Booze, Broads & Bullets: A Dame to Kill For

[The second 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 check it out for his posts on Ronin and Elektra Lives Again.]

A Dame to Kill For by Frank Miller. (1993-1994.)

A Dame to Kill For probably ranks near the bottom of the Sin City books for me. I enjoy it and love how, rereading it, I could see how it's the one book that connects to every other Sin City book, but, man, that story... the story is just way too far gone. Even more so than The Hard Goodbye, this seems like a dry run for stuff Miller would do later. Dwight becomes a more entertaining and engaging character by the end and continues on in that fasion in future stories. The photographer stuff is handled better in Hell and Back. The problems between police partners is returned to in That Yellow Bastard (with one of the same cops). Even Miller's art is weaker here as he tries new things out.

I don't like Miller's art in big chunks of this book. At the beginning, he tries to mix a minimalism in thin line work with the extreme contrast of black and white he often has, and it doesn't look as good. The thin lines give it a look of incompleteness, like it hasn't been finished, just rushed through. Around the edges of characters, lines will disappear in places... I've been trying to think about why Miller used this style. He jumps around a lot in Sin City books, alterning lighting and how characters are expressed from panel to panel. I'm not sure I always understand why (other than him liking the way that looks), but this other style confuses me more since I really don't think it's good.

It continues throughout the book at different times. One place where it mixes with something I really like is the scene where Dwight and Ava meet in a bar and Miller does a fantastic effect to show the smoke-filled room. It's just these horizontal chunky lines of white that take out parts of the art. Like a heavier, thicker version of the very straight lines he used for the rain in The Hard Goodbye. It makes for a gorgeous, overpowering look, the way the smoke would overpower you. But, that's sometimes coupled with that contrast that doesn't work. Manute, the black servant of Ava and her husband, poses a problem for Miller it seems, because of his skin colour. Miller never really draws Manute in an attractive manner, the black and white parts of his face never really working for me.

I guess A Dame to Kill For represents that tension I've always had with Miller's Sin City art that I didn't often have with the art meant to be coloured. In his extreme contrasts, Miller can be very hit or miss. Sometimes, the pictures are gorgeous and stop you dead. Other times, they're muddled and unclear and you just want to push past them. I do like how he keeps trying new ways to work with the black and white art, though. He keeps trying to find new ways to show people with different variations on shading and lighting and line thickness. It doesn't always work -- even he doesn't expect it to, I imagine (I hope!) -- but it is interesting.

Beyond the art, the writing in A Dame to Kill For is hit or miss. Dwight is a character that ends in a very different place than where he begins and, from what I can remember, he never returns to that initial starting place. The face change he receives is a plot device, but also something I think Miller uses to get rid of that other Dwight. It's like Miller could sense the character wasn't working, wasn't someone that could be used beyond this story, and changed him to someone more interesting. That 'man with a problem with women and booze, has a monster inside' thing works... once. And once Miller introduces Dwight's relationship with the women of Old Town, you realise that this is a character that could be used again in the future, so why not keep him around?

I usually find myself laughing at the original Dwight and his over-the-top 'can't let the monster out' bullshit. It's cartoony and over-the-top. So is Ava. The femme fatale that makes any man do as she wants simply because she feels like it. Miller playing with a trope, but he does so in a way where she's two-dimensional. You never get the sense that she cares about her husband's money or anything other than fucking with people. Dwight's reaction to Manute's crazy rantings about her being a goddess is how the reader should react: what a load of crap. She's a convenient plot point...

If anything A Dame to Kill For feels like one big exercise in play. Which is fine. It's entertaining and has some great art sometimes, but I just can't get beyond a lot of the more stupid elements. Dwight going from Ava's slave to bossing around the women of Old Town... yes, it happens for a reason, but, like I said, this guy is two characters. The minute his face is made to look monstrous, he becomes a different character. So, I'm left wondering what the point is. Why not begin there? Was Miller going along and realised that things weren't working, so changed mid-course?

