boyajian@akov68.DEC (04/25/85)
Ratings for the comics reviewed are as according to the Mad Armenian Scale, a shameless rip-off of the Moriarty Scale, stolen out from under the very nose of the Napoleon of Crime. Nyah-ah-ah!! ******************************************************************************** |=>A+< A veritable Classic. One of the best of All Time. Example: THE SPIRIT | |==>A< One of the best of the year. Ex: TEEN TITANS #38: "Who Is Donna Troy?" | |==>B< A very good issue, one of the best of the month. Example: CEREBUS | |==>C< A well done, entertaining issue. Satisfying. Example: JON SABLE | |==>D< Rather boring, or a few good spots mixed with more bad ones. Ex: ROM | |==>F< Boring AND stupid or childish. Example: MARVEL SUPERHEROES SECRET WARS | |==>Z< Actually offensive. Example: DAZZLER --- THE MOVIE GRAPHIC NOVEL #12 | ******************************************************************************** DETECTIVES INC. #1 [Eclipse, mini-series, $1.75] Story: C Art: C+ About 5 years ago, before Eclipse got into publishing regular-sized comics, they did a few graphic novels. The first was SABRE, which was eventu- ally reprinted as the first two or three issues of the SABRE comic. The second graphic novel was DETECTIVES INC. by Don McGregor and Marshall Rogers, and it's now being reprinted as a two-issue mini-series. This is a reasonably good move. Although the graphic novel isn't all that hard to get a hold of, this reprint gets the story into the hands of those people who are willing to buy comics, but not graphic novels. At least, I think that was the idea behind this. Does DI deserve reprinting? Well, this is the first time I've re-read the story since the original appearance. It's a good story, competently done, and a little less full of the overindulgent writing that McGregor is capable of (as anyone who's read SABRE can confirm). Not that it's entirely free of it, mind you, but it doesn't reach out and grab you like it does in SABRE. The story is pretty straightforward --- Ted Denning and Bob Rainier are a PI team. Rainier's ex-wive comes to him and asks him to take on a case. A woman was run over, and though the police seem content to think it was a hit-and-run accident, the dead woman's lover (another woman --- more about this later) thinks it's murder. I have a few minor quibbles, but they don't really interfere with the story. If you like mystery/detective stories, this one's for you. If you didn't care for McGregor's NATHANIEL DUSK for DC (I didn't), you still might like this; it's definitely better. If you liked DUSK, you'll love INC. About the lesbian business. Well, I'm always suspicious of McGregor's ulterior motives. He seems to like to beat his chest about all the "mature" elements that go into his stories. Controversy without exploitation. Homosex- uality! Women giving birth! Why, I'll bet the women in his stories even have periods! But, regardless, I have to give him credit. His treatment of the male homosexuals in SABRE, and the women homosexuals here are done with a great amount of respect. The last page of this installment really is touching as the dead woman's lover tries to explain about their romance to the detectives. Only Mike Grell in JON SABLE has ever treated a homosexual character with as much respect as McGregor. Oh, and the artwork's by Marshall Rogers. That's all that needs to be said on that matter. ELRIC: SAILOR ON THE SEAS OF FATE #2 [First, mini-series, $1.75] Story: B Art: B Curiously enough, I don't think I've ever reviewed the Elric comics before, either the first series from Pacific, or the first issue from First. Time to correct that oversight. I'll be honest and say that I'm not a great fan of sword & sorcery. I rather enjoyed the enthusiasm and zest (despite the lack of skill) of Howard's Conan and Kull stories, but I've found just about everything since then to be mere imitations. The few exceptions have been C.L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry, Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd & Gray Mouser, and Michael Moorcock's Elric. Part of the reason was that each of those three were (are) consummate storytellers *and* skillful writers, but mostly it was because each of the characters involved were a great departure from the Conan mold. Moorcock's Elric stories were, for lack of a better term, *literate* sword & sorcery tales. And the ambience that Moorcock's stories had is well translated by Roy Thomas into comics. I'd say that Thomas does a better job here then he ever did with the Conan comic, outside of a few of the early, Barry Smith-drawn issues. And the art is gorgeous. Michael Gilbert and George Freeman are obviously trying for a pseudo-Craig Russell style to lend some visual consistency from the Pacific series to this one. At the same time, they have a style all their own, which is enhanced by the deluxe paper and printing. I'll have to say that I prefer the Russell/Gilbert Pacific issues to these Gilbert/Freeman issues, but that's like saying I prefer Porsches to Mercedes. This is a comic that seems to just slip out without much fanfare. Which is why I felt the need to speak up about it. It's worth a look. JAXON'S ILLUSTRATED TALES #1 [FTR, b&w, $1.95] Story: C- Art: C- The underground comic seems to be going the way of the dodo, and that isn't surprising. Back