Todd Klein's Blog, page 151

And Then I Read: HAL JORDAN & THE GL CORPS #25

Image © DC Entertainment. Written by Robert Venditti, art by Ethan Van Sciver, colors by Jason Wright, letters by Dave Sharpe.

The uneasy coalition of the Yellow and Green Lanterns falls apart here, something that was easy to predict. Not so easy was the anger and venom coming from Yellow Lantern leader Soranik. Not without reason, but it feels like a plot -driven anger rather than one that comes from the character as we’ve known her, who has always listened to reason. Now she’s all hate and anger, and is taking on the name Soranik Sinestro as she leads what’s left of her Sinestro Corps back to Korugar. This is also a big fail for John Stewart, the other architect of the coalition, and one thing that did surprise me was, he had a backup plan to minimize damage, one that is also a kind of betrayal. Unlike past issues, this one feels like an executive decision to return one part of the status quo. It’s well told, but feels like a letdown all the same.

Mildly recommended.

And Then I Read: KA, Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr by John Crowley

I became of fan of John Crowley with his novel “Little, Big,” published in 1981 and referred to on this cover. Still probably his best-known work. I found and read his earlier works (the novel “Engine Summer” impressed me the most) and have read many of his later ones.

“KA” is a very long novel, as are many of Crowley’s since “Little, Big,” and a crow, Dar Oakley, is the protagonist. He was born in prehistoric times in Europe in a place where there were not yet any humans, and witnessed their arrival. More than any other animal, Dar became intimately involved with humanity and several particular humans. The first of his human friends, a medicine woman named Fox Cap, taught him to speak and understand her language, and gave him his name (or helped him choose it). Later, he followed her into the spirit world of her people where he gained eternal life of an unusual kind. It’s not that Dar never dies, he does, but is long lived, and after he dies he wakes up again in a later time and gradually regains at least some of the memories of his past lives. Another human friend, a monk that Dar only knows as Brother, leads him on a pilgrimage to the westernmost islands of Ireland, and eventually across the ocean to North America. There, Dar’s lives take him through American history from pioneer times to the civil war and eventually to our own time, where he befriends the author of this book, and tells his life story through him. That friendship forms a framing device that bookends the story.

In addition to human history and time spent in magical realms, there’s also plenty about Dar’s life with other crows: first his own family, later many mates, some more important and memorable than others. The relationship between crows and humans is a common theme that goes through its own evolution.

I enjoyed reading the book, but it does tend to wander, as Crowley books do, and at times I found myself checking to see how far along I’d read, wondering how much more there was to go, which a sign that a book is not fully engaging my interest. I love birds, and I enjoy history and magic, so all the elements suggested I would be fully engaged, but the meandering of the story cooled my interest at times. There’s also an overall melancholy, a focus on death and dying and the possibilities that might happen after, and a feeling that both Dar and John Crowley are in a story that has grown too long for them. There are moments of joy and humor, moments of suspense and action, but they are intermittent.

In all, well worth reading, and recommended, but not for everyone.

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERNS #23

Image © DC Entertainment. Written by Sam Humphries, art by Eduardo Pansica & Julio Ferreira, colors by Blond, letters by Dave Sharpe.

Jessica and Simon, newbie Green Lanterns, are on Mogo for the first time, each getting heavy training sessions from Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner respectively. This is green boot camp, and no fun for the trainees. Meanwhile, the rogue Guardian Rami (whose mind is controlled by Volthoom, the first Green Lantern), is doing some research in the GL archives, and finds some interesting information about the first GL rings. We see one of those rings claiming its first wearer. Will the trainees be pushed past their breaking point? Will Volthoom achieve his goals? I had fun finding out.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: THE FLASH #26

Image © DC Entertainment. Written by Joshua Williamson, art by Howard Porter, colors by Hi-Fi, letters by Steve Wands, cover by Carmine Di Giandomenico.

