt and aggressive with hers... the character never really goes anywhere beyond being the opposite of Delia, but Miller introducing her only after Delia is dead is a sign that, maybe, he wrote himself into a corner. Delia had to die, but he needed a female assassin, so maybe the opposite of Delia would do a better job against Wallace?

Miller's art has that ugliness, that grotesqueness to it that Family Values had, but Miller pulls back and uses heavier blacks. More contrasts, more suggestive shapes... this looks like an integration of older techniques with the new. He also seems willing to play with white spaces more. In the police station, backgrounds are white, few shadows, just outlines of objects and their details. Very stark pages from Miller.

Really, though, this is one of the least interesting works from Miller visually. After the hallucination chapter, his art begins to look rushed and becomes blockier in the way "The Babe Wore Red" was. It's not good-looking, like he was under a lot of pressure to get the book finished. Pages look dashed off. Maybe his heart wasn't in it... maybe it was... I don't know, I can't speak to motives, just that the work is some of Miller's weaker art.

In the book as a whole, there aren't many pages or images that stand out in my head like there are from every other Miller-drawn comic. Maybe some of the painted pages, but that's it. If there's anything that tells you the quality of Hell and Back, it's that.

Hell and Back isn't bad. I enjoyed reading it, but it's forgettable. Maybe I'm wrong and missing the brilliance. That's certainly possible, but I look at it and just hope that it isn't the last Sin City book. It's a goofy, absurd work that clearly shows Miller having fun, but it's a lesser work. He doesn't seem to have anything to say here like he usually does.

Thanks for joining me in my rereading of Sin City. Remember, go check out the Booze, Broads & Bullets index at 4thletter for the rest of the posts done for this week of Frank Miller.

Booze, Broads & Bullets: Booze, Broads, & Bullets

[The sixth of seven posts on Frank Miller's Sin City as part of a larger, cross-blog thing. David Brothers has the index over at 4thletter. Go read anything you missed.]

Booze, Broads, & Bullets is a collection of various Sin City shorts and I'll take them one at a time in the order presented in the book. All by Frank Miller, obviously.

"Just Another Saturday Night" (1997). Marv killing some frat boys who he discovers beating up a homeless man for fun on the same night that Hartigan and Nancy meet in That Yellow Bastard. I haven't talked about it yet, but now is as good as time as any, but Miller is pretty... not obsessive, but... sure, let's say obsessive about telling us how stories fit together, throwing in little background scenes of characters interacting. "Blue Eyes," for example, shows an unseen scene between Shellie and Gail during A Dame to Kill For. It's interesting, but grows a little tedious after a while. Maybe that's because I don't care. What does it matter that Marv had this little adventure on the same night as Hartigan's shit with Junior? It doesn't. It's not a distraction, but it's unnecessary. More than that, Miller also likes to fill up background scenes with small pieces of dialogue... which works sometimes and not others. Some pages get too busy. I find he's at his best when he keeps it simple and focused, which those pages get away from.

But, getting to the actual story here. It's not a favourite of mine. The art is similar looking to that used in Family Values with less contrast, more lines, a little rougher, sketchier, uglier than always... but also with more panels per page. This story feels cramped, like it needed more room. Not the 120-plus pages of Family Values, but more than the 17 it gets. One thing that Miller does that's interesting is having Marv tell us the story from after it happened, often giving us panels of Marv's head in the background or pushed to one size of a panel, showing us that he's narrating.

"Fat Man and Little Boy" (1996). A three-page story that focuses on Douglas Klump and Burt Shlubb, the eponymous Fat Man and Little Boy that have appeared in That Yellow Bastard and Family Values as well as "The Babe Wore Red," which is the last story in this volume. Klump is Little Boy, while Shlubb is Fat Man. You can probably guess what they look like by their names. In this story, they just have to dispose of a body off the docks. It's rolled up in a carpet, but these nice boots are sticking out. They have a problem with deviating from their intstructions and doing stuff like stealing the wrong cars for jobs -- so, when they take the boots off to steal them, they discover that there's no body and the whole thing blows up. They've been punished for their greed and not following orders. A cute little story. Shlubb and Klump are entertaining since Miller writes them as these two lowlifes that use a lot of fancy words. It can get grating, but it makes them stand out and works in small doses like this. The story is only seven panels long, so Miller doesn't really do anything fancy with the art.

