Todd Klein's Blog, page 360

And Then I Read: MADAME XANADU 24 – 28

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

This series ends with issue 29 I think, and I'll be sorry to see it go. Writer Matt Wagner has produced an entertaining series, following the title character through her history from Arthurian times to the 1960s in this story arc, lots of variety in both the story types and settings, but continuing to allow Xanadu's character to develop and grow. Each of the issues in this arc is drawn or painted by a different artist, and each focuses on one of the five senses. Xanadu herself takes a lesser role than usual, most often coming in toward the end to solve problems and deal with supernatural events. The artists: Marley Zarcone, Laurenn McCubbin, Chrissie Zullo, Celia Calle and Marian Churchland all give their stories a unique style, and I liked the results a lot. The covers by Mark Buckingham are also effective.

Here's a page from issue 28 by Churchland. I have to admit I miss Amy Reeder, who I understand will be back for the final issue, but I enjoyed reading all these stories, which remind me of the sort that used to run in HOUSE OF MYSTERY and HOUSE OF SECRETS in the 1970s, though the longer length gives them more room to breathe and deepen characters and settings. Issue 26, about a homeless boy with a horrible odor, was particularly memorable, both charming and chilling. Well done all, and recommended.

And Then I Read: ACTION COMICS 894

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

I haven't read any Superman titles for a long time, but I couldn't resist this one. Had to see what Paul Cornell had in mind for Death of the Endless. Turns out to be a long dialogue with Lex Luthor who appears to be dead, though he doesn't want to believe or accept it. This must seem a very different Superman comic to regular readers, with essentially no action, all talk, but it's quite interesting talk. And Death sounds like herself as written by Neil Gaiman. I believe I read somewhere that Neil had a hand in her dialogue, certainly reads that way. And what is the talk about? Lex's life, what it was about, how it might have been different, what his afterlife might be like. Interesting topics, and Lex is not having any of it.

I didn't find the interior art by Pete Woods as good as the cover by David Finch, but it's not bad. It carries the story well, not an easy task with two people talking for umpteen pages. In the end it's kind of a stunt casting thing, I doubt it will have any real impact on Lex or the title, and as you can imagine, Lex comes back to life toward the end, but it's a fun read and recommended.

Remembering Adrienne Roy

Image © DC Comics, Inc.

I  was sad to hear of the passing of Adrienne Roy a few days ago. It wasn't a surprise, I'd learned she was seriously ill about a year earlier. During the ten years I spent on staff at DC in the Production Department I saw and spoke to her often, she was a busy colorist for all of those years (1977-87). The sample color guide by Adrienne above was her stock in trade. In the years before computer coloring, hand-painted photocopies of comics art, like this page from Detective 562, were produced by colorists like Adrienne and her husband Tony Tollin in great quantity, using specific dyes to indicate to the separators (also working by hand) which colors to put where. The codes had to be added by the colorist after the color guides were finished and approved, and much of the time Adrienne spent in the office was to pencil those in, usually with someone hovering nearby ready to rush them off to the separation house in Connecticut.

I can't say I knew Adrienne well, but she was always friendly and easy to talk to, intelligent and with a ready smile and warm laugh. We were often on the same books in those days, featuring Batman, the Teen Titans, and many others (not the issue above, which is lettered by John Workman), but I can't recall discussing the work with her very much. In those days letterers and colorists didn't often do that. I'm not sure what all we did talk about, but I do recall we went to a movie together once, one we both wanted to see, but Tony didn't I guess.

When computer coloring became the norm some time in the 1990s, Adrienne's name began to disappear from comics. I guess she didn't want to do that. After I left staff I didn't see her for many years, but when I was a guest at the San Diego Comicon in 2008 she showed up outside my spotlight panel, and we talked for a few minutes. It was good to see her, and it brought back good memories. Adrienne had a talent for coloring comics, but more than that she was a fine person, and will be missed.

And Then I Read: THE SPIRIT 4 & 5

Images © Will Eisner Studios, Inc.