As I said near the beginning, A Dame to Kill For is a foundation for the rest of Sin City as Marv's involvement shows. Here, Miller begins to build up the idea of the world. Marv is Dwight's pal and helps him out; later, we see scenes from The Hard Goodbye, which is happening at the same time as the second half of this story. Funny how the old Dwight and Marv are gotten rid of at the same time. It's a sign that the new Dwight is the hero of Sin City (kind of)... an attractive young hero to replace the bruttish thug of Marv...

I'll talk more about the new Dwight tomorrow with The Big Fat Kill.

CBR Review: Greek Street #10

I recently reviewed Greek Street #10 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Greek Street is a series that’s interested in the long game. Early issues were middling and somewhat disappointing as pieces were slowly moved into places, issues too fractured amongst its cast, none receiving enough space or time to make a lasting impression. However, as the series has progressed, the events of those early issues have formed a solid base for the book, making the continued fractured narrative approach work better and better with each issue, the connections between characters becoming more and more apparent, giving the impression that the disparate, seemingly wide open world of the beginning of the series, is really a closed, narrow one."

You can read the rest HERE!

The Splash Page Podcast Episode 11.2

The second podcast episode of the week is up. This episode is a long one, almost an hour and a half, but it's got a lot of good conversation about bad readers, learning to read, bad teachers, and a variety of books from this week like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Boys, and the "X-Men: Second Coming" crossover.

Also, I fixed the problems with our new theme music, but it will debut next week. There's a reference to it in this episode, though.

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Podcast episode 11.2 HERE!

CBR Review: Great Ten #6

I recently reviewed Great Ten #6 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Beginning the second half of Great Ten with this week’s issue, the structure of focusing on one of the members of China’s government-approved superhero team continues with a spotlight on Ghost Fox Killer, the deadly woman in green. After five issues of origins, Tony Bedard changes it up with this issue, providing the ‘origin’ of one of Ghost Fox Killer’s informants instead of her story. It’s refreshing to have the formula tweaked a little to keep things from growing stagnant."

You can read the rest HERE!

Booze, Broads & Bullets: The Hard Goodbye

[The first 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.]

The Hard Goodbye by Frank Miller. (1991-1992.)

My edition of The Hard Goodbye is the one that comes with the special edition of the Sin City movie. It's even smaller than the other repackaged Sin City books from 2005. I actually like the size of this one the best. It fits in my pocket. I remember taking it with me one night to the second night of this one-act play festival at my university. It was fourth year and it was my second year writing a play for the festival. The first year, I wrote and directed my play. That year, I wrote a sequel to the first play and acted in it with the two actors from the previous year and a friend directed. We went on the first night, but I showed up for the second because, after that night's showing of the plays, there would be awards. For the second year in a row, the lead actor in my plays won best actor and, that year, the play won best comedy. None of that really matters, except I remember waiting for the bus, reading my small copy of The Hard Goodbye... The paper is a little better and the size just feels better in your hands. The other books look small enough to be held, but are just a little too big. They dig into the skin between your thumb and index finger a little. I would probably shell out money to have the other six Sin City books at the size of the DVD copy of The Hard Goodbye.

None of that matters.

Seven days, seven Sin City books, seven posts. That's what I told David I would be doing. He e-mailed a bunch of us a week or so back... just around the time we posted our 11-part conversation and I mentioned to Tim how another idea was for us to do a cross-blog thing about Sin City with us each taking three books and doing the last one together. David, like the smart guy that he is, took that and made it bigger by expanding the range of discussion to all of Frank Miller's career and calling in some friends that are, honestly, more talented than I am. Thankfully, I get to run with this crowd now...

Since I liked the original idea, I'm sticking with Sin City. These posts will be pretty loose. Nothing too serious or in-depth since there's a loose feeling about these books. Not that they don't warrant serious thought, but I'm just having a ball reading them again. It's been a while.

Except I didn't reread The Hard Goodbye, I've just been flipping through it. I've read it a lot and seeing the movie a few times only makes me know it that much better. I had another copy of The Hard Goodbye before this: a regular comic-book sized trade that might have just been called Sin City. I gave it to a friend I got the smaller copy. So, it was my first exposure to Sin City and the only book I'd read of the series before seeing the movie. I wouldn't say it's my favourite, but I dig it a lot.

The only Frank Miller stuff I own is Sin City and his Batman work. I've read the Daredevil stuff and Elektra: Assassin. Actually, I own the first Martha Washington book and 300, too. I've skimmed that Wolverine series he did with Chris Claremont. But, yeah, Frank Miller, for me, is Sin City and Batman -- as he is for a lot of people.

The Hard Goodbye. An allusion to The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler. If you haven't read it or seen the Robert Altman adaptation, go do both, because they're both fantastic. Some may tell you that the Altman flick gets it all wrong, but those people are the sort that complain when anything is changed in an adaptation of a book and clearly didn't understand what they read when they read Chandler.

In his essay, "The Simple Art of Murder" (I think), Chandler talked about the private detective as the white knight in a world of corruption. That one guy that would stand up for what's right, fuck the consequences, fuck the authorities, fuck everyone. That's Marv. He may not look like the white knight, but he is. He's the guy who stands up for what's right, fuck the consequence, fuck the authorities, fuck everyone. And he dies for it.

The Hard Goodbye is a mystery story. I nearly did a post where I applied Chandler's "Twelve Notes on the Mystery Story" to it, but that was a little too dry for this week. Maybe another time. But, it's a mystery story: someone had Goldie, a prostitute that sought protection in the arms of Marv, killed. Marv wants to find out who to kill the bastard. I could have said "Marv wants to find out who to bring the bastard to justice," but it's the same thing. When he discovers the identity of the man behind the killing of various prostitutes, it's someone powerful -- someone so powerful that you wouldn't blame Marv for turning around and walking away, but he goes at the prick even harder. Because it's the right thing.

Marv is a funny guy. He's got personality. He starts his mission and nothing stops him. He gets beaten, he gets captured, he goes through all of the regular detective fiction bullshit. That he takes it that step further and kills in the process, willing to damn himself at the end is a nice distinction that reminds me of Altman's The Long Goodbye. In the movie, Philip Marlowe's buddy apparently kills himself after killing his wife, but Marlowe doesn't buy it. Seems like a frame job and, in the end, it was... but not really. Marlowe figuring things out is the part where the movie really deviates and he winds up killing his buddy in the end, because right is right. Miller's first Sin City story reminds me of that.

The Hard Goodbye has Miller finding his feet visually. He does a lot of big splashes, lets the story breathe, but he also does pages with five or six panels, something he doesn't do much of as the story progresses or in later volumes. Miller is finding himself in this volume as he realises that this is his book and he can spend pages on only two or three panels -- or just one picture and that's fine. He mentions at the end that the story was meant to be 48 pages, but it kept growing because of Marv. I don't doubt it, but I also think that it's because Miller realised that he could take his time, let the story unfold at a leisurely pace. It's a brief read as a result, probably a bit like what manga's like (I haven't read enough to say).

Miller also plays with the black and white art a lot here. Shifting from pages that are drawn like they were going to be coloured to pages where it's very impressionistic in its uses of shapes to suggest forms. The rain pages are gorgeous in that I've been in rain like that and haven't seen it too many other times in comics. Not everything works. Sometimes, the pages are just ugly and unclear. Sometimes, there just isn't enough there. That happens again in subsequent books as Miller continues to try things.

That's the first book. There's a joy and an energy in The Hard Goodbye. It's different from Miller's superhero stuff, but Marv isn't that different a character, not really. He's cruder, rough, uglier... but he's the white knight. I still love the joke at the end of the story.

Tomorrow, it's A Dame to Kill For. I love that title.

CBR Review: Demo Vol. 2 #3

I recently reviewed Demo Vol. 2 #3 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "If there’s a familiar feeling to Demo #3, 'Volume One Love Story,' it’s because, as Brian Wood says in his text piece at the end of the issue, this issue comes from the notes for the original Demo series. With that, it fits well into this second volume and the feeling of a short film that each issue seems to evoke. Wood himself provides a good word for this issue: cute. It’s a cute issue."

You can read the rest HERE!