in their heyday, the undergrounds offered the only true alternative to the Marvel/DC/Archie/Gold Key type of comic. As the so-called "ground-level" comics sprouted up in the 70's, they usurped the place of the undergrounds by offering a place where the mainstream comic artists could do their thing without the oppression of the Code. Since most of the undergrounds abused their freedom by going to the other extreme and becoming as graphic and tasteless as they could get, these new ground-levels were a refreshing advent. Still, there are a few undergrounds that stick around. Rip Off Press still does Freak Brothers stuff, Kitchen Sink recently did the new Harold Hedd comic, etc. Quite frankly, in addition to the stories being gratuitously gross, I found much of the art in the undergrounds to be crude (so to speak). Only a few artists stood out: Gilbert Shelton (Freak Brothers, Wonder Warthog), "Foolbert Sturgeon" (whose Jesus comics were more funny than well-drawn), Larry Todd (Dr. Atomic), and George Metzger (MOONDOG, which was more like the ground-levels of the late-seventies than the undergrounds of the early 70's), and others. Among these elite was Jack Jackson, better known as Jaxon. While his art is a bit cruder than some, he always had interesting tales to tell, often of a historical bent, such as LOS TEJANOS, about the southwestern US. JAXON'S ILLUSTRATED TALES follows in this vein. It contains two stories, the first one based on a true story about a shipwreck on the California coast, the survivors of which were beset by cannibalistic (and other nasty) Indians on their trek to their destination. It's a tad sensationalistic, but not overly so. The other story is a curiosity, a rather straightforward story about a secret silver mine located in Indian territory that metamorphoses into a Lovecraftian Cthuloid story. While some of the content may not be for kids, neither is it gratuitous. If you're looking for a change from the superheroes, give this one a try. MS. VICTORY SPECIAL #1 [Americomics, one-shot, $2.00] Story: D Art: D+ Time to fess up. Until this, I'd never read an Americomic (I don't include POWER PLAYS in this, since it really is something outside the usual Americomics stable). They always looked gawdawful to me, and since I'd never run across anyone who had anything good to say about *any* of them, I didn't bother with them. I picked this one up for two reasons. First was because Don Thompson of the COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE had a few postive things to say about it (basicly, he said it wasn't all that hot, but it was better than their usual output), and second because it was the first professional work the current STAR WARS artist, Cynthia Martin. Besides, it gave me a first-hand look at the typical Americomics product. First, the artwork. While Martin's work lacks the polish of most of the professionals at Marvel (and elsewhere), it has a style that I find intriguing. The art here is supposedly what got her the job at Marvel. It's somewhat cruder than her STAR WARS work, which is to be expected, but I find the same interest- ing composition. In some places the figures are stilted or slightly deformed, but the overall work isn't too bad. Now for the story. Pretty bad, but not as bad as I expected. Ms. Victory is somewhat interesting as a character, but I found nothing intriguing at all about any of the other characters. Add to this lack of characterization an equal lack of suspense and servicible, but no more than that, writing, and you come up with a very humdrum comic book. There'ss only one *really* major problem I find with this comic, which is one of the things that turns me off of many of the Americomics. They seem to have a worse T&A fetish than the DNAGENTS. I mean, most comic book heroines are busty, but this is a bit much. I literally cannot figure out how Ms. Victory kept her breasts from falling out of her uniform. Seriously! THE SOUTHERN KNIGHTS #8 [Fictioneer, b&w, $2.25] Story: C- Art: D+ THE SOUTHERN KNIGHTS is another of those comics, like POWER PLAYS, that doesn't get the high grades on an absolute scale, yet is one that I recommend anyway. What it lacks in skill, it makes up for in earnestness, enthusiasm, and effort. The previous seven issues (the first issue was under the title THE CRUSADERS) were published by The Guild, the first couple of issues being drawn by Jackson (Butch) Guice. Since #7, however, they've been picked up by the publisher of COMICS INTERVIEW, which hopefully will give them a better distrib- ution than they had before. Because of the new publisher and the fact that it's been a while since #7, this is a fatter issue than normal because it includes a 31-page re-cap of the first 7 issues (basicly, they excerpted scenes from those issues and pasted them up into a single condensed story. The main story in this issue is an origin story of Dragon, one of the members of the Southern Knights super-team, who is a real dragon that can take on human form (an unusual twist). It's a rather well-told story; not earth- shaking, but as good as many a story I've come across from more professional writers. The artwork isn't top-notch either, but I've seen a lot worse. It does the job, and there are some panels that relly stand out. What I really like about THE SOUTHERN KNIGHTS is the characters. There