I'm giving up on this title, it doesn't work for me. I don't care for the storylines or the art, other than the covers by Ladronn and some of the backups. The one in this issue is why I'm reviewing the book at all, it's a charmer by David Lapham and Michael Kaluta.

Here's a sample page with more of the true Eisner Spirit than I've seen anywhere in this relaunch to date, without it being an attempt to copy Eisner exactly. A series looking and reading like this would be delightful, but the rest of the issue leaves me uninterested. Recommended for the backup only.

Cookie Making Weekend

Every year we complain about how much work it is, and every year Ellen and I make them anyway: Christmas cookies on the weekend before the holiday. We made four kinds this year, beginning with Mocha Nut balls, above. Ellen made the dough with the key ingredients being cocoa powder, chopped pecans and freeze-dried instant coffee. Recipes for these, the Butterballs, and Mrs. Field's Gingerbread are on THIS cookie post on my blog from 20o8. The one new recipe we tried is below.

While Ellen worked on the Mocha Nut, I made the dough for Butterballs, from my Mom's recipe in the Klein family cookbook I put together many years ago. The key ingredients are butter (as you might guess) and chopped walnuts. The above two ball cookies are easy to make, and complement each other well, the Yin and Yang of spherical cookies.

Ellen's now working on rolling the Butterballs. She's much better at getting them small enough and a consistent size.

After their baked, I garnished both with powdered sugar, though the Butterballs are rolled in it while warm, forming a sort of snowy icing, while the Mocha Nuts just have the tops dipped after completely cool. Ellen doesn't like too much sugar on them.

Here's the finished batches.

This year's new recipe was for Chocolate-Raspberry Crumb Bars, a recipe by Carole Zwycewicz that was in our local paper. The bottom layer is very similar to shortbread, then a chocolate sauce goes over that…

…and it's topped with more chocolate (chips) and dollops of raspberry jam and more dough.

After baking we cut it into small squares. I liked them better than Ellen, she didn't think it tasted chocolaty enough, so I doubt we'll make them again, but at least they were easy. Those three batches were all made Saturday.

On Sunday Ellen did most of the work on the more time-consuming and somewhat difficult Gingerbread shaped cookies, making the dough, chilling it, rolling and cutting shapes.

Here's a tray being filled to go into the oven.

My part with these is helping with the decorating after they're baked and cooled. Usually I make batches of colored icing (as seen in the 2008 post), but this year when prepared to do that I found we had no food coloring at all. We'd brought ours up to Ann's last Christmas and forgotten to get more. So, we just used the white icing and colored it with sugar crystals and candies. Worked fine.

I was still able to get some reasonably artistic results, I think.

Here's how the cookies are dispensed: Ellen brings some to work, we bring some to each of our families when we go north for Christmas, and we keep a small batch here for ourselves. There'll be more cookie making at Ellen's sister Ann's later in the week, too, so we'll bring home a sampling of those. Christmas cookies, try some, you'll like them!

Here's the recipe for the bars.

CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY CRUMB BARS by Carole Zwycewicz

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided evenly

14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With an electric mixer (or by hand with a fork) beat butter in large mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in flour, sugar and salt until crumbly. Press 1 and 3/4 cups of mixture into bottom of greased 9 by 13-inch baking pan, save remaining mixture. Bake until edges are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. While bars bake, combine 1 cup chocolate chips with condensed milk in small saucepan. Stir over low heat until smooth. Pour sauce over baked mixture. Sprinkle remaining chips and small dollops of preserves and remaining mixture over top. Return to over and continue baking until center is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely and cut into small bars or squares.

