boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) (01/21/85)
I've been away for a while (a long work break following a vacation), so I have quite a few comics backed up to review. I'll be sending them in two relatively small batches. 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 Napolean 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 #39: "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 | ******************************************************************************** A-V IN 3-D #1 [D+] First, the 3-D: This work done by Ray Zone, who also did the 3-D ALIEN WORLDS comic for Pacific last year. I'm not sure that the 3-D work here was quite as good as in the aforementioned comic, but it's still a lot of fun. Now, as far as the stories go, well... in addition to being a 3-D comic, this serves as sort of a sampler of the material published by Aardvark- Vanaheim. As such, it really isn't all that good. The Neil the Horse story is the only one to really make good use of the 3-D medium, and the Ms. Tree story is the only one to focus around the idea that it's appearing in a 3-D comic. Other than that, the stories are rather pedestrian, except for the Cerebus story, which seems to be nothing more than artistic self-indulgence. ELEMENTALS #2 & #3 [C+,C-] (yes, I managed to find #2 for cover price) My feelings on the first issue was basicly, "Yeah, this isn't bad, but why is everyone going nuts about it?" Well, I'm still wondering why, but I'll have to say that my opinion on the book's quality has gone up a tad. The artwork is uneven: in general it's not as good as work Willingham's done for First Comics, or in the current GREEN LANTERN, though there are assorted pages and panels that are quite well done. The story in both issues, as in the first issue, consists mostly of fight after fight, but the parts in between the fights are the best parts. Saker's "discussion" with Tommy, Saker's confrontation with the demons, and Mr. Golden's talk with the feds are all nicely scripted. The best aspect of the book for me is the characterization, mostly of Saker, Tommy, Rebecca, and her father. Another plus here is the "realistic" way Willingham deals with super- hero battles --- a way which gets the heroes and villains seriously hurt or killed. This book is definitely worth looking into, but I *still* don't think it should be a "hot" book. MACROSS #1 [D-] If anyone isn't a fan of Japanese animation, this comic (unlike the 3-so-far volumes of STARBLAZERS --- these are *great* and are easily worth the $11.00-$12.00 price) certainly won't make him one. The concept behind the story isn't too bad. Basicly, an alien fortress crashes on a war-torn Earth. The nations see this as indicative of a possible threat, and unite to rebuild the fortress (called Macross) as the vanguard of a defense fleet against potential alien invasion. Well, of course, just as the Macross is getting ready for its maiden flight, Earth gets attacked by the enemies of whatever race originally built Macross. Not a very original premise, but nothing to be ashamed of, either. Unfortunately, everything else goes downhill from there. The writing is puerile, the art continuity is atrocious (there are a few times when a scene changes without warning, making hash out of the story), and the artwork itself is poor. Apparently, it was felt that simple taking cels from the show and arranging them into comic pages (like the STARBLAZERS books) was not a worthwhile method. Instead, they took cels from the show, arranged them into comic pages (like the STARBLAZERS books), and then had someone re-draw the panels, so that we end up with "real" comic art, rather than cel reproduction. Sort of like rotoscoping. Unfortunately, their choice of artist wasn't very inspiring, and so what we end up with is something like a comic rotoscoped by Ralph Bakshi rather than FANTASIA-era Walt Disney. Blecch. THE ZERO PATROL #1 [D] Continuity Comics' second comic (after ECHOES OF FUTUREPAST) is finally here. I'm not impressed. The title feature is basicly a reprinting, translated into English by Neal Adams, of a comic feature written and drawn by Spanish artist Esteban Maroto many moons ago. It's obviously very early Maroto, since it doesn't have any of the stylized tricks that gave Maroto his deserved repu- tation in the early 70s. The story is trite and puerile, with nothing to it to recommend it. The writing by Adams is no better than that on MS. MYSTIC or SKATEMAN (Adams should *really* stick to his spectacular drawing and leave the writing to those who can do it well). There doesn't seem to be any reason to bother doing this, except that Adams liked the original when he was younger, and wanted to give it a wider exposure. Other than that, it seems worthless, unless you're interested in seeing early Maroto work. The backup feature, which soon will graduate to be lead feature of yet another comic from Continuity, is Megalith. It's not as bad as most solo- Adams efforts, but it isn't at all a good introduction to the series. The 5- page story seems much like those preview inserts that DC occasionally does to introduce a new comic --- basicly a minor story to give you an idea of the flavor of the new series. Unfortunately, the story here merely shows you the character of Megalith in action against some bank-robbers. Other than showing us that he is "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound", we have *no* idea who the character is, what his background is (I realize that Adams is saving the origin for later, but we don't even have any clues or hints dropped here), or what the motivations behind him or any of the other characters are. And to seemingly add insult to injury, the artwork that is usually Adams' forte, isn't up to his usual work. If you pass this comic up, you won't miss anything. SOMERSET HOLMES #6 [A-] This book has been showing Bruce Jones in fine form, closer in quality to the best of his Ka-Zar work for Marvel than his ALIEN WORLDS or TWISTED TALES for Pacific/Eclipse. On one level, I can agree with any opinion that says that the resolution of the mystery of Somerset's identity (in #5) and the revelation of the motives behind the characters in this issue are both rather trite. On the other hand, the writing is done with such panache, that I can overlook such inadequacies. And Brent Anderson's art is nothing to sneeze