The Splash Page Podcast Episode 11.1

After a week of solocasts, the Splash Page Podcast is back. And, if you loved the solocasts, we kick things off just for you by discussing them... because we're self-conscious and self-aware like that. We also discuss the Eisners, our fellow CBR reviewers, and S.H.I.E.L.D. #1. This episode was supposed to contain our new theme music, but there have been problems that I wasn't able to solve this morning. Hopefully, I'll have everything fixed and solid by next week.

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Podcast episode 11.1 HERE!

CBR Review: Nemesis: The Imposters #2

I recently reviewed Nemesis: The Imposters #2 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Nemesis: The Imposters #2 has Tom Tresser found by Batman after he and the Joker went off a cliff in his car. Ivan Brandon uses Batman to underscore the idea of fakes and imposters as Tresser immediately spots that this Batman isn’t the real Batman -- or, at least, the Batman that’s been around for years. It’s a nice bit of commentary on the idea of replacement heroes being authentic. Is Dick Grayson truly Batman or is he just an imposter? Tresser thinks the latter, but where do we stand?"

You can read the rest HERE!

CBR Review: Avengers: The Origin #1

I recently reviewed Avengers: The Origin #1 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Joe Casey expanding upon the early days of the Avengers isn’t anything new after his two Earth’s Mightiest Heroes series, but Avengers: The Origin acts as a prequel to the first of those minis, which told the tale of the Avengers after their formative adventure. This series looks to expand upon and update the schemes of Loki that brought together Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, Ant-Man, and the Wasp, with the first issue only covering the first seven pages of The Avengers #1."

You can read the rest HERE!

CBR Review: Vengeance of the Moon Knight #7

I recently reviewed Vengeance of the Moon Knight #7 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Deadpool’s purpose in the story isn’t clear beyond him acting as a reminder of what Moon Knight used to be, but without ever really saying that. I’m not one to criticize subtle storytelling, but when more time is spent on the boring, clichéd backstory of the comatose criminal than the contrast between Deadpool and Moon Knight, maybe it’s time to be a tad more obvious about the point of the story. And, if the point isn’t to contrast the differences between these two similar characters, but just to have a wacky killer appear in a straight-laced Batman-esque comic, I’m left wondering why I should care, because the execution is mediocre and dull."

You can read the rest HERE!

Quickie Reviews (Apr 7 2010)

Back after a week away. Yay. Eight books to briefly discuss, so better get to that...

Batman and Robin #11: I like the cover's callback to issue one. A nice, briskly-paced issue that dropped a lot of hints about things, and ended strongly with the revelation of who was now in control of Damian's body. The pacing of the part where Damian asks if Oberton Sexton is Bruce Wayne is fantastic. The pacing in general was very good here. Andy Clarke's style is growing on me -- and I liked it last issue. Reminds me of that classic-looking style the cover artist of Marvel 1602 used with the vertical lines to show shading. Good stuff. [****]

The Boys #41: Man, I enjoyed the hell out of this issue. It just hit all of the right notes for me. The reveal of Auntie Sis as the social worker/nurse of the Legion parody team was good. The cat rescue just made me laugh. Bobby Badoing is a spot-on mockery of a character I've always thought was really, really, really stupid. It's a gentle mockery, though. Ennis makes you feel for the team and uses that to make Hughie's actions at the end seem even better -- and Butcher's reaction that much worse. Mother's Milk catching on that something isn't right and Annie's talk with Hughie definitely make it seem like the shit is hitting the fan soon there. I also love how well Robertson drew the alternating scenes between Hughie's training and actually doing the tracheotomy. [****]

Detective Comics #863: I bought this issue really because why not buy the last issue of the run...? Meh. Nothing special. Not bad, but not much to say here that I hadn't already said about the previous two issues. [**]

Gødland #31: Ah, Gødland... what can I say about you that I haven't already said? You rock my world, dear comic book. You make me laugh, you make me cry (well, not cry), and I love you every time I get to spend $2.99 on you. Never change. Except when you want to, because change is good. Just ask Basil Cronus. [****]

Rasl #7: It continues to come together and just makes me want to go back and reread it all. Really dug Jeff Smith's art here with the contrasting timelines and the wild theories in the writing. He draws human emotion really well here. [****]