And Then I Read: LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 3 & 4

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

Writer Paul Levitz continues to shake things around in this title, and in a good way. There are plotlines aplenty, and all of them are interesting. Saturn's moon Titan, home of several Legionnaires, has been destroyed, bringing the wrath of their enemy Saturn Queen down on them. The new Legionnaire Earth-man, who everyone suspects of treachery, also has to deal with the Green Lantern ring that has come his way, and is demanding his attention. Founding members Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad are in search of their abducted children, and the trail leads into the darkest part of Jack Kirby's Fourth World. Then there's the problem of refugees from Titan, not wanted on Earth, and at Legion Headquarters, a new leader election is brewing. There's more, but that gives you some idea. Good stuff.

The art by Yildray Cinar and Francis Portela, with inking help from Wayne Faucher, looks great. Dynamic, yet realistic enough to carry the weight of all the futuristic settings and inhuman characters. I'm not sure who did what in this tag-team operation, but it shows no seams, and appears to be a cohesive effort. LSH has rapidly become a title I look forward to reading. And I'm happy to see the character tags surviving from the previous run of this title, it makes it much easier to remember who's who and follow the many storylines. Recommended.

Rereading: STORM OVER WARLOCK

© Andre Norton estate. Cover artist probably Ed Emshwiller.

I was a big fan of Andre Norton's books when I was in grade school. First, there were very few science fiction books in our school library, about half of them were by Norton. Second, they were entertaining reading, adventure stories with a dose of SF or Fantasy or both, the lead character usually a male teenager with some sort of problem, a misfit. This suited me perfectly. The fact that many of her stories featured animals and survival in harsh outdoor environments made them even more attractive.

I have quite a few Norton books on my shelves, but it's been decades since I read one. At some point they lost their charm for me. This was one of my favorites, my paperback copy is well-used, so I thought I'd reread it to see how I liked it now.

Shann Lantee is a Norton misfit, a boy from an impoverished background who has managed to land an assignment on an Earth ship sent to prepare a distant world for colonization. He's assigned to care for two wolverines, used for tracking and hunting. And they're a handful, they keep escaping. While he's out trying to bring the beasts back to the Earther camp, it's destroyed by a Throg warship. The Throgs are an insectoid species who also want this world, and they've tried to wipe out the Earthers to get it. By chance, Shann escapes them with the Wolverines, and later meets up with a higher-ranked Earther, Thorvald, whose ship has crashed in the desert outside camp. The two men and two beasts plan a revenge attack on the Throgs, but it's only partially successful, and then they're on the run from vicious trackers.

Another interesting element is dreams both are having, leading them toward the coast, and when they reach it, Thorvald is led away, stranding Shann on an island where he eventually meets the previously unknown natives of this world. And then his most difficult tests begin!

I'd forgotten a lot of this, and so was able to enjoy reading it again. The part I remembered best turned out to be only one brief scene, where Shann is presented with what seems to be a favorite pet from his childhood, brought back to life. I guess that resonated strongly with my younger self. In general, this is an exciting story with a good number of surprising plot twists and a satisfying resolution. It's also subtly laced with wisdom about many things. I'd give it to any teenage boy and expect them to enjoy it. Recommended.

And Then I Read: FLAMING ARROWS

© heirs of William O. Steele. Cover illustration by James Bernardin.

This is the last of the recent reprints by Steele that I picked up a few years ago. I began reading his books about frontier life in my youth, then they were out of print for a long time. Now at least four of them have been reprinted  by Odyssey/Harcourt.

Chad Rabun and his family live in an area of what is now Tennessee that is just being settled by white farmers, on land claimed by the Chickamauga Indians, and are in constant danger from their raiding parties. When word comes that a raid is planned, Chad and his family retreat with their neighbors to the nearest fort, which is small and not well supplied, without even a water source inside its stockade walls. Soon a siege is underway, with the Indians keeping the settlers from the nearby spring, and in constant fear of their attack. In addition to their other worries, the settlers are unhappy that the Logan boys and their mother have joined the settlers, since their father has turned traitor and joined the Indians, fighting against them. Only Chad and his father are willing to stand up for the Logan boys, everyone else is ready to turn them out of the fort to face the warlike raiders. This makes a stressful situation even harder for Chad. Then a new threat is revealed when the Indians begin trying to burn them out of the fort with flaming arrows and other tricks. Will they be able to hang on until reinforcements arrive?

