Todd Klein's Blog, page 129

And Then I Read: BATMAN: KINGS OF FEAR #3

Image © DC Comics. Written by Scott Peterson, art by Kelley Jones,
colors by Michelle Madsen, letters by Rob Leigh

Everything I said about issue two applies to this one, but with one change: here the plot is less nightmarish and at times funny and heartwarming.

The Scarecrow has Batman under his thumb. He has a hostage well hidden, and The Dark Knight must do as he says. What does Scarecrow want? To find out what makes Batman tick. He decides to accompany the crime-fighter on a typical evening round. The question is, can he even keep up?

Perhaps the best section of the issue is when Batman finds a small girl out on the street at night and has a charming conversation with her about wrong and right. “Do you ever break the law?” she asks? Changing the subject, he gently guides her back inside her house.

Wonderful comics, this. Highly recommended.

And Then I Read: THE FLASH #61

Image © DC Comics. Written by Joshua Williamson, art by Christian Duce, colors by Luis Guerrero, letters by Steve Wands, cover by David Yardin.

Flash and Iris West are in Corto Maltese with a new Strength Force hero, Fuerza battling the police chief, who has used a Sage Force weapon on them that brings to life their nightmares. When that battle is won, they’re off to Zandia, a refuge and entertainment capital for super-villains. There they encounter a powerful Sage Force user, Psych, but is he friend or foe?

This storyline is reasonably entertaining, though very plot-driven, and the new Forces don’t seem to have much logic to them. Just saying.

Mildly recommended.

And Then I Read: THE PENDERWICKS AT LAST by Jeanne Birdsall

Cover art by Yvonne Gilbert.

This is the fifth and final book in a very enjoyable series of family stories that I am not at all the target audience for, except that I like good stories. It began with “The Penderwicks” in 2005, and each book has been a delight. At first it was four smart sisters and their widowed father on vacation in a small house on the grounds of a large estate, Arundel. Each sister has a unique personality and interests, all are fascinating characters, and the boy they meet at Arundel, Jeffrey, is quite interesting as well. (Some have compared them to the four March sisters and Laurie from Alcott’s “Little Women,” but of course much more of today.)

Forward to the fifth book, and we are again back in Arundel for a wedding. There are two more Penderwick children from their father’s second marriage, and the viewpoint character is Lydia, the youngest at age nine. Her obsession is dancing, and her brother Ben’s is filmmaking, adding to Batty’s love of music, Rosalind’s gardening and sewing, Skye’s math, and Jane’s writing. They’re all going to gather at Arundel, now with an older Jeffrey in charge instead of his annoying and crabby mother, Mrs. Tifton. Or so they think, in fact she’s arrived too, and already causing trouble.

The cast of this book is large, but everyone is unique and interesting. The events are entertaining as everyone prepares for the wedding in their own way, and the children each get into their own kinds of mischief and adventures. There are plenty of animals, snappy dialogue, music, and even a few ghosts. Of course you should read the books in order, but this one is an excellent finale.

Recommended, especially for kids who like to read and their parents.

And Then I Read: EDGAR ALLAN POE’S SNIFTER OF TERROR #5

Image © Ahoy Comics, cover by Richard Williams. Lead story written by Peter Milligan, art by Richard Case. Backup story by Kek-W and Lee Carter, “The Black Cat” by Hunt Emerson. Additional credits as listed.

Mashing up Poe’s story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” with the American presidency seemed like a funny idea. Unfortunately, I found it only mildly amusing. Roderick Usher is president, elected on a liberal agenda, but is soon floundering in corruption. A liberal reporter, our narrator, is invited to stay in The White House to interview Usher, and is soon embroiled in criminal doings himself, at the urging of the First Lady. Most disappointingly, the White House itself does not actually fall into a pit. Oh, well.

The backup story, chapter two of “Le Duc de L’Omelette” is a surreal contest between the devil and a poet/writer. Nice painted art by Lee Carter, but the story makes little sense to me.

Even Hunt Emerson’s “Black Cat” two-pager wasn’t too amusing, though at least Hunt knows how to tell a story.

Mildly recommended.

And Then I Read: WONDER WOMAN #63

Image © DC Comics. Written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Emanuela Lupacchino & Ray McCarthy, colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr., letters by Pat Brosseau, cover by Xermanico.

Wonder Woman has returned to Washington, DC and brought with her three refugees from Themyscira, or perhaps really from Olympus, a winged horse, a minotaur and a satyr. Their immigration officer wants to know if Themyscira is near Tijuana. Realizing bureaucracy will not get them far, the three escape and have some interesting adventures in DC, picking up a friendly waitress at a restaurant. The satyr is particularly fun and amusing, all three are well drawn and entertainingly written. Eventually Diana brings a friend to help, another minotaur she’s known for a while. As the plot moves on to Veronica Cale and an ominous prisoner, I have to say I really enjoyed this change-of-pace and funny issue. Well done, all.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: BATMAN, KINGS OF FEAR #2

Image © DC Comics, written by Scott Peterson, art by Kelley Jones, colors by Michelle Madsen, letters by Rob Leigh.

