Graphic Novels Read in November

Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus (GN 2007) Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

I know this is blasphemy, but I often think the first 38 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man are all we need, period. Don’t get me wrong, I like many of the later issues and storylines, but beyond about issue #125 or so, it’s all over for me. That’s the old guy in me speaking out, I guess, but there’s something timeless about the Lee/Ditko issues (all collected in this omnibus) that really never was recaptured again in quite the same way: the quirkiness of Peter Parker, the isolation, loneliness, the pure fun of being Spider-Man and the heartbreak it caused. I love these issues. (Still, although it’s good - and here’s another blasphemy - this is not Steve Ditko’s best work. We’ll reserve that conversation for another time.) Yes, there are some clunkers here, but there’s also magic. If you’ve never read these first 38 issues, do yourself a favor. 

5/5

Mind MGMT Vol. 2: The Futurist (GN 2013) Matt Kindt 

Discussed at The Comics Alternative 

5/5

Star Trek: Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor (GN 2010) John Byrne

3/5

Star Wars, Vol. 1: In the Shadow of Yavin (GN 2013) Brian Wood, Carlos D’Anda 

3.5/5

Both titles discussed at Graphic Novel Universe

Mara (GN 2013) Brian Wood, Ming Doyle

Discussed at The Comics Alternative

3/5

Impossible Tales: The Steve Ditko Archives Vol. 4 (GN 2013) Blake Bell, ed.

Discussed at The Comics Alternative

4/5

The Horror! The Horror! Comic Books the Government Didn’t Want You to Read! (NF 2010) Jim Trombetta, ed. 

The Horror! The Horror! is an informative look at the horror comics “scandal” (for want of a better term) of the 1950s for those of us who weren’t there (like me) and those who were. Trombetta has assembled an impressive representation of many of the offending stories (or types of stories) and covers that created all the fuss. Trombetta’s essays, while interesting and informative, do tend to run a little long at times, but they’re certainly worthwhile. Less worthwhile, however, is the accompanying DVD (a 30-minute television documentary on the dangers of these comics), which is a mildly interesting curiosity at best. One of the more annoying aspects of books like this is certainly present here: text descriptions of comic covers that are either not included in the book or several pages away without citing the page number. Still, this is an important volume for comics history.  

4/5

Molly Danger Book One (J GN 2013) Jamal Igle

Discussed at The Comics Alternative 

3/5

Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant (GN 2013) Tony Cliff

Discussed at The Comics Alternative

5/5

Rachel Rising: The Shadow of Death (GN 2011) Terry Moore

Recommended by my friend Derek at The Comics Alternative, Rachel Rising is a horror comic that has now become for me a must-read. In black and white (and all the creepier for it), Rachel is the creation of Terry Moore, whose Strangers in Paradise I enjoyed, but always felt if Moore got a little edgier, I might enjoy his work more. May I say that with Rachel Rising, Moore has delivered. 

5/5

The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story (GN 2013) Vivek Tiwary, Andrew C. Robinson

Not only is The Fifth Beatle a wonderful tribute to Beatles manager Brian Epstein, it’s also a very moving story gorgeously illustrated by Andrew Robinson. Sometimes Tiwary pushes the metaphors a little too much, but the book still works quite well. 

4/5

To Read or Not to Read? Licensed Comics

 

Recently The Comics Alternative Podcast featured a segment on licensed comics (comics book incarnations of properties originally introduced in another medium, usually film and/or television). At the time (and completely by coincidence), I was reading two such graphic novel collections, Star Wars Vol. 1: In the Shadow of Yavin (2013) by Brian Wood and Carlos D’Anda, and Star Trek: Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor (2010) by John Byrne.

Now you should know that I am a casual Star Wars fan and a huge fan of the original Star Trek series, yet I’d never sought out comics from either universe before. What made me want to start now? 

