Reviews of graphic novels and comic book collections every Tuesday and Thursday.


Please Note: All Amazon prices are current the day of the review. Prices may change without notice.

 
Legend of the Green Flame by Neil Gaiman
While in Seattle a few weeks ago, I found a Neil Gaiman comic I didn't know existed, Legend of the Green Flame (2000, DC Comics). Ironically, the script by Gaiman was lost for a number of years. He wrote a Green Lantern and Superman script that couldn't be published because it didn't fit the continuity of the DC Universe at the time. The script was lost, but once found years later was thought worthy of publication. Illustrated by a host of artists (Frank Miller, Mike Allred, Terry Austin, Mark Buckingham, John Totleben, Matt Wagner, Eric Shanower, Art Adams, Jim Aparo, Kevin Nowlan, and Jason Little), it was published as a sort-of alternate universe tale in a prestige format.

Not being a fan of the DCU, Superman, or Green Lantern, the draw for me was the Gaiman script, which is good, but not great. For some reason, the story, dealing with big mystical themes that make the Sandman such a great read, falls short when forced to deal with these superhero characters. Perhaps DC fans will get more out of it than me.

Legend of the Green Flame 2.5 stars (out of 5)
posted by Sean McGurr at 8:00 AM

 
The Sandman Vol. 4: Seasons of Mists by Neil Gaiman
In The Sandman Vol. 4: Seasons of Mists (1992, Vertigo/DC Comics, Amazon listing), Neil Gaiman's extended saga takes off. The storyline here is probably the strongest and most exciting in the series. For readers who enjoyed the short stories, but now want access into the extended Sandman Universe, this arc, rather than the first volume or "The Doll's House" is a great beginning.

It starts with a family meeting between the members of the Endless, minus brother Destruction, which precipitates Dream going to Hell to search for Nada, his lover that he banished when she denied him. In a huge anticlimactic moment--Dream spends an entire issue saying his good-byes before his journey, which he senses will end with his death--Lucifer doesn't want to fight Dream. Rather, he has emptied Hell and gives Dream dominion over the realm. This turns out to be a curse though. All manner of deities and entities seek Dream to ask for the key to Hell. How Dream handles this variety of gods and the fate of Hell becomes the crux of the story arc.

Along the way, we are given an extended view of the Sandman's realm, the Dreaming. Gaiman also introduces and expands upon the characters there, including Matthew, a talking crow, Cain, Abel, and Lucien, the librarian in a library of stories of books never written, only dreamed. Gaiman seamlessly mixes humor, drama, suspense, and intrigue to create a page-turning story with a satisfying conclusion.

The Sandman Vol. 4: Seasons of Mists 5 stars (out of 5)
posted by Sean McGurr at 8:00 AM

 
Playback Adapted by Ted Benoit and Francois Ayroles
It has often been said that the best trait of comics is the ability to adapt to just about any genre. Obviously the biggest success has been in superheroes, but there are fantastic comics in science fiction, biography, realism, non-fiction, fantasy, and mystery. At first blush, an unproduced noir screenplay by Raymond Chandler would seem to be great source material for a graphic novel. But while reading Playback (2006, Arcade Publishing, Amazon listing), all I could think of was how much better this would be as a novel or a movie.

I think a good graphic novel could be made out of the screenplay, but this isn't it. Not having read the source material, I'm not sure how accurate Ted Benoit was in the adaptation. I have read Chandler though and his tough, hard-boiled writing, while evident in many places here, would have spruced up the story. A novel would have filled in many of the gaps and added to the suspense and characterizations.

As a film, Francois Ayroles' static and often muddy art would have been clarified and made the story more dynamic. Perhaps the reproduction of the art wasn't done well, but it was much too dark. Also, because of the translation issues (the graphic novel was originally published in France), the world balloons are awkward as the new lettering leaves too much white space.

Fans of Chandler would do well to seek out the screenplay or his adaptation of it into a novel rather than seeking out this subpar graphic novel.

Playback 2 stars (out of 5)
posted by Sean McGurr at 8:00 AM

 
The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman
One of the shortest books in the series, The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country (1995, Vertigo/DC Comics, Amazon listing) is a collection of four short stories from the series which barely feature the title character at all. Yet each is a great read and indicative of Neil Gaiman's skill as a storyteller.

The World Fantasy Award winning "A Midsummer Night's Dream" tends to get all of the attention of short stories in the series, and deservedly so. It captures the many themes of the series, is a great read showcasing Gaiman's literary side while also showing his familiarity with genre fiction, and is beautifully illustrated by Charles Vess. But the other stories are no less deserving.

"Calliope" is a genuinely creepy story about the lengths a writer will go to get ideas, even imprisoning a muse. What seems to be a cute story about cats, "A Dream of a Thousand Cats," becomes a parable about the power of dreams and will have you looking at your feline in a different light. Finally, "Facade" features Death instead of Dream and looks at the life and fate of Element Girl, a forgotten DC Universe character.

For a good overview of the Sandman universe without getting caught up in all the mythos, this is a great collection. Show it to friends and family to get them hooked. For those interested in the process, also included is a annotated script for the story "Calliope."

The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country 4 stars (out of 5)
posted by Sean McGurr at 8:00 AM

 
Monkey Food: The Complete "I Was Seven in '75" Collection by Ellen Forney
I'm usually not a big fan of comic strips, but Ellen Forney's Monkey Food: The Complete "I Was Seven in '75" Collection (1999, Fantagraphics, Amazon listing) strip published in alternative newspapers around the country is laugh-out-loud hilarious. Despite being just a bit too young to remember the 70s in detail like Forney does, I related to much of the book.