is something about them that interests me. They aren't as well developed as, say, the Teen Titans, but I *like* them, and I think that that's half of the battle won right there. This comic is worth a look see. THOSE ANNOYING POST BROS. #1 [Vortex, b&w, $1.75] Story: D+ Art: C- Ron and Russ Post (and Ron's friend, Savage Henry) are among the criminal lowlife in Bugtown, a city much like First Comics' Cynosure in that it is a nexus of many different realities. Even though the city itself can shift realities, none of the inhabitants can, except for Ron and Russ, which makes life easy for them and hard on the local authorites. In this first issue, Ron and Henry find out that a "drop" is about to be made (quite literally, when it happens, a hole opens up in the air, and a box drops through), and they want to be there to get the package. There's two complications. First, there's this tv commentator who somehow seems to know everything that goes on as it happens, and blabs Ron and Henry's plans as they make them. Secondly, they have tough competition --- all the various Ron Posts from the various different realities are out to beat "our" Ron to the punch, killing him if necessary. Of course, "our" Ron up killing a great number of his other selves as the story progresses. There's a lot of neat gags here, mostly having to do with the different realities. In one, Ron is the super-powered Mightiest Ron. In another, Saturday Morning Cartoon Land, Ron is a duck and Henry is a rabbit. Here, Ron is safe from the other Rons, since no Saturday Morning Cartoon Land character can get killed. However, all is not rosy. The script is often obscure and confusing. Most of the background information is what I gleaned out of the script, and I'm not sure that all of it is correct. The story is probably well suited for those who've read the Post Brothers' earlier adventures in HEAVY METAL, but for those who haven't, it's not a very good introductory story. But the positive aspects are enough to make it worth giving it a try. I've seen Matt Howarth's art elsewhere, and I rather like it. He's done better work than appears here, but I've no complaints except one. Savage Henry looks too much like Russ Post that I was confused at first. But it's a minor enough problem. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA
moriarty@fluke.UUCP (The Napoleon of Crime) (05/05/85)
A few addenums to Jerry's column: >DETECTIVES INC. #1 [Eclipse, mini-series, $1.75] Story: C Art: C+ >[...] I have a few minor quibbles, but they don't really interfere with the >story. If you like mystery/detective stories, this one's for you. If you didn't >care for McGregor's NATHANIEL DUSK for DC (I didn't), you still might like this; >it's definitely better. If you liked DUSK, you'll love INC. Read this when it first came out, and thus I haven't gotten the reprint (or placed it in Moriarty Reviews). However, it was, and is, one of my favorites (a B+), as it is one of McGregor's truely good works before letting the sentiment slop over the edges. Jerry has hit the nail on the head, I think; these days, McGregor characters stand up and make speeches (heck, Claremont people do, too, but with them it seems natural), and you grimace at the moral outrage (or, as Michael Golden might say, the "Righteous Indignation" :-) ). I HATED Nat. Dusk, but this one is worth it, if you already haven't got it. Reminds me a bit of Cagney & Lacey. > About the lesbian business. Well, I'm always suspicious of McGregor's >ulterior motives. He seems to like to beat his chest about all the "mature" >elements that go into his stories. Controversy without exploitation. Homosex- >uality! Women giving birth! Why, I'll bet the women in his stories even have >periods! But, regardless, I have to give him credit. His treatment of the male >homosexuals in SABRE, and the women homosexuals here are done with a great >amount of respect. The last page of this installment really is touching as the >dead woman's lover tries to explain about their romance to the detectives. Only >Mike Grell in JON SABLE has ever treated a homosexual character with as much >respect as McGregor. Correct. I guess the difference between DETECTIVES, INC. and RAGAMUFFINS is that the characters in DETECTIVES seem to be real people (VERY real people), and the characters in RAGAMUFFINS are symbols, or figures. Almost all are bores. > Oh, and the artwork's by Marshall Rogers. That's all that needs to be >said on that matter. What he said. (*Sigh*. The previous statement is getting to be my sole function around here). The only other notes are that I found THOSE ANNOYING POST BROTHERS a lot less enjoyable than Jerry (and he wasn't thrilled), outside of "Mightiest Ron" and The Saturday Cartoon bit. And Ms. Victory is one of the few characters never needing an automobile collision inflation bag... and the way she dresses defies physical laws (An old Firesign Theatre quote pops out of the morass which is my memory: "Meister Stones will se ya' know, ya' cheep hoor!"). "Cheese it, cheddar-breath, you can't fight America's Action Hero, see?" Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc. UUCP: {cornell,decvax,ihnp4,sdcsvax,tektronix,utcsrgv}!uw-beaver \ {allegra,gatech!sb1,hplabs!lbl-csam,decwrl!sun,ssc-vax} -- !fluke!moriarty ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA