This is a collection of "fill-in" stories from the ongoing Conan comic books. All of them were written by Tim Truman and illustrated by Paul...moreThis is a collection of "fill-in" stories from the ongoing Conan comic books. All of them were written by Tim Truman and illustrated by Paul Lee. In addition, all of the stories in this book take place during the period when Conan was King of Aquilonia. It's a decent collection of stories, but they are not not nearly as interesting or visually impressive as the as ones by Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord from the first four volumes of the series.
However, one of the more creative things about the stories in this book is Truman's decision to expand upon some of Robert E. Howard's original tales. The issue titled "They Shall Be Lords Again" picks up immediately where Howard's first Conan story, "The Phoenix On The Sword," ended. It also manages to loosely connect the elements from Howard's King Kull and Bran Mak Morn stories. The story "Two Wizards And A Funeral" takes place after Howard's "The Scarlet Citadel" and manages to inject a little humor into the book. But the best story in this collection is the last one, titled "The Sorrows Of Akivasha."
"The Sorrows Of Akivasha" tells the story of Akivasha the vampire from Howard's Conan novel "The Hour Of The Dragon." Truman's writing for this tale can best be described as "sorrowful." It's unusual to read a comic book that is purposefully sad, but perhaps because of this I ended up enjoying it. It doesn't hurt that the art for the story is also the best in the book. Rather than sticking with the distinctive "comic book art" look of the previous stories, "The Sorrows Of Akivasha" looks as though it is fully painted.
If the rest of the stories were more like "Akivasha" I'd find it easier to recommend this book. As it stands, though, this is a serviceable entry in the Conan series. (less)
This book contains some pretty good adaptations of Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane tales. This volume, published by Dark Horse, supposedly collects al...moreThis book contains some pretty good adaptations of Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane tales. This volume, published by Dark Horse, supposedly collects all of the Marvel-published Kane stories. One story, "Red Shadows," is actually adapted twice, once in the mid-1970's and then again in the mid-1980's. While the retellings are slightly different it's still kind of odd reading the same story twice in a row.
There are two original stories in the book, both written by Ralph Macchio, who penned the six-issue "Sword of Solomon Kane" mini-series. I found only one of the original stories, "The Prophet!" to be entertaining. It's an interesting take on the antagonistic relationship between Islam and Christianity, as well as the similarities between the two. Oh the whole, though, it seems weak when compared to Howard's originals.
I found the last two Howard adaptations, "Hills of the Dead" and "Wings in the Night," to be the best parts of the book. These African adventures are two of my favorite Kane stories, so it was nice to see them treated with respect.
The artwork, drawn by a variety of illustrators, is all pretty good. It's all in line with what what you'd expect for Marvel comics drawn in the 70's and 80's. However, all the pages were re-colored for this volume and the computer coloring makes the art seem a little more fresh and vibrant.
Overall this is a good collection of some of Solomon Kane's classic adventures.(less)
"Reflections" is a collection of several short stories surrounding mystical mirrors. Each story takes place in a different time period, ofte...more"Reflections" is a collection of several short stories surrounding mystical mirrors. Each story takes place in a different time period, often including historical figures. The stories are fine but it's the lovely artwork that really shines. This being a Heavy Metal book, you're probably reading it for the naked women, and for that this book certainly delivers.(less)
A collection of very short stories starring Lorna. Most of the stories make absolutely no sense and the dialogue is a mess. But artwork is beautiful a...moreA collection of very short stories starring Lorna. Most of the stories make absolutely no sense and the dialogue is a mess. But artwork is beautiful and Azpiri knows how to draw curvy naked women. So it's not all bad.(less)
This is a collection of random stand-alone stories drawn by various artists and all written by Kurt Busiek. None of them are nearly as good as any of ...moreThis is a collection of random stand-alone stories drawn by various artists and all written by Kurt Busiek. None of them are nearly as good as any of the continuity stories Busiek wrote for Conan volumes 1-4. Some of the art is pretty good, but a lot of it just doesn't fit Conan's world.
There's one story called "Storyteller" which was written as a tribute to the centennial of Robert E. Howard's birth. Unfortunately it's not terribly compelling and not much of a tribute. It comes across as cheesy instead of poignant.
The story "In the Tower of Tara-Teth" was drawn by Rafael Kayanan and the art is fantastic. The story, however, is not. There's nothing inherently wrong with it. But as it takes place outside of the series' continuity it comes across as kind of pointless.
It's sad to see a series that was so strong in its first four volumes lose its steam.(less)
Fogtown was an unusual read. While at a base level the book is a traditional noir-style detective story, the particulars of the book made it anything ...moreFogtown was an unusual read. While at a base level the book is a traditional noir-style detective story, the particulars of the book made it anything but "traditional." I can't say I've ever read a graphic novel quite like it.
The book is about a private detective in early 1950's San Francisco. What starts out as a story about a missing girl ends up being about much more. Money, drugs, human trafficking, homosexuality, religion, abandonment and more get thrown into this strange tale. It's an odd mix of ideas.
My biggest complaint is that Fogtown starts out pretty slowly. For me, Andersen Gabrych's writing was difficult to enjoy. For the first 100 pages I barely had any idea what was going on. I couldn't figure out how most of the characters were connected or why I should even care. But right around that point it all started to come together in surprising ways and I found the last 70+ pages to really enjoyable. There were a lot of twists that I didn't see coming, especially since these were things I'd never seen done before in a comic book.
While it did take a while for me to like the story, I never had any complaints about the visuals. The art, by my friend Brad Rader, is fantastic. His work really fits the whole "50's noir" genre. His characters are cartoony yet still expressive in very human ways. There's a lot of atmosphere in Brad's drawings. The art is sort of like that Frank Miller's "Sin City" books but without being up it's own ass in love with itself. It's less "hey, look at me!" and more "hey, I'm really good." Brad's art has a very classic style to it yet still feels modern and accessible. It's what kept me reading when I was ready to give up on the story.
Because the writing is so unusual I would find it hard to suggest Fogtown as an entertaining read. But as a piece of graphic art the book is wonderful. Naturally I'm conflicted about the book as a whole. To break it down, I sort of liked the story, didn't like the dialogue and loved the art. For all it's problems I did think the ending was pretty great. By the time I closed the back cover I was glad I'd stuck with Fogtown. Now I'm just looking forward to whatever Brad illustrates next.(less)
Loading...