S.H.I.E.L.D. #1: I liked this, but didn't love it. After seeing a day of people mess their pants over this issue, I'm stuck in the position of looking like I hated the comic by comparison since I thought it was good, not great. It felt like a prologue, a overture, a preview... not an issue. And that's okay, I know this is a longer game and I'm fine with that, but this issue didn't wow me. The jumpy nature was nice, but didn't share much that wasn't there in the concept. The end of the issue was really strong, though. Liked Dustin Weaver's art, but it was wildly inconsistent, some pages and panels absolutely gorgeous, others looking rushed and not fully rendered. Really liked it, just not as much as everyone else. (Which I hate because, fuck, look at the rating I gave the book... and I'm still Mr. Negativity. Weird. Whatever.) [****]

Sparta, U.S.A. #2: An entertaining issue that shed a bit of light on the town of Sparta. The weird cutthroat politics behind the scenes makes for some entertaining stuff. As does the army of women Godfrey McLaine had sex with coming to his aid. The art is good and continues to improve. And the end of the issue is fantastic. Probably my favorite final page of the week. [***]

Spider-Man: Fever #1: Some fun stuff. Entertaining and weird and definitely McCarthy having fun with the characters. I really like the way he draws Spider-Man as a skinny, twitchy, weird guy. I was kind of expecting Spider-Man to be tacked on since he originally wanted to do Dr. Strange, but Spidey works well here. Really enjoyable. [****]

Really strong week since I enjoyed the other books I got, too -- but I'm reviewing them for CBR. And, no doubt, some expanded versions of my thoughts will show up in this week's podcast for some of these books.

CBR Review: Philip K. Dick's Electric Ant #1

I recently reviewed Philip K. Dick's Electric Ant #1 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Adapting Dick’s writing can be challenging because, as a stylist, Dick wasn’t much of one. His writing is direct and without a strong flavor often, and 'The Electric Ant' is no exception. The prose is little sparser than normal, but it’s very direct and almost mechanical in the way it advances, accepting certain things in service of forward momentum. Mack decompresses the beginning of the story effectively, adding elements to draw the characters out more completely or to create more interesting visuals like calling for a page to show Poole’s squib accident. However, in some places, the changes seem forced and out of place, like the technician who replaces his hand trying to sell Poole on having his genitals upgraded."

You can read the rest HERE!

The Splash Page Solocast Episode 1.Chad

My first solocast is up. I discuss wrestling and comics, Art Discussion Month 2010, and a little bit about the reread reviews. 22 minutes of awkward silences and the odd f-word.

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Solocast episode 1.Chad HERE!

The Splash Page Solocast Episode 1.Tim

Since I am out of town this weekend, Tim and I couldn't get together online for podcasting action. Instead, we each recorded a separate (what we like to call -- if someone hasn't already called them this) solocast. Tim's is up and... I haven't listened to it yet. I just woke up and had an e-mail in my inbox saying it was up. And I wanted to share that with you all. Tim says he discusses some comics stuff and no wrestling. That's lame. His solocast is also about 35 minutes or so. This after he e-mails me last night and is all "I don't know what to talk about!" and, then, ignored my suggestions. Bastard. Mine will go up tomorrow. It's a little shorter and it does involve wrestling.

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Solocast Episode 1.Tim HERE!

(And, yes, I know I'm the only one who will be amused by my referring to them as 'episode 1.Tim' and 'episode 1.Chad' but I don't care!)

CBR Review: Realm of Kings: Inhumans #5

I recently reviewed Realm of Kings: Inhumans #5 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Much like Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard, the Inhumans-centric tie-in mini provides a side story of sorts to what’s happening in Guardians of the Galaxy, leading up to the Galactic Council meeting in recent issues of that series. Here, the Fault is shown in a slightly different light due to its effects on the Kree; The focus is also on Medusa as the leader of the Inhumans and Kree, and her use of Maximus to create state-sanctioned acts of terrorism."

You can read the rest HERE!

CBR Review: Incorruptible #4

I recently reviewed Incorruptible #4 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Concluding the first story arc of Incorruptible and revealing how Max Damage became Max Danger, Mark Waid also provides a greater depth on the Plutonian’s fall from grace in Irredeemable. While not essential reading, it offers a different perspective on exactly what the great hero’s turn meant to the world, including one of the worst criminals. After all, it was shocking enough to make him turn good. More than that, we’ve begun to see a small glimpse of who Max is inside and, if his story is anything like the Plutonian’s, what we’re given here is only the beginning."