OK, maybe my parents didn't take me to a nudist camp as a kid. And I never discussed Judy Blume's Forever with my girlfriends. My parents never got busted for possession of marijuana when the babysitter found it in their night table. But much of the rest of it seems familiar to me.

More importantly, Forney has a perfect sense of timing and storytelling. These strips are paced just right to illicit huge laughs. I'm hoping her latest book, I Love Led Zeppelin is equally funny.

Monkey Food: The Complete "I Was Seven in '75" Collection 4 stars (out of 5)
posted by Sean McGurr at 8:00 AM

 
Ocean by Warren Ellis
You could do worse to pass the time on a short flight than to read Warren Ellis's Ocean (2005, Wildstorm/DC Comics, Amazon listing). Well-known for his use of imaginative ideas that have a basis in science, Ellis weaves a tale about the discovery of strange sarcophagi underneath the ocean of Europa, a moon of Jupiter.

Weapons inspector Nathan Kane is called in to investigate this discovery and the implications. Also investigating are the residents of a space station run by the conglomerate DOORS (get it?). The workers for DOORS are humans turned into drones for the life of their work contract. The story is packed with big ideas and showcases Ellis's imagination, ear for dialog, and wicked sense of humor.

Chris Sprouse's clean art is nothing outstanding, but does a good job of storytelling without detracting from the story. I enjoyed the way that this collection is put together in such a way that you can't tell where the issue breaks were in the original miniseries. This is a good, fun escapist comic.

Ocean 3.5 stars (out of 5)
posted by Sean McGurr at 8:00 AM

 
Concrete Vol. 6: Strange Armor by Paul Chadwick
With the publication of Concrete Vol. 6: Strange Armor (2006, Dark Horse, Amazon listing), the seven volume reprint collection of (I believe) all the Concrete stories is now complete (yes, volume seven came out before this volume). Now there is a long wait until Paul Chadwick puts out a new series.

The mini-series collected here retells Concrete's origin. The script is adapted from a screenplay that Chadwick worked on with others when there was interest in a Concrete movie. The origin story itself (aliens transplanted Ron Lithgow's brain into a rock-hard body) doesn't really work in light of the realistic approach Chadwick takes throughout the series. This version falls into some Hollywood storytelling that doesn't fit either and makes this the weakest of the main Concrete story arcs. Between Concrete's first-person telling of the story, the all-too bad antagonist, and the action-packed finale, it just doesn't seem like a Concrete story. Actually, looking back on it, it reads like the Hulk movie, but this was a decade before Ang Lee's movie.

Where Chadwick and Concrete shine are in the short stories. None are better than "I Strive for Realism," a self-referential piece about Chadwick's control of the Concrete universe. The other Concrete pieces are the thoughtful meditations Chadwick is best known for writing. Also included are two "A Sky of Heads" episodes, a Chadwick autobiographical piece, and "Brighter", a short story that seems to reference Dazzler, a Marvel character Chadwick worked on early in his career.

It is disappointing that I've now gone through all the Concrete stories. But Chadwick supposedly has another mini-series and a novel in the works. Not sure when they will appear, but I will keep my eyes open for them as Concrete is a fascinating character that comes to life under Chadwick's guidance.

Concrete Vol. 6: Strange Armor 3.5 stars (out of 5)
posted by Sean McGurr at 8:00 AM

 
Renfield: A Tale of Madness by Gary Reed
Too often in comics, horror means gore and mayhem. Just because there are vampires and zombies roaming around does not mean that you have a horror comic. Horror should have real suspense. It should make you feel uncomfortable as you read it. Most of all, it should scare you long after you put it down. Renfield: A Tale of Madness (1995, Caliber Comics, Amazon listing; a new edition from Image Comics available later this year) does all of these things.

Renfield, the fly-eating, insane asylum inmate from the horror novel Dracula, is the featured character. Rather than creating a whole new story around the character, author Gary Reed explores and expands the events of the novel. Think of Renfield as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, except not funny and very spooky. It is to Reed's credit that it is almost indistinguishable where Stoker's novel leaves off and the graphic novel begins. They are intertwined seamlessly. Despite being set in the nineteenth century, the story reads modern, and isn't a chore to read like the original Frankenstein. Stoker's novel and Reed's story are engaging throughout.

The story shows Renfield preparing for his master Dracula and delving deeper and deeper into madness. To Renfield, Dracula is a Messiah that he worships and is willing to do his bidding. But as the story moves on, it is clear that how Renfield wants events to unfold is very different from what Dracula has in mind. Once Renfield senses he is being used and that Mina will suffer because of his action, he undergoes a change.

Despite knowing where the story is heading, the unique perspective keeps the reader turning pages. This is due in large part to Reed's writing, but just as much to artist Galen Showman's art. Black and white art suits period horror stories, but is hard to do well, particularly with a subject--vampires--that many readers have vivid images of in their imagination. Showman's approach relies on what is not seen almost as much as what is seen. Combined with Renfield's visions, the claustrophobic nature of the asylum cell, and the continual uses of eyes as a motif, the art adds to the intense nature of the book.

So while there might be some people who read this book and want more death and blood, mature readers will come away spooked by this intelligent book and applaud Reed and Showman's approach to a familiar story told in an all-new way.

Renfield: A Tale of Madness 4 stars (out of 5)
posted by Sean McGurr at 8:00 AM