In the case of Star Wars, I was intrigued that In the Shadow of Yavin was written by Brian Wood, a writer I’ve discovered and enjoyed this year in The Massive, DMZ and other titles. At this point, I’d probably read a Brian Wood graphic novel based on the molecular structure of soil samples in 17th century Yugoslavia. He’s that good a writer. 

As for Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor, I always thought McCoy got the shaft in the TV series, taking a backseat both to Kirk’s shenanigans with the ladies and Spock’s ongoing logic vs. emotion conflict. Here’s a doctor with Southern roots working on a starship using technology he doesn’t completely trust, but with a humanity you can’t ignore; an interesting dude to say the least. So I was excited to see a volume devoted exclusively to him. 

I’d always thought, however, that most (or all) of the significant stories in both the Star Wars and Star Trek universes happened in the movies/shows and what might appear in the comics, while they might be fun, were at best peripheral. I mean, anything of any real consequence would be saved for the big (or small) screen, right? Yet, for the reasons mentioned above, I decided to give these volumes a try. 

Star Wars: In the Shadow of Yavin begins with the main Star Wars characters (Luke, Leia, Han) right after the events of the movie Episode IV - A New Hope, so even if that’s all you know of the Star Wars universe, you’ll have enough to go on for this volume, which is nice. 

What’s not so nice is how text-heavy the book is at the start. Luke and Leia spend the first several pages flying around in their fighters, telling us an enormous amount of backstory. Eventually things get interesting, but the main focus of the book is twofold: the search for a new home base for the Rebel Alliance and Darth Vader’s being relieved as the primary commander of the Imperial fleet. Other subplots feature Han Solo and Chewie as well as the construction of the new Death Star. There’s a good amount of action, but you feel like Wood is taking his time in setting up all the pieces of the playing field. After finishing the volume, I’m mildly interested in seeing what comes next, but not rabidly awaiting the next installment. So will I pick up the next volume? Maybe. 

Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor is a bit of a different story. Byrne, clearly a Star Trek fan, has given McCoy fans a huge reason to celebrate. This volume takes place after Kirk has been promoted to Admiral, so Kirk’s basically reading a collection of letters from McCoy detailing his adventures in the Frontier Medics Program. In these adventures, we see several familiar characters from the original Trek universe, some of whom will be instantly recognizable even to casual fans, others who may be unrecognizable. There may be enough of these unrecognizable characters (In all fairness, there are really only two), however, to frustrate new readers. In some of the stories, McCoy is the guy who saves the day; in others, he’s more of a bystander. Still, these stories are fun. 

I suppose my concerns with licensed comics are who is the audience and how much do they want? As the guys in the previously mentioned podcast point out, fans of the movies/shows might pick up these volumes, but would someone new to the Trek or Star Wars universes necessarily want or care about them? Is there enough attraction for a new reader and enough of a feeling that something significant is going on for a veteran fan? Put another way, do fans feel enough of an itch that needs scratching between new movies? Some, no doubt, will. Look at all the novels and graphic novels from both universes that are already out there. It’s like trying to number the stars. And if there’s that much out there, how much of it is really significant?

Right now I don’t personally feel the need to read any more graphic novels in the Star Trek universe. I’m content with the shows and movies, but in all fairness, I do plan to re-read Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor. I also plan to re-read In the Shadow of Yavin, but I’m more inclined to read more graphic novels from the Star Wars universe than the Star Trek one. 

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Star Wars/Star Trek universes in graphic novel form and licensed comics in general....

Impossible Tales: The Steve Ditko Archives Volume 4 Fantagraphics Books

My review of the fourth volume of the Steve Ditko Archives series from Fantagraphics is now on The Comics Alternative Podcast website.

Mind MGMT Volume 2: The Futurist (2013) Matt Kindt

My review of Mind MGMT Volume 2: The Futurist is now up on The Comics Alternative Podcast. 