This issue opens in an alternate reality near future where Barry Allen and Iris West have married and their two children with speedster powers are busy destroying Flash’s home city. He confronts them, and they whine about how he never had time for them. (Note: their names are Don and Dawn. Think about what a bad idea that is: they’d never know which one you were talking to or about.) The scene is being watched by our regular Barry and Iris in the 25th Century, courtesy of Reverse-Flash, who is getting into both of their heads with guilt trips and suspicions about each other, finally taunting Barry into following him into the negative speed-force.

There’s a lot of soap opera in this book, but here it’s made more interesting by the time-travel and alternate reality angles. Not a bad read, recommended.

And Then I Read: MANHUNTER OVERSIZE SPECIAL #1

Image © DC Entertainment. Main story: Keith Giffen and Dan Didio with Mark Buckingham. Demon backup: Sam Humphries and Steve Rude.

Note that I lettered the Demon backup, so I won’t be reviewing that, just the main story.

If you’ve read many golden age comics, even ones by Kirby, you’ll soon find that the writing is not what we would expect today. It tends to be shallow and obvious, stringing together a bare-bones plot to support as much fighting and violence as possible, at least as far as superhero comics go. There are exceptions, of course, but not here. The writers on this story seem to have taken those guidelines to heart, and added very little to them. Fill in a little background on Manhunter on the first page, then it’s on to the first battle with criminals. The ruckus attracts two more superhero creations, Sandman and his sidekick Sandy. Aside from costume colors and Manhunter’s steel mask, there’s not a lot to distinguish between them, especially when they start arguing and fighting with each other, which takes up most of the rest of the story.

The art, on the other hand, is quite different. Artists Bruce Timm (on the cover) and Mark Buckingham (interiors) have studied and learned from Kirby, incorporated what they’ve learned into their own styles, and produced work which is clearly an amalgam of both, and in my opinion, much better than most of Kirby in the 1940s. Your mileage may vary, but I like the art on the main story and cover a lot.

And, while I’m not reviewing the backup, I think you’ll probably like it. There are some short Kirby reprints, too.

Recommended.

Pulled From My Files #75: ERIC and THE HECKLER

Eric images © Disney.

In 1991 I was asked by Disney Comics to design some character logos for stories in their LITTLE MERMAID title, this being one of them. Prince Eric needed something a bit regal but still relating to an animated art style. Of these four versions, I happen to like 2 best. 3 is hard to read, and too gloppy. The others are okay.

Version 4 was chosen, minus the crown. The points on the serifs and elsewhere are purposely chopped off. In this case, pointy was not wanted.

Also in 1991, I was asked by DC to design a logo for a new Keith Giffen title. I think the hope was that it be as popular as AMBUSH BUG, but it did not do nearly as well. The name didn’t help, who likes hecklers, after all? My approach here was bouncy, almost frenetically so, and using distorted characters from standard type. Heckler images © DC Entertainment.

This is the least successful sketch. I probably made it by scribbling out the letters with a marker or dull pencil, then tracing around those shapes. It didn’t work well, and almost looks like a design appropriate for Clayface.

This third sketch is one I still like. It follows the plan of sketch 1, but using all capital letters. These characters are not as distorted, but just as jumbled.

Version 1 was chosen, here’s the final logo drawn on plastic vellum. I like it as a logo design, still dislike the name itself.

More when I have time.

And Then I Read: THE CLOCKWORK THREE by Matthew Kirby

Cover art by Brian Despain.

Writer Matthew Kirby’s first book takes the plot-driven story to a new level of complexity while also delivering interesting and equally complex characters.

Giuseppe is an orphaned street musician “owned” by cruel and dangerous master, Mr. Stroop, who gives him food and a place to sleep but takes all the coins he earns each night. When the boy finds a wondrous, magical violin that plays with such beauty it fills his cap in no time, he finally has a hope of escaping his master and returning home to his family in Italy…if he can somehow keep the treasure a secret.