"The Customer is Always Right" (1994). A story that I like more each time. Only three pages, it's a little piece of flash fiction. Poetic and brief, haunting and alluding. Describing the plot doesn't really tell you why it's good. Basically, this is our introduction to the Colonel, an assassin (who, in Hell and Back is shown having interests beyond that) that kills a woman here, apparently at her request. It's soft and sweet. I really dig Miller's narration, which isn't that divorced from his standard poetic language when a man talks about a woman in one of his stories, but being limited here helps. Being vague and allusive works with the story. The art is entirely contrasts. No real outlines, characters existing half in light, half in shadows, lots of suggestion of form. It's raining for added mood. This is the story that Robert Rodriguez filmed to demonstrate the green screen technology to Miller to prove he could do Sin City and it begins the film. I like it better on the page with Miller's implied figures and extreme contrasts.

"Silent Night" (1995). A 26-page story told almost exclusively in splash pages and containing only one word balloon. The plot is simple: Marv goes to a place where a little girl is being kept, presumably so people can come and have sex with her -- or purchase her outright. So, Marv kills those responsible and takes her home. The story takes place on a snowy winter night, which means we get Frank Miller snow, which is the best snow you'll ever see in comics. It's wet, clumpy, heavy snow that just litters the page. You don't so much as see the snow as feel it -- at least if you've been in this sort of snow. The first page is just the snow, while the second and third have Marv walking towards us in the snow. Gorgeous pages. The fifth page gives us a full-page shot of Marv looking at us and it's probably the most 'human' image of Marv we've ever gotten. He doesn't look like Marv per se, but he doesn't not look like Marv. It's almost an attempt at drawing him in a more realistic manner, but still with big contrasts, lots of weird black and white lines. He doesn't look happy. The little girl, Kimberly, is drawn in a way that prefigures Nancy in That Yellow Bastard. There's a fun gag with two of the criminals being these twin balding fat goofs with big noses, sunglasses and striped shirts. Every page is a splash except for one page with two panels and another with three. Those pages move the story along as Marv descends into the basement of this building. Wonderful page after Marv has seen the girl of this bright white with minimal black -- Marv's internal rage before he kills the fuckers.

"And Behind Door Number Three..." (1994). A four-page story about Gail and Wendy capturing a rapist/murderer that ends with them about to torture him. Really simple, notable for the art, which has Miller really pushing his use of negative space to suggest forms and shapes. In the first panel, Wendy's head is a white shape that simply blocks out the background. He also does a nice trick with three of the pages containing the same perspective and having one of the women enter. First Wendy, then Gail, then Miho. Nice repetition of the image.

"Blue Eyes" (1996). The introduction of Delia, the eponymous Blue Eyes, who has blue eyes and always wears blue clothing. One of the rare characters to get colour in Sin City, it would hardly work without the colour. Jim is being followed by the Colonel for no reason that he can think of, unaware even who the Colonel is. But, it's driving him crazy, so he steals a car to escape him, winding up at Kadie's -- but the Colonel shows up there, too! Just as he turns to leave, there's Delia, an old flame that's in trouble and he's more than happy to get back with her and help. After having sex, she kills him, revealing that she married a bad guy who she killed, discovering she has a talent for it and enjoys it, and killing the man she really loves is her initiation into a guild of assassins. At the end, the Colonel comes in, says that crying is okay and part of the process, and that she needs a codename -- she says to call her Blue Eyes. There's a great trick where the first half of the story lives inside Jim's head via thought balloons, but when Delia shows up, the thought balloons disappear and Marv gets some. Delia arrives and Jim stops thinking, he just reacts, never questioning the coincidence that he's being followed and Delia arrives at the same time.

There's something disturbing about Delia. The colouring of her eyes is so bright that they seem bigger (maybe they are bigger), giving her an odd look. The blue clothes really make her stand out. It's an interesting decision to colour not just her eyes blue, but her clothes as well. There's a bit of the sketchy heavier lined look in the art here, but it's much more focused on contrasts -- contrasts that grow to heighten the tension that then slowly disappear once Jim is with Delia. The emotion post-sex when Delia realises that she really loves Jim, more than she thought she did, is great.

"Rats" (1996). An odd story that's divorced from every other Sin City story. It's about a former Nazi living in Basin City in a shitty apartment. He gases rats in his stove until a man comes in and sticks the Nazi's head in the oven to gas him. Pretty clear on what the point of it is. One thing I've always liked about this story is the way that the narration is presented: large typewriter-esque captions with every word seemingly cut out of a typewritten page and just pasted on the art. Gives it a different feel. The text is larger and dominating. The Nazi eats dog food. Lots of contrasts in panels. The man that kills the Nazi is a large, balding man with glasses. I don't believe we've seen him anywhere else. Wikipedia says that some call him the Janitor for whatever reason.