You can read the rest HERE!

CBR Review: X-Men Forever #20

I recently reviewed X-Men Forever #20 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Reading X-Men Forever is watching Chris Claremont go wild and do whatever he wants to do with these characters and is conversely brilliant in its inventiveness and stunning in its argument for editorial control and limits upon writers. Claremont without a filter is entertaining, since even the questionable decisions like the final page reveal of this issue contain something intriguing. People have argued in favor of letting writers like Claremont do what they want without editors saying no, without being slaves to continuity, and here it is."

You can read the rest HERE!

CBR Review: X-Men: Second Coming #1

I recently reviewed X-Men: Second Coming #1 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Beginning the third part of the trilogy of stories that include Messiah Complex and Messiah War, X-Men: Second Coming #1 does an adequate job of setting up the players in this event, but doesn’t exactly demonstrate what the plot will be. If you were to judge by what’s given, there doesn’t seem to be much of a plot set up beyond 'Hope returns to the present with Cable and some bad guys want to kill her using means that will be determined sometime in the future.' For the kick-off issue of an event years in the making, there’s a significant lack of depth in the plotting and not much here that compels to continue reading the story."

You can read the rest HERE!

Art Discussion Month 2010

Post-Art Discussion Month 2010 Edit

Okay, I'm sticking this here to sort of wrap things up. The month is over and I made it through. Some posts were better than others -- then again, so were some artists. I think this month accomplished what I wanted it to: I really made an effort to focus on the art and see things I hadn't seen before. Putting that into words was difficult and I failed far more than I succeeded. But, what little success I had was more than enough. Thanks to everyone who read and commented, including some of the artists involved. That was pretty cool. This may be a yearly thing, who knows. We'll see come March 2011.

Later

Original Post

In the month of March, I will be discussing/analysing the work of a different artist each day from one comic or story they've drawn. 31 days, 31 artists spread out over 48 comics. I'm doing this for a few reasons. Firstly, I generally like doing projects like this where there's a set schedule and deadline. It keeps me on track and focused. Secondly, I want to get better at discussing art. I've been improving over the past two years, but not enough. Some recent reviews for CBR where the art took centre stage have made me improve, but I'd like to make a stronger effort. Thirdly, to give the blog some steady non-CBR review content, if only for a month.

My selection process for artists is pretty simple: I choose 31 artists who drew Warren Ellis comics. To make the discussion of the art the central focus, I decided to pick books written by the same person and Ellis has a very strong, distinctive style that will allow each artist's unique contributions to be easier to spot. Though, I admit, Ellis does alter his style somewhat for different artists, he has such a strong voice that it's never hidden too much. More than that, Ellis has worked with a lot of artists. You would think that finding 31 artists who have drawn books for one writer would be hard, but, with Ellis, it was very, very easy. So easy that I limited myself to just ten different collections of comics and got 31 artists (as the list below will show). I could easily do another month or two focusing on Ellis-penned comics with each day discussing a new artist. I chose the artists below because their work is collected in just ten trades, which makes it easier for me, and because the longest work in question is four issues. I wanted to keep the number of comics/size of the story small.

In my discussion of the art, I won't be using any scans or the art. I also won't be ignoring the writing entirely, but the focus will be on the penciling, inking, and colouring. The discussion of the colouring, in particular, will be interesting because colourists will show up more than once throughout the month (David Baron, for example, coloured Global Frequency #1-11 plus other comics on the list), so, hopefully, I'll be able to see how they alter their style depending on the artist they're colouring.

The schedule for the month:

March 1: Hellblazer #134-139 ("Haunted") by John Higgins and James Sinclair
March 2: Hellblazer #140 ("Locked") by Frank Terran and James Sinclair
March 3: Hellblazer #141 ("The Crib") by Tim Bradstreet and Grant Goleash
March 4: Hellblazer #142.1 ("Setting Sun") by Javier Pulido and James Sinclair
March 5: Hellblazer #142.2 ("One Last Love Song") by James Romberger and James Sinclair
March 6: Hellblazer #143 ("Telling Tales") by Marco Frusin and James Sinclair
March 7: Angel Stomp Future #1 by Juan Jose Ryp
March 8: Frank Ironwine #1 by Carla Speed McNeil
March 9: Quit City #1 by Laurenn McCubbin
March 10: Simon Spector #1 by Jacen Burrows
March 11: Global Frequency #1 ("Bombhead") by Garry Leach and David Baron
March 12: Global Frequency #2 ("Big Wheel") by Glenn Fabry, Liam Sharpe, and David Baron
March 13: Global Frequency #3 ("Invasive") by Steve Dillon and David Baron
March 14: Global Frequency #4 ("Hundred") by Roy Allan Martinez and David Baron
March 15: Global Frequency #5 ("Big Sky") by Jon J Muth and David Baron
March 16: Global Frequency #6 ("The Run") by David Lloyd and David Baron
March 17: Global Frequency #7 ("Detonation") by Simon Bisley and David Baron
March 18: Global Frequency #8 by Chris Sprouse, Karl Story, and David Baron
March 19: Global Frequency #9 by Lee Bermejo and David Baron
March 20: Global Frequency #10 ("Superviolence") by Tomm Coker and David Baron
March 21: Global Frequency #11 ("Alpeh") by Jason Pearson and David Baron
March 22: Global Frequency #12 ("Harpoon") by Gene Ha and Art Lyon
March 23: Mek #1-3 by Steve Rolston, Al Gordon, and David Baron
March 24: Reload #1-3 by Paul Gulacy, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Guy Major.
March 25: Tokyo Storm Warning #1-3 by James Raiz, Andrew Currie, Trevor Scott, Carlos D'Anda, and Wildstorm FX
March 26: Red #1-3 by Cully Hamner and David Self
March 27: Ministry of Space #1-3 by Chris Weston and Laura Martin
March 28: Planetary/The Authority: Ruling the World by Phil Jiminez, Andy Lanning, and Laura Martin
March 29: Planetary/JLA: Terra Occulta by Jerry Ordway and David Baron
March 30: Planetary/Batman: Night on Earth by John Cassaday and David Baron
March 31: The Authority #1-4 ("The Circle") by Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary, and Laura Martin

A couple of notes: Hellblazer #142 has two stories in it, drawn by two different artists, so each story gets its own day. I'm only discussing the first four issues of The Authority because I want to focus on a single story and not have too large a focus. As for the order of posts... I wanted Global Frequency in the middle of the month and, then, simply grouped projects by publisher/time of publication/however I felt like it. You'll note that not every artist a big name, well-known, brilliant artist and that's purposeful... I'm not doing a month discussing my 31 favourite artists.

So, come back Monday when I kick things off. As well, this post will function as my archive post and I'll update it throughout the month with links to each post.

Later

Art Discussion Month 2010: The Authority #1-4 by Bryan Hitch

[Concluding Art Discussion Month 2010. 31 days, 31 artists, a whole lot of discussion. The explanation behind my choice of comics and the archive can be found here.]

The Authority #1-4 ("The Circle"). Written by Warren Ellis. Pencilled by Bryan Hitch. Inked by Paul Neary. Coloured by Laura (DePuy) Martin.

I have the absolute edition of the Ellis/Hitch/Neary/Martin Authority run, but it's sitting on the shelf. For this post, I've got the actual issues out. I only own issues one through four in the singles, not the rest. My dad bought the book and I didn't usually buy something if he was, too. Why spend what little money I had as a teenager on books I could read for free already? But, I bought these four issues. I remember getting into the car after doing so and telling my mom what I'd gotten, how dad already had these comics and she asked why I'd buy them then, a fair question. It was the writing, obviously. But, it was also the art. The Authority #1-4 were the first comics I bought because I wanted to study the art, to pour over it, to look at it again and again. I carried those books in my backpack for the next few weeks, taking them out at various times and just looking at them. I really like Warren Ellis's writing on these comics, but I fucking love the art. I don't think Hitch has ever really done anything better than the work he did in these issues -- same with Laura Martin. Both have done great work since, but there's something special about these ones, maybe a desire to prove what they can do, a certain energy, I don't know what, but it elevates the work. Or, maybe, it's just me projecting onto the comics, of course. After all, they came out when I was 16 and that's some powerful shit, getting exposed to something at 16 and it clicking in the right way.