Frederick is an apprentice clockmaker, also an orphan, but with a very kind and generous employer, Master Branch, who allows the boy to work in the basement on his own secret project, a clockwork man that he hopes will win him his own clockmaking mastership, if he can find a way to make it move and think.

Hannah is a maid in the best and grandest hotel in town, trying to keep her family going after their father’s stroke. He had been a wonderful woodworker and carver, but now can barely move. A new guest at the hotel takes Hannah under her wing, but secret information Hannah learns by chance of a hidden treasure threatens end that, and her job.

All three stories are soon entwined artfully, and suspenseful and magical adventures ensue for each child, then each pair, and finally all three together as they try to achieve their goals, escape their enemies, and find the treasure. When the clockwork man comes to life, he is both a great help and another possible danger, and the most powerful man in town is soon drawn into the plot with surprising results.

A fun read with quite a few surprises and delights. Recommended.

And Then I Read: SHADE THE CHANGING GIRL #9

Image © DC Entertainment. Written by Cecil Castellucci, art by Marley Zarcone and Ande Parks, colors by Kelly Fitzpatrick, letters by Saida Temofonte.

It’s been a while since I visited this title, and I found this issue quite appealing. The title character has moved to Gotham City and is attending a concert by the only Earth band she knows and likes, “The Sonic Booms,” because they appeared on her favorite Earth TV show “Life With Honey” (seen back on planet Meta). Shade is not good with time, though, and when the band appears, she can’t believe how old they are. Fifty years have passed since the TV show. Shade uses some of her Madness magic to make them young again, and their aging fans too, and everyone has a great time…for a while. Shade has learned that the actress who played Honey (if she understands that distinction) is ill, and is determined to find her, a process that includes a very amusing visit to a library. Back on Meta, scientists who have captured Shade’s friend are trying to use him to find her, and have a plan to send a Metan spy to Earth. In the “Life With Honey” backup, essentially an episode of the TV show, Honey decides the way to stay young is to spend time with children…another plan that doesn’t go well.

I’m enjoying this book much more on the current story arc (this is part two) than I did on the first one. The writing is clever and funny, the characters are appealing, and so is the art.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: RAVEN #1

Image © DC Entertainment. Written by Marv Wolfman, art by Alisson Borges, colors by Blond, lettered by A Larger World.

As a one-time fan of the New Teen Titans when Marv was writing it, I thought I’d give this series a try. Raven is taking a break from her team, and has moved to San Francisco to stay with her mother’s sister, Alice, and her family: husband Jack and children Mary-Beth, Billy and baby Jessica. Even as she steps in the door of this ordinary family, Raven begins to wonder if she’s made a mistake, but she wants to know more about the human side of her family, and explore a more normal life. Attending the local high school is difficult for her, especially when she’s attacked mentally by an unknown assailant, and must use her powers. At night she is haunted in dreams by her demon father, Trigon, and elsewhere, in an abandoned warehouse, a great power is rising.

I enjoyed the story, though the art doesn’t appeal to me very much, a little too “manga.” I’ll read a few more and see how it goes, maybe it will grow on me.

Mildly recommended.

And Then I Read: MARCH Book Three

Art by Nate Powell, written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin.

The final volume of this trilogy is by far the longest at about 250 pages. It covers the story of the fight for racial equality and John Lewis’s part in it from Sept. 1963 to August 1965, and is packed with information and events, many of them horrific examples of terrorism, violence and hatred directed at blacks in the south attempting to gain the right to vote, among other rights we now take as commonplace for all Americans. It begins with the bombing of a church in which four girls were killed, and ends with the signing of an important federal law. Between those, John Lewis is there on many marches and acts of civil disobedience, often attacked violently by police and jailed with so many others. Beside him are other leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King. In the wings are figures like Malcolm X and President Lyndon Johnson. This is important history that many of us don’t know, or know only parts of, and that makes this trilogy historic, but it’s also gripping reading. I salute those who produced it, and will not forget what I read in it.

Highly recommended.