"Daddy's Little Girl" (1996). No connection to other Sin City stories, but in total faux-noir vein and storytelling. Miller uses pink colouring for Amy, the woman here that gets Johnny, our narrator, to go and kill her father so she can inherit his money and they can be together. It has him agonising over the decision, eventually approaching the old man and, first, asking for Amy's hand in marriage, but, when rebuffed, he shoots the father. Except it was blanks in the gun and it's all part of a sick incestuous game Amy and her father play where this is the only way to get him excited. The pink colouring gives Amy that sweet, soft look that makes her betrayal a little more sicker and twisted. Johnny looks a bit scummy, a little too old for Amy himself. Miller uses a mix of extreme contrasts and regular detailed shots. One panel of the father standing in front of a giant window in his mansion, us looking in from an upper angle is great. Fantastic lighting and shadow.

"Wrong Turn" (1997). A 23-page story about Delia that's really relaxed with lots of splashes and heavy use of blacks. The story begins with a man almost hitting Delia, who is lying on the road in the rain. He swerves to miss her, gets out, helps her out by giving her a ride after he car has broken down. She wants him to take her to the Pits and he obliges her, reflecting on the fact that he's married, but he had a fight with his wife. There's a slow seduction as Delia, in tight wet clothes, tells him about her first time, which was with a guy there and, just before sex, he stops her to tell her he's married. She wonders aloud why he'd lie about his name, but then come clean about having a wife. Turns out she was supposed to kill another guy in a similar car that was supposed to be coming down that road then -- he got a flat tire. She kills him and the Colonel is there to tell her that it was an honest mistake and that this guy wasn't so innocent as his wife's body is in his trunk. The story ends with Delia going to go kill the intended target on a train. The series of splashes of Delia in the rain are gorgeous. Lots of shadows mixed with white lines for rain, blue clothes sticking to her... and, then, the make-out/pre-sex pages are done without panel borders, just blending into one another. A really good-looking story. Lots of the sketchy ugly art of Miller's, but it works well here.

"Wrong Track" (1997). A three-page sequel to "Wrong Turn" where Delia kills the intended target after having sex with him on the train. The Colonel asks her at the end if she's going to have sex with every target and she says only the ones she likes. The opening splash of the train in the tunnel is great. A winding, curved look with lots of bricks.

"The Babe Wore Red" (1994). The last story in this collection, it was the main story from the first Sin City comic to contain short stories (along with "The Customer is Always Right" and "And Behind Door Number Three...") and the first to use colour. Miller has said that he used the red for the woman's dress, because he wanted to highlight her curves. Which the red does. This is a Dwight story as he comes when a friend calls for help only to find his friend strung up on a ceiling fan by piano wire. He finds a body with its head in the toilet and Fat Man Shlubb behind the door -- the first appearance of the duo, I believe as Klump shows up later in the story. After laying him out, he discovers the babe in red in the shower. Someone takes a shot through the window and they leg it. Klump (the shooter) and Shlubb follow to the Farm where Dwight takes them out and discovers what's what. His buddy was helping a PI (the body) and the girl just got mixed up at the wrong time, nervous about her wedding the next day -- the punchline being that she took her vows the next day to become a nun. A decent little story with an unexpected twist. Even rereading it, I kept waiting for her to betray Dwight, but Miller doesn't go there. Miller's art here is some of his weakest. Very clunky and messy... in that characters don't look right. It looks dashed off in a bad way. Maybe he was trying out some things, but they didn't work. I love the use of red, but Dwight looks weird. Some panels, of course, are fantastic, but, overall, some really sloppy work.

Booze, Broads, & Bullets is a solid collection. None of the stories are fantastic, but there are some really nice bits here. Oddly, this would probably be the last Sin City book I'd recommend. Normally, short story collections are great (at least in the prose world), because you get to see an artist's range and get a lot of material in the same sized package. Something you can jump around in. It seems like Miller used his short stories as ways to try out things, see what art techniques worked, what characters caught his fancy, sometimes just have a bit of a laugh. Nothing wrong with that and I'm not disappointed with the book at all, it's just that a lot of what works works because of its context as book six in the series. Of seeing how these stories fed the longer narratives. Of how they add little character bits to the leads from the other books.

Tomorrow, Frank Miller Week concludes with Hell and Back, the longest Sin City story.