Steele wastes no words in his action-filled stories, and this is another great read, touching base with history, and yet giving thoughtful insight into human nature on both sides of the tense struggle. Recommended.

And Then I Read: BEST AMERICAN COMICS 2010

So, the way this works is, series editors Abel and Madden preselect material from comics in general and pass it on to this year's guest editor, Neil. While it is a large anthology, over 300 pages of comics, it kind of automatically misses longer series comics that can't be easily excerpted, and is heavily weighted toward non-genre sources and independent creators with a unique and personal style. Nothing wrong with that, but you won't find any traditional superhero comics here. The closest thing is an excerpt from OMEGA THE UNKNOWN published by Marvel, which reads very indy.

I haven't bought any of these anthologies until now, have to admit I was drawn by the chance to see what Neil would pick. There are things I didn't care for, but quite a few I liked, a few I loved. And many are things I wouldn't have picked up on my own. As Neil says in his introduction, a better (though not marketable) title for the book would be A Sampler: Some Really Good Comics, Including Extracts from Longer Stories We Thought Could Stand on Their Own. And if you take it on that basis, it's a success.

The standout for me is an excerpt from ASTERIOS POLYP by David Mazzucchelli, which I've already raved about on this blog. I also really liked the excerpt from R. Crumb's THE BOOK OF GENESIS, and one from A.D.: NEW ORLEANS AFTER THE DELUGE by Josh Neufeld, above. Others I liked with a bit less enthusiasm include entries by Peter Kuper, Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel, Gilbert and Mario Hernandez, Michael Cho, C. Tyler, Fred Chao and Peter Bagge. I read the excerpt from Chris Ware's ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY and had my usual reaction: love the art style, hate the writing, the lettering is beautifully done but much too small. If your eyes are younger, and your taste differs, you may find it the highlight. Any anthology is going to have hits and misses for each reader, but I think the chances of more hits than misses is quite good for this one. Would I put it ahead of a favorite series? No. But if you'd like to see some of what else is out there, it's a great sampler. Recommended.

And Then I Read: GRANDVILLE MON AMOUR

© Bryan Talbot.

Talbot has done it again, this new Grandville album is as wonderfully entertaining as the first one. No surprise, everything Bryan produces is terrific in my book. This series (there is a third album planned) is set in a steampunk Victorian era where all the characters are anthropomorphized animals, essentially human in most respects except for their heads and general build. There's a long running tradition of this genre, with another recent entry being BLACKSAD, but Bryan's opus is uniquely in the mold of Sherlock Holmes with a good dose of modern action films in approach. The story opens on a condemned criminal about to be executed. He's obviously very dangerous, surrounded by armed guards, muzzled and straight-jacketed, but somehow, with help, he breaks free and escapes, muttering about "LeBrock," the one who put him away, apparently. The scene shifts to Detective Ratzi, the partner of LeBrock, coming to rouse his mate, and finding him wallowing in a depressed, drunken binge, mourning the death of Sarah, his love in the first album. News that his catch, Mad Dog, has escaped rouses LeBrock, and despite not being given the case officially, he and Ratzi are soon off to Paris on the trail of the escaped killer. Before long their investigation through the brothels and dives of Paris begins to uncover a plot that will shake the very foundations of government in this world.

More than many artists, Bryan Talbot is self-motivated and highly disciplined, turning out one lengthy masterpiece after another. Considering he's writing, doing the art, lettering and most of the coloring, it's a long-term project that many would shy away from. Bryan continues to buck the odds by succeeding at such projects, an admirable achievement. His art is excellent, full of dynamic action scenes, but even more impressive character moments like the one above, which draw the reader into the story effortlessly, and make us care about these very human creatures. The plot is delightfully clever as well, with twists and turns aplenty. There's absolutely nothing in this book to criticize, it's all good! Highly recommended.