Queen and Country vol. 1 – review
I’ve always thought working as a spy would suck. In my mind, it’s hours of boredom followed by five minutes of full blown terror. Turns out, at least according to Greg Rucka’s series Queen and Country, I’m right! Tara Chace is a British “minder”, a spy for SIS. Her job includes assassinations, intelligence gathering and visiting foreign countries. It sounds glamorous but Chace’s alcohol consumption suggests otherwise. Surrounding Chace are her friends and coworkers. Along with the two other minders, she watches as the powers that be play with their lives. On one hand, she’s angry at being used more like a machine than a human. On the other hand, she begs for every mission, often getting upset when she’s overlooked.
The missions are exciting and nerve racking. This isn’t a Lara Croft video game, there’s no guarantee that any of the minders (including Chace) will make it out alive. While the minders take care of the dirty work, politics are the game back home. It makes for a compelling look at espionage. Rucka manages to avoid melodrama or cheesy action cliches. His spies are real shells of people, hollowed out and hungry for a job that will eventually, inevitably kill them – even if they physically live to retirement.
Yes, it’s depressing. Yet, it’s hard to stop reading. Much of the “boring” parts, the sitting around waiting for the five minutes of terror, are actually the most interesting. It’s in these down times that the reader gets to see the relationships between Tara and the other characters.
The missions do get a bit redundant. That is probably the point but it makes it hard to read for long. I found myself getting annoyed at yet another mission with yet another round of worry, anger, acceptance and fallout. It’s nice to have the series collected in volumes but a break between missions is needed and probably worked great when they came out individually. The different artists offer different takes on the cast and each one reveals something new about the character, whether drawn as a sexual creature for her attempt at love or drawn in hard lines, with small eyes, when she’s taking on the job of a killer.
I’m onto volume 2 (well, after I finish my latest volume of Monster) with some trepidation. If volume 1 is any indication, things will only get tougher.
Incidentally, Rucka’s comic Whiteout is now a movie!
Dear Billy, Please Read This
_
Young Bill Young here. My friends have basically two reactions to my recent rediscovery of comic books and graphic works. They either think it’s cool, or kinda odd. The ones who think it’s odd may have trouble envisioning a satisfactory reading experience from those glossy, colorful covers that stare out of the shelves at comic book shops and bookstores. The ones who think it’s cool may also not appreciate all the rewards that can come from the genre. But graphic works can be every bit as rewarding as traditional literature. Yes, I said “literature.”
Case in point: Garth Ennis’s Dear Billy, the second three-issue arc of his WWII Battlefields series of comics. Dear Billy is like reading an exquisite, life-changing short story. You know, the kind where you put the book down and take a deep breath, amazed at the talent of the author, perhaps startled by something you’ve learned about the human condition, and then composing yourself so you can get on with life.
Like all good literature, it weaves the big themes into the lives of protagonists we come to care about—in this case, a nurse who suffers rape and attempted execution by the Japanese in Singapore, and the wounded flying ace named Billy who she comes to love.
It ends as it must end, even though we’re surprised, even though we should have seen it coming. And like all good literature, it demands a discussion of its themes and characters. Dear Billy. Please read this. Then we’ll talk.
A Rapturous Break-Up
Young Bill Young here. Sadie’s out of town this week, so I’m helming the blog. Let’s get started…
Girl meets boy. It’s love! Girl loses boy. Girl gets on plane to the left coast. While girl is in the air, the warring factions of Earth’s superpowers have a final battle, destroying themselves and devastating civilization. Girl calls boy on her cell phone to profess love and forgiveness right before all communications go down. Girl is visited by a spectral figure called “The Word” who gives girl a powerful sword to avenge the innocents against the cruelty (cannibalism!) that is emerging in the wake of the apocalypse. Girl strikes a deal: she’ll become this avenging angel if it means she can be reunited with boy. But girl will have to do a lot of slaying to get her man back. Total kewlness.
And that’s just the first issue of Dark Horse Comics’ new series Rapture. Dark Horse calls the story the “worst break-up ever.” Ya think?
Honestly, issue two was a let down after the superb set-up, but I’m not giving up hope… yet.
Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that boy plays guitar and writes songs. Follow Rapture on MySpace and hear boy sing a song! Total kewlness.