Booze, Broads & Bullets: Family Values

[The fifth of seven posts on Frank Miller's Sin City as part of a larger, cross-blog thing. David Brothers has the index over at 4thletter. David has some thoughts on The Big Fat Kill, while Sean does That Yellow Bastard.]

Family Values by Frank Miller. (1997.)

123 pages. The longest sustained story with no seralisation or chapter/issue breaks of Frank Miller's career. In Eisner/Miller, this is the book he brings up the most, discussing how exciting it was to work on a project like this where he didn't really show any of it to anyone while he was working on. He just let it breathe and, often, would expand sequences because he felt they needed more room. The result is, honestly, a little bloated, but it works. If there's a Sin City book that I'd suggest someone start with, it would be this one -- partly because it's the cheapest, but it's also pretty indicative of the rest of the series.

Dwight is on a mission for the girls from Old Town with Miho as back-up. He's curious about a shooting at a local diner from the other night. We eventually learn that one of the Old Town girls was caught up in it and he's there so her lover can get revenge on the mob boss that ordered the hit to begin with. In the process, Miller explores the idea of family.

Artistically, Miller's art is somewhat ugly here. While Dwight was fresh-faced in previous stories, Miller's cross-hatching and use of lines on the face make him look a little worn down, approaching middle age. It's an ugliness that would carry on to The Dark Knight Strikes Again -- one that I dig. It's an attractive ugliness. One that works with the story. This is a story that lives in seedy bars and seedy places with crooked politicians and mobsters. The only attractive character throughout is Miho, who Miller draws in a blocky style with no shading, just outlines. She stands out from the rest of the characters. This little violent angel that radiates white light... speeding around on roller blades the entire time, slowly undressing as the story progresses. That's something that caught me off guard when I first noticed Miho's nipples popping out of her shirt, so I went back and, yeah, I hadn't noticed the half dozen times it had happened before. Ever notice how Miller always draws these big, thick nipples on women? I find that interesting.

The pacing here is relaxed, especially when we get to the end. Miller even jokes about it somewhat in a sequence where Miho is taking on one of the gangsters and Dwight keeps telling her to wrap it up, but she keeps toying with him. You can almost see the two sides of Miller: the one that wants to get on with the story and the one that's just having fun drawing a Japanese girl on rollerblades use a sword to fuck with this ugly brute of a man that keeps hurling racist comments at her. It's just absurdly stupid... but fun.

That's the key word here: I think Family Values is the Sin City yarn (as Miller calls them) where he's having the most fun. The freedom to just do what he wanted without worrying about issues or limitations really gives the book energy. He plays around with page layouts more, staggering panels in ways he doesn't elsewhere. He loses panel borders more than before. His work is sketchier, rougher... like he couldn't sit still long enough to do extreme contrasts and more purposeful compositions.

The writing has a playful quality to it throughout as well. The dialogue between Dwight and the woman in the bar is a little sad, but also very breezy, very musical. Some nice banter. Dwight really gets going when he's nabbed by some mobsters and keeps talking about how much fun he'll have driving their car, or talking out loud about how the one guy shouldn't keep mouthing off to Miho as that's only pissing her off. Dwight is having fun with this mission. He's enjoying fucking with the mobsters. Other stories have had him very serious (and rightly so), but he's so confident here that he can afford to be cocky and funny. There isn't anything on the line, no immediate deaths or broken truces... it's just some good ol' fashioned revenge, so why not fuck with them while you're doing it?

I love the bartender Miller draws. He begins with a cartoonishly big nose, but it gets bigger and bigger until it's bigger than his head. I love it.

Miller uses families a lot here, showing the connections and what matters -- ultimately, it's a lesbian relationship between two prostitutes that matters the most, which is Miller's punchline. Families come in all forms and what does the term 'family values' even mean? What family? Whose values? The politician that spouts off about 'family values' cheats on his wife openly. The mob is a family and it all begins with a hit gone wrong thanks to a mob Don's niece being in the wrong place at the wrong time -- same thing with the slain Old Town girl, wrong place, wrong time. There's a nice symmetry there.

One of the reasons I was looking forward to Holy Terror, Batman! was the chance to see Miller do another graphic novel with no chapter breaks or issues. Just watch him go as he sees fit, because I really dig it here. If you haven't checked out Sin City yet, drop the twelve bucks on this one.

Tomorrow, a bit of everything with Booze, Broads, & Bullets, a collection of just under a dozen short stories.