at, either. Simply put, SOMERSET HOLMES is one of the finest books put out this past year, and I'm glad Eclipse finished it off after Pacific's demise. There is certainly room left for further episodes in the life of Somerset, but I hope Jones resists the temptation. This mini-series stands well by itself and would be cheapened by a continuing series. I do hope, however, that someone decides to reprint the whole story in one volume as a graphic novel. Unlike most such, SOMERSET HOLMES is a *real* graphic novel. Oh, and as far as the Cliff Hangar serial in the back, well, it's silly, but harmless, fun. DALGODA #3 [C] I really liked the first issue, but was less impressed by the second. This issue falls somewhere in between, and if nothing else, is worth reading for the "truce" utterances by Posey Ravencraft and Victor Kneedam. Truly the most honest, sincere, and heartfelt truce ever to grace the human race. As for the second chapter of "Grimwood's Daughter", it certainly has caught my interest, even though it's of a brand of fantasy that I usually don't care for. The high point, though, is definitely the Kevin Nowlan art. NEXUS #7 & #8 [C+ for each] Well, NEXUS is finally back! In some ways, I'm disappointed, though. The story here ("The Trialogue Trilogy, parts 2 & 3) started out so fascin- atingly in the last Capital issue, but here, it's almost as if, once he came up with the concept of the bowl-shaped world, Baron ran out of ideas. The trip to the bowl's center seemed so humdrum, it hurt. And the ending seemed to be one of those situations in which the writer couldn't figure out the way to end the story, so he chose the first way that popped into his mind. In almost any other comic, I wouldn't have noticed or minded, but here, it stood out like a sore thumb. However, like I said about SOMERSET HOLMES, the writing is done with such panache and flair that I can't complain too loudly. Mike Baron is the only writer in comics today that I think comes close to Alan Moore in terms of being a good *writer* (as opposed to being a good comics writer --- Steves Gerber and Englehart in their heydays were also up there). The characterization was, as usual, brilliant, with one disappoint- ment. Judah and the Badger's relationship was just a little too bland. Either they should have really hit it off, or killed each other. Neither one hap- pened (though it was more the latter than the former). What was especially nice was the following exchange (in #7): Badger: "The Badger maims, but he doesn't kill." Judah: "Pestilent psychopath!..." Badger: "You call me crazy! I'm going to kill you!" Still, the situation that's developing on Ylum looks to be intriguing, and I look foward to the next issue. If you haven't caught onto this comic yet, you owe yourself the favor of picking it up now. THE BADGER #5 [B-] Gee, while Capital was publishing NEXUS and THE BADGER, I always enjoyed the former more than the latter, but I find this first First issue of THE BADGER better than the two issues of NEXUS. Rheinhold's artwork here isn't as polished as Steve Rude's, but it's servicible nonetheless. The scripting here is one of the better jobs in THE BADGER (Baron's writing on this comic for Capital has always been uneven -- some issues were good, some not so good; this is a good one). Baron's forte, though, has always been his characters, and the Badger's has always shined (he stole the show from Nexus and Judah during his guest-starring in NEXUS), and this issue is no exception. Now that NEXUS and THE BADGER are here at First, and MARS and WARP are gone, First is definitely a first-rate company --- not a stinker in the bunch (though STARSLAYER may get there soon, is Ostrander doesn't clean up his act). CONQUEROR #2 & #3 [D & D+] This British comic sounded promising when I first heard of it, but I was gravely disappointed with the first issue. The art, the writing, and the characters were all quite amateurish. The second issue didn't have any- thing to counter that impression. The third issue, however, brought a new writer and a new artist, and was a bit of an improvement. Still not great stuff, but not as bad as the previous issues, either. Needs a lot of work. MEGATON MAN #1 [D+] Here we are presented a parody of Superman. As with most parodies, what we end up with is an inspired idea, some truly hilarious moments, some sharp jabs at some of the more well-known comics characters, but all in all, a truly ephemeral and trivial product. If you like parodies of the old NOT BRAND ECHH variety, by all means, give this one a look-see. Me, I'd rather read NORMALMAN. THE FABULOUS FURRY FREAK BROTHERS #8: "THE IDIOTS ABROAD" [C] In general, I'm not a fan of the undergrounds. I've always felt that, in demonstration of their freedom from The Code (insert a Bronx Cheer here), underground comics have, in a fit of juvenile creative masturbation, gone to the other extreme, trying their best to shock or offend. Few undergrounds, in my opinion, managed to rise from the muck and prove themselves a legitimate work of the comic art. Among the best of the underground creators are Larry Todd, Vaughan Bode, Foolbert Sturgeon, Dan O'Neill, George Metzger, and last but not least, Gilbert Shelton. Shelton's Freak Brothers were born in, and are relics of, the drug culture of the 60s. Somehow, they have managed to transcend their limited beginnings, and remain a truly funny and enjoyable strip. They're stereotypes, to be sure, but they are engaging stereotypes, with truly distinguishable personalities. The stuff is just as engaging now as it was 15 years ago. The story here is one in which we follow the travails of the FFFB as they decide to travel to Colombia to get right to the source of good drugs. As they are always wont to do, these plans go awry, and each brother finds himself going in a different direction, getting into his own brand of trouble. Be warned however, that the story doesn't end here, but is continued in RIP OFF MAGAZINE #13. If you've never experienced the wit and style of Gilbert Shelton, give the Freak Brothers a try. All the FFFB issues are kept perpetually in print, so you won't go bananas looking for back issues if you like it. And also keep an eye out for RIP OFF MAGAZINE (formerly RIP OFF COMICS) and THE ADVENTURES OF FAT FREDDY'S CAT (the best feline this side of Raul). --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA