I'll be reviewing a few DC titles over on Comics Bulletin this week - but what else did we have to read through last Wednesday? Review roundup time!
White Devil #1
Matt Evans, Andrew Helinski, Nate Burns
We’ll start off with this comic submitted to me by the
writers – and guys, if you make comics yourselves and want me to review your
work, I will EVENTUALLY get round to doing it if you contact the email on your
right – Matt Evans and Andrew Helinski. This is a homemade effort, with
hand-written dialogue and black and white artwork. It works rather nicely,
actually, mostly thanks to the pacing and artwork from Nate Burns. There’s a
slow-burn effect here, which works because Burns does such a smart job with the
page layouts. Towards the end…things get very adult. So you’ve been warned!
The occult side of this is handled well, with a fairly
realistic approach which is creepy and awkward and feels naturalistic. The main
problem is that while half of the lettering is done by hand, the other half is
done via computer, and sticks out. For a story which is focused on nature and
the occult, seeing computerised font does tend to break you out the narrative
here. The story also requires a jump from the reader in terms of acceptance
halfway through, and you have to be open with the switch in style. It’s an
decent first issue overall though, well-paced but with a few problems. It’ll be
interesting to see where it goes from here.
Gambit #1
James Asmus and Clay Mann
I expected a lot from this first issue, and, thank goodness,
got everything I’d wanted. Gambit has spent the last few years in a generally
mopey state, having been thrown out the X-Men by Peter Milligan and brought
back by Mike Carey after Messiah Complex. The Rogue/Gambit relationship was
never properly crushed by Marvel, which meant new storylines featuring him with
Frenzy and her with Magneto fell flat. With a popular relationship lifted from
the cartoon series, the comic characters really needed somebody to push them
apart and give them a life of their own. Asmus does this here, giving Gambit
back the intelligence he had when he first appeared, as well as the cocky sense
of fun which made him popular in the first place.
The artwork is decent, although there appears to be some
kind of mix-up between pencils and colours which inker Seth Mann says will be
fixed for issue #2. However this is a solid story, which reintroduces Gambit,
makes him likeable and independent, then throws him into the deep end. A very
promising start, with a good sense of humour.
2000AD #1795
Various
My first foray into 2000AD since the Free Comic Book Day
issue sees every story in the magazine currently 4 parts through. 2000AD is a
British anthology magazine, which has a Judge Dredd story kicking off each
issue, followed by three or four other stories afterwards, from a variety of
writers. Each story is around 8 pages, which sounds like it might be short –
but there’s a different ethos here. 2000AD writers tend to compress their
stories brilliantly, giving a lot of information in only a few short pages.
Every story here tends to share that, with a dark sense of humour included.
This issue has a fun Judge Dredd story with a neat
cliffhanger, but the highlight is probably the five-page long Aquila story from
Gordon Rennie and Leigh Gallaher. It’s about a gladiator who was put on the
cross to die by the Romans, only to be given immortality by the gods in
exchange for his becoming an avenger on their behalf. He goes around killing
evil people, basically. The story here is short, but sharp, and twists around a
few times. The artwork from Gallaher is excellent, with a neat approach to
drawing Boudicca, amongst others.
With all the stories partway through already, it’s not an
issue to jump on with. But the stories are still fun, with other short strips
from Andy Diggle, Jock and Rob Williams amongst the fun here. When we next hit
a jumping on issue, I’ll return for a proper look over the magazine.
Nevsky:
Ben McCool and Mario Guevarra
An original graphic novel based on the life of Russian
warrior Nevsky came out from IDW recently, which if you know me? You’ll know it
appeals to me. I do enjoy me some Russians. And this is a nice story, paced
smartly from McCool despite a few problems with the supporting cast. It takes a
few reads to properly grasp all the subplots at work here, with tiny stories
given to each member of the cast. Which is great, it means more read-throughs
are necessary, and better value for money. It does mean that Guevarra struggles
a little to differentiate all these strong Russian guys, with beards and
armour. Despite the slight overcrowding though, the story mixes action with
tactics in an entertaining way, and manages to teach even the dumbest of comic
book reviewers a little bit about Russian history. Oh no! Comic books are
trying to educate us now?!
Batman & Robin #12
Peter Tomasi and Mick Gray
Despite a somewhat boring villain, there are still some neat
moments in this 12th-issue wrapup from Tomasi. Batman and Robin are
fighting a villain with a countdown clock on his chest, and it’s a fight issue.
You’ll see the twist regarding the countdown from a mile away, and the ending is
a bit rushed. The highlights actually come from a guest-starring Nightwing, who
has been a bit of an unsung star of the New 52 so far. Tomasi gives Nightwing
all the best characterisation here, and also Batman climbs into a robot suit
halfway through. So, there’s that.
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