The amazing cover above by Kelly Jones is what convinced me I wanted to read this miniseries. The concept of a building with the personification of Batman villain The Scarecrow is a great one, but Kelley has made it superb.

This issue is easy and quick to read if you don’t linger over the art, but the art is the star, and must be lingered over. Scarecrow has dosed Batman with his fear gas, and now neither he nor we know exactly how much of what he’s experiencing, if any, is real. Another wonderful reason for Kelley to go to surreal places, and he surely does.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: THE PROBLEM OF SUSAN AND OTHER STORIES

Cover art and logo by P. Craig Russell

The newest in a long line of Neil Gaiman story adaptations from Dark Horse is this book containing four: “The Problem of Susan” and “Locks” by P. Craig Russell, colors by Lovern Kindzierski, letters by Galen Showman, “October in the Chair” by Scott Hampton, letters by Rick Parker, and “The Day the Saucers Came” by Paul Chadwick, letters by Gaspar Saladino. That last one is from 2013, originally appearing in DARK HORSE PRESENTS #21, the rest are new for this book.

In each case, the artist adapted Neil’s story, and all add visual elements to those stories that are unique interpretations of those artists. “The Problem of Susan” is based on Neil’s idea that, of the four children in the Narnia books of C.S. Lewis, only Susan is left behind at the end of the final book to grow older in our world. We meet a much older Susan as she is interviewed by a reporter, and the reporter herself is drawn into a strange dream about Narnia. That dream is creepy and horrible, and probably far from anything Lewis would have done, but it’s fascinating.

In “Locks,” we have a new look at the Goldilocks story as a father tells it to his young daughter, with the father’s adult view of the tale being quite different from the child’s.

“October in the Chair” has each of the months personified sitting around a campfire in the woods telling stories. It is October, and therefore his turn in as chairman. The story within the story has a boy who is teased and bullied who runs away from home and finds an unusual friend in a graveyard.

“The Day the Saucers Came” is a poem by Neil that has been illustrated a few times. Paul Chadwick’s version is seven full pages of detailed art that are a delight, and I particularly enjoyed seeing the lettering by my friend Gaspar Saladino, one of the last professional lettering jobs of his long and celebrated career.

Highly recommended.

And Then I Read: THE FIGHTING GROUND by Avi

This remarkable 1984 novel takes place near Trenton, NJ during the American Revolution. It covers just over 24 hours in time, but details events that will change young Jonathan forever. The war has been on for some time, Jonathan’s brother is fighting with Washington, and his father fought and was injured, so has returned home. He and Jonathan are planting spring crops, but all Jonathan can think about is whether he will have a chance to prove himself in battle. When he learns that a militia group is gathering in a tavern nearby, he sneaks away to see if they will have him. Despite the warnings of many, 13-year-old Jonathan joins the motley group of farmers turned soldiers led by a devious Corporal who seems anxious to take the fight to some Hessian soldiers moving through the area. When they do, it’s a disaster, and Jonathan is captured by three Hessians who seem lost. They take refuge with their prisoner in a farmhouse and spend a long, frightening night trying to understand each other, and the child found in the house. The Hessians speak only German, and Jonathan speaks none. When Jonathan escapes at dawn and finds his Colonel, the triumph he hoped to achieve turns to an even worse disaster.

The writing in this book is tense, cinematic and real. Jonathan’s dreams and illusions are shattered as he confronts the truth and horror of war. Recommended.

And Then I Read: THE FLASH #60

Image © DC Comics. Written by Joshua Williamson, art by Rafa Sandoval & Jordi Tarragona, colors by Tomeu Morey & Hi-Fi, letters by Steve Wands.

Part 3 of “Force Quest” has Barry Allen and Iris West in Corto Maltese trying to speak to a new Strength Force user, Fuerza. Unfortunately, she’s in the middle of a battle with the police. When Barry helps her, she allows him to follow her to her headquarters, and agrees to tell him what she knows about the Strength Force, which came to her a few weeks earlier. Meanwhile, in Africa, the twin villains Gemini are on a new mission that will intersect with Flash later, and in Central City, Flash’s fill-in, the future Captain Cold, is being played by another of Flash’s Rogues Gallery. The heart of this issue is corruption, as we learn Corto Maltese’s police chief is not only on the take, he’s getting heavy weapons to use against his people as well as superheroes from someone involved with the Sage Force. The one he uses on Fuerza and Flash is most unusual.

Not loving this storyline, but it’s reasonably entertaining. Recommended.

And Then I Read: WONDER WOMAN #62

Image © DC Comics. Written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Xermanico, colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr., letters by Pat Brosseau, cover by Terry & Rachel Dodson.

In the final chapter of “The Just War,” the Prime Minister of Durovnia has come to what Wonder Woman thought was safe territory to discuss peace in the war-torn country, only to find Ares, God of War, ready to strike him down. Diana and Ares battle, but are halted by Aphrodite. Can Love conquer all? Read the issue to find out! I have been liking Wilson’s dialogue more and more as I read this story arc, and like it best of all this time. As Diana and Steve Trevor head back America, separately, I’m curious to see what’s next. The art in the book is also appealing, and I see no reason not to keep reading this series.

Recommended.