And don’t confuse our heroine with this different Rapture. Plus, if you’re intrigued by sword-weilding females, check out the Luna Brothers’ The Sword.
WE3 Live Action Film
Ok, I’m going to talk about Thomas the Train for a minute but I swear this has a point, so bear with me. In 2000, Thomas came to the silver screen in Thomas and the Magic Railroad. In 2009, my son discovered that he loved Thomas (all trains really) more than anything. He watched the dvd and had some kind of freak out when the trains left the screen. Unfortunately for him, there’s not really a ton of train action in the movie. It’s filled up with stupid people.
Which brings me to this:
‘We3’ Lands ‘Kung Fu Panda’ Director John Stevenson
A live action WE3 film? Interesting…interesting. I like how the article is quick to point out that it will be R rated. Duh. How could it not be?
WE3 is a thin masterpiece (in my opinion) that turns three animals into weapons. Once these fluffy killers escape the lab they try to find their way back home, using their instincts which are now attached to guns. The result is bloody and heartbreaking. Each animal has it’s own personality, not based so much on emotion but those qualities which make them what they are. For example, the dog is a needy creature, bred to please it’s master.
As the animals pretty much plow their way through the city, there is very little human interaction in the book. There doesn’t need to be. It’s a catastrophe of human hubris as seen through the eyes of the weapons.
So, my concern for the movie would be, like Thomas, that in order to flesh out a small book they add more human characters. They turn the doctors into central characters. I hope not. I can’t wait to see a preview.
Happy Valentine’s Day
Our week of love comes to an end. You still have today though – so grab a glass of champagne, hug your loved one and read these -
Top 5 Graphic Novels for Valentine’s Day (according to me)
1. Ouran High Host Club -having one boy fall all over himself to get to you is great. Having six (including some hot twins) is even better!!!
2. Fake – this yaoi features a touching relationship between two men who actually appear to like and respect each other. It’s also funny and smiles on Valentine’s are always good.
3. Sand Chronicles – sometimes being in love means breaking your heart and taking that chance is the bravest thing you do.
4. Empowered – ok, so suggesting a graphic novel where the main character sheds her clothes every time she uses her superpower might seem like a weird recommendation coming from me but I promise, you will melt at Empowered’s relationship with one of the villian’s henchman.
5. Canterella – I’m not exactly sure if this is romantic or not, on account of all the evil manipulation, but it is exciting! Anything with the Borgias in it is bound to be a good read.
Or if you hate this holiday, like I know many of you do here’s
The Top 5 Anti-Valentine’s Graphic Novels (once again, according to me)
1. Y the Last Man – you would think that a story about the last man on earth would include some romance or at least a date but nope.
2. Death Note – the only relationship in this manga is soooo cold! .
3. Watchmen – no love lost between these superheroes.
4. V for Vendetta – if Valentine’s Day makes you feel like getting revenge on the world, then this is your pick
5. Marvel Zombies – Spiderman ripping into Mary Jane, literally.
Week of Love – Scott Pilgrim
If you’re dating someone knew this Valentine’s Day, you probably have a lot in common with Scott Pilgrim. You may be dealing with the dreaded ex-boyfriend/girlfriend issue. Poor Scott Pilgrim has the worst case ever. He loves his new girlfriend, Ramona, but hates having to constantly battle her evil exes.
This series is fun and single-handedly seemed to set off a new art style. Hardly any artists can draw square-jawed, wide-eyed characters without being called Pilgrim posers. These blocky illustrations perfectly set off the quirky, slacker cast. Scott Pilgrim is a 20 something muscician with no real drive except to love Ramona. For her part, Ramona is a mysterious woman who travels between dimensions and yes, has some evil past relationship woes. Backing them up are their friends, always willing to lend a helping hand if there’s money or food or fun to be had.
So far Scott has battled 4 exes and the newly released Volume 5 promises even more romantice action!
The series has proven to be so popular that there’s a live action movie being filmed (some questionable casting with Michael Cera as Scott – I would have thought someone more like Elijah Wood but no one asked me.)
If you are looking for romance, adventure and some ex-boyfriends in need of some serious attitude readjustment, then fall in love with Scott Pilgrim!
A World at War
Young Bill Young here. I’ll be hosting this blog the next three days while Sadie is in Denver helping to select the next round of Great Graphic Novels for Teens. It’s my first time blogging, so this should be fun.
I’m an SF geek, raised on DC superhero comic books, and a big reader of science fiction and speculative fiction novels from Isaac Asimov to CJ Cherryh to Connie Willis. When I rediscovered comics a couple of years ago, I was naturally drawn to titles with SF themes. Devil’s Due Publishing’s Drafted certainly satisfies my jones for this type of fare.
Writer Mark Powers and artist Chris Lee skilfully introduce the premise: a group of aliens known as The Select arrives on Planet Earth and drafts humans against their will to help fight in an interstellar war against a malevolent, predatory species of planet eaters. The planet eaters are already landing on Earth, and The Select tells humans they have no choice but to cooperate if they want the remotest chance to save their home.
Like all good science fiction, it’s not just about the big plot—it’s about the characters, and this is where Drafted excels. Unburdened by human discrimination, The Select assembles small fighting units regardless of the race, creed, or socio-economic backgrounds of the individual fighters. The members of each unit must hone their skills together and learn to get along if they hope to have any success.
The core cast includes convenience store clerk Gabriel Contreras, who becomes leader of his unit; Emergency Medical Tech Kris Nelson, who’s cancer is cured when The Select arrives; Raisa, an anti-Taliban rebel from Afghanistan; London psychiatrist Devon McNeil; Preston Walker, the President of the United States (a barely-disguised George W. Bush); and computer programmer Audrey Martin, who’s capture by the enemy and subsequent return to her fighting unit provides an OMG twist to the story.
Powers has great empathy for his characters, and we care about Contreras’s unit as well as the humans left on Earth (including First Lady Lori Walker) who work to keep some semblance of civilization.
Drafted has reached the end of it’s first arc, or “season”, and the first trade paperback of the first six issues is out. The second trade is due out in March. Powers has plans for this epic series, so now is the time to enlist!
Also check out the Comixology podcast with Mark Powers.
Atomic Robo – review
Someone once mentioned that it was harder to write humor than to write dramatically. I have to agree. But it’s really hard to write humor with a heart, with some kind of dramatic emotion behind it. I imagine it really really hard to write humor with a heart – buried somewhere deep in a military robot. Yet, that’s just what Atomic Robo pulls off. The smart mouthed Robo leads his team into the weirdest of the weird situations. Got a giant ant infestation? Or maybe a centuries old pyramid set to attack your city? Well, then you call in Robo.
The small limited series is deceptive. At first it seems like just another mecha story, but once inside the pages it quickly becomes clear that in this case, the robot is in charge. The robot can feel pain and apparently some form of emotion. The case for his emotion is that in order to save his fellow human team members he must feel something for them. This emotion drives him to be a hero, however, it also leaves him lonely. He watches the men and women he loved grow old, leave his team and eventually die. But through it all he keeps his mouth running and his fists punching.
A good one for all ages, I highly recommended an afternoon with Robo.
Cover Girl – final review of 2008
The, ahem, cover of Cover Girl by Andrew Cosby kept this book on my shelf for a long time. I really did not need another big breasted lady with guns spouting catchphrases while kicking her legs high enough to get a glimpse of her underwear. But, it’s a nominated title, so I had no choice.
Guess what? It’s a story about a big breasted lady with guns spouting catchphrases while kicking her legs high enough to get a glimpse of her underwear. Yes, it is. But it’s a funny story. I mean, a really funny story. I actually laughed out loud. The dialogue is witty and the two main characters play well off each other. Alex Martin is a wanna-be actor who just happens to save the life of a mysterious woman. In Hollywood, there’s always a camera so his rescue quickly ends up on the news. The roles come in and he accepts a part in the latest action installment. The woman he saved gave him valuable information (though he’s too dumb to know it) and now some people want him dead. Enter bodyguard Rachel Dodd. Smart and deadly and good looking, she poses as his girlfriend while trying to keep him alive.
Of course, Rachel thanks Alex in the end for ’saving’ her, if not physically, emotionally. Which, barf. I mean, come on, can’t a woman be physically dominating without being emotionally crippled? But this small irritation didn’t dampen my love for Rachel or Alex any, I just assume she’s being sarcastic. Part spoof and part tribute, this action comic was a pleasant surprise.