Graphic Novels Read in October

Here are the graphic novels and related books I read in October:

Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to the Comic Universe (NF 2013) Tim Leong

A super-nerdy, super-fun look at comics, comic book characters, statistics and more. Many of the charts and graphs seem to be taken from actual research while others are just plain fun. If you love comics, you’ll want to get Super Graphic. 

4/5

American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1960s: 1960-64 (NF 2012) John Wells

This enormously ambitious series of American comic book history in from Two Morrows is an amazing undertaking. If the rest of the series is anything like this 1960-64 edition, we can expect some very good research, densely packed into a very nice hardcover edition with a wealth of full-color art. My only quibble is that several times the text focuses on an image or cover that’s not represented in the book. (I also wish each image would credit the artist(s) and include the original issue number.) The series also covers the 50s, 1965-69 (forthcoming), the 70s (forthcoming), and the 80s.

4/5

City of Spies (J-Fic 2010) Susan Kim & Laurence Klavan, Rascal Dizin

I have a nostalgic attraction to any story set during WWII that has anything to do with spies (or even potential spies), so I picked up this graphic novel while at Powell’s in Portland, OR last month. Evelyn is a young girl who’s forced to live with her aunt in New York in the early 40s while her father is on his honeymoon with his newest wife. Evelyn passes the time drawing comics until she learns that there may just be Nazi spies afoot. Fun, if somewhat sentimental adventure. 

3.5/5

Super Spy (2007) Matt Kindt

Spies again, huh? Well, what can I say? I saw this awhile back and thought it might be a good diversion while waiting for Kindt’s next collected edition of Mind MGMT, another espionage tale. Published before Mind MGMT, Super Spy is a neat collection of interconnected short stories all focusing on espionage and the human element involved in deception. Kindt is always an interesting creator who gives you much to think about.  

4/5

The Reason for Dragons (J-Fic 2013) Chris Northrup, Jeff Stokley  

Discussed at The Comics Alternative

4/5

New School (2013) Dash Shaw * * * *

Intrigued. Often fascinated. Confused. Eager for more. 

Those are the four words and phrases that best describe my reaction to Dash Shaw’s New School, my first exposure to Shaw. Thanks to the guys at The Comics Alternative, I decided to check out this coming-of-age story set in a strange, distant land. Shaw is showing us something about sibling rivalry, but also how to navigate a world we don’t really understand. I am amazed at Shaw’s storytelling, but am not quite sure how to interpret his uses of color. This is a definite read-again book.

4/5

The First Kingdom Vol. 1: The Birth of Tundran (1974-77/2013) Jack Katz 

Discussed at The Comics Alternative

4.5/5

The Spectral Engine (2013) Ray Fawkes

Discussed at The Comics Alternative

5/5

You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack: Cartoons (2013) Tom Gauld 

Last year, I read Gauld’s Goliath, a take on the David and Goliath story from the giant’s point of view. That graphic novel had some dry humor, but also a lot of quiet contemplative moments of real depth. You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack, a collection of cartoons rather than a graphic novel, has even more humor, some dry, some LOL-worthy. This is one of those books you can pick up and put down at any time and, more importantly, share with friends and co-workers. They’ll love you for it. 

4/5

Lazarus, Vol. 1: Family (2013) Greg Rucka, Micael Lark

Discussed at The Comics Alternative

4/5

So..... Let me know what you read last month that was good or not-so-good. 

New This Week - November 6

Wow, there's so much great stuff coming out this week, it's absolutely crazy! First, there's the Collected Comics Library release schedule, which includes, among other things, one of my must-read titles, Manhattan Projects Vol. 3. Also check out the impressive list over at The Comics Alternative, which includes two titles I'm very interested in, an adaptation of Franz Kafka's The Castle and Elaine M. Will's Look Straight Ahead. Save your coins....

 

Lazarus, Vol. 1: Family (2013) Greg Rucka, Michael Lark

My review of the first trade of Lazarus is now posted at The Comics Alternative.