"The Circle" is basically the Authority fighting against an army of Asian supermen as they attempt to carve the symbol of Kaizen Gamorra. Terrorism for the sake of terror. Mostly, just a lot of fucking head bashing and KICKSPLODE! peppered with small, quieter moments. A wide range of things to draw.

One of the reasons why I think this is Hitch's best work is that, while obviously influenced by photos and the real world, he's also cartooning a lot. His characters bear that Hitch-ian face, especially Jack Hawksmoor. It's kind of a scrunched-up bulldog look that his characters tended to have before he went into photorealism more. There's a sense of Hitch in the art here that I find lacking in his later work. While I enjoy the later work and, in many ways, recognise that it's technically better, it lacks the energy and force of his work here. This is just fun.

Laura Martin's colouring of different times of day is what impressed me most when this first came out. At the end of the third issue, the Authority show up in Los Angeles having figured out what Gamorra is doing and knowing that Los Angeles is where the third mark will be 'cut' into the Earth. They arrive at dusk and the lighting is this reddish orangey pink. I mentioned this sort of thing in my discussion of Red and, man, you have no idea how much this blew me away at the time. I'd seen this shade of lighting before in my life, but never in comics. The sky is a mixture of pinkish red and purple. There's a double-page spread of the Gamorra supermen flying through the air and the colouring of the sky is amazing as it shifts from blue/purple in the bottom left-hand corner through red, pink, and into yellow/orange at the top right where the sun is obscured by a thin cloud cover. (Or is it haze?) Gorgeous.

When pouring over these issues, I counted up the panels in each and every issue averaged around four panels per page. Lots of splashes, lots of room. Visually, this is just an action movie. People talked about these books being 'widescreen' and that still holds up. Lots of thin, wide panels. Lots of tracking shots. Lots of fun camera angles. But, 'widescreen' doesn't just mean 'movie,' it means BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE! Funnily enough, blockbuster movie just means going back to old school superhero action. Granted, this is more violent, but it's an evil guy doing evil because he's evil and the good guys stopping him because they're good. Gamorra wants to kill people, the Authority stop him. They fight in the rain in London and over Los Angeles... lots of fun.

One great sequence is the Midnighter bringing the Carrier, their giant shiftship HQ, down to Gamorra Island to kill Kaizen Gamorra. The giant ship's bottom tip is driven into the ground and then dragged towards Gamorra Tower, carving up the city. The sequence is great. First, we get a splash of the Carrier looking giant as it hovers over the Island, breaking the forcefield. Then a page where there are three panels of it moving toward the tower, just destroying shit, in the third, Gamorra sees it coming. The final two panels of the page have Gamorra looking out at us, hands pressed against a window, reflection of the Carrier coming toward him, saying "I ONLY WANTED TO HAVE SOME FUN" and a shot of Midnighter: "I LOVE BEING ME." Next page: splash of Gamorra Tower blowing up/being destroyed by the Carrier.

The use of lighting always struck me as impressive. Hitch nails the idea of light sometimes being so bright that it seemingly breaks through solid objects, around the edges. With the sun in the direct background, a character up against it will have breaks in their figure: a circular pattern with shooting lines that get smaller the deeper in they go. I love that.

A favourite panel: Hawksmoor coming at us, out of the side of a building. His left arm is reaching out. His face is drawn in a way where there's no shadow over his right eye, but one surrounding his left, leaving a dark eyesocket area with just the glowing red eye. Creepy and great.

The Carrier and the worlds it sails through provide great, wondrous pictures. These serene, lovely pictures. Alien visions that are akin in beauty to sunsets.

Yeah, this is less 'talk about the art in a deep way' and more 'Chad gushes over the comic in random, weird ways.' By this point, that's all I really have in me. I could keep going, but if this exercise has proven anything, it's that my words will never be enough.

Thanks for reading.