Review Bag #1

If you haven’t been able to tell by my apparent lack of reviews lately, I’ve been more than a little busy lately. Namely, I’m pulling two full summer jobs, and sixty-hour work week is not conducive to getting multiple comics reviewed each week. That said, I have been keeping up with my reading, so it only seems right to use the little free time I have to let you guys know which of the series I’ve already been following intensively have been doing well, and which ones have faltered in the last month. In my first ever review bag, I’ll be looking at Abe Sapien #4, The Victories #3, The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys #2, and B.P.R.D. Vampire #4 and giving you the good, the bad, and the art, as well as a recommendation or lack thereof. Good? Good. Let’s get started.

Abe Sapien #4 by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi; Art by Max Fiumara

Prior Reviews: #1, #2, #3 

What It Is: After the heart breaking events of the prior issue, Abe wanders to the Salton Sea to see if he can find some answers and gets more than he bargained for when he meets some strangers on the beach.

The Good: This is a series that seems to have a large, arching theme in mind: identity. While the first story arc focused on what it meant to be human, this story arc is more focused with what humans will become. Evolution, religion, and fear are all topics that are delved into throughout this issue, and the philosophical debates that begin in these pages are ones that will continue in your daily life long after you’ve read them. This is a book that makes you think, and in a good way.

The Bad: While I do love the direction in which the story is going, I can’t help but feel that Mignola and Arcudi are quite a bit on the nose here. There are a couple instances in which the art and character movements tell the story just fine, but another character or a radio broadcast comes in to make sure the point is hammered in. I appreciate that these writers are trying to ensure their message comes across, but there are definitely moments where they’re trying too hard.

The Art: Despite being done by Max Fiumara, the same artist from the earlier issues, the art here seems a bit off. Most notably subpar are the facial structures of the human characters. There are multiple panels in which facial parts are too large, too small, or occur at unnatural angles that give an uncomfortable feeling for all the wrong reasons. I can’t tell if it’s just rushed or if his brother, Sebastian, carried a lot of the facial work before this, but for the series to continue to be worth reading, he’s going to have to improve.

Final Verdict: Still worth your $3.50, but the honeymoon period is definitely over. This is a two issue arc, so the next issue will have to deliver to keep the high praise I’ve been giving this series.

The Victories #3 by Michael Avon Oeming

Previous Reviews: #1, #2 and Touched

What It Is: After Tarcus escaped in the last issue, the future of the Victories as a superhero defence force is brought into jeopardy. We learn more about Metatron’s past while gaining some insight into the plans of the shadowy corporation that’s stirred up trouble in the last two issues.

The Good: Despite having so many different elements swirling around at one time, this issue does a good job of ensuring each story arc is given the proper time to develop. Nothing feels rushed, and the information given does a good job of answering questions while keeping the reader interested. Metatron’s backstory continues to be fascinating, and the fall of his brother, Tarcus, is all the more tragic for it. Oh, and the Jackal’s back. Given he’s the only really fascinating villain in the whole series so far, that’s a really good thing.

The Bad: This book officially has way too many characters. Forgetting for a moment that, including the miniseries that came before the ongoing, only threeof the six members of the Victories have had any significant time devoted to them, and the others are severely lacking in character development. Yet somehow, this seemed the proper time to introduce whole new teams of superheroes, as well as their connection to the Victories. I understand that world building is a huge selling point of this series, but I’d rather give time to the characters that are supposedly our main characters than deal with who other side projects at this point.

The Art: The art here remains consistently good, with one notable exception. When the Victories have that meeting with the other superhero, the whole thing takes place in a Hologram tower. Oeming decided the best way to show these heroes were holograms was to draw them as if they were in 3-D. I don’t know if that actually works (I know it doesn’t on my computer screen), but it makes that scene really dizzying to look at. It’s a minor nuisance compared to the rest of the fantastic art though.

Final Verdict: Not as good as the first issue, but much better than the second, and heading in the right direction. Worth your $3.99.

The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys #2 by Gerard Way and Shaun Simon; Art by Becky Cloonan

Prior Review: #1 

What It Is: After deciding not to show us the awesome battle previewed at the end of the first issue, the series turns to a more traditional format. A character is introduced that helps tie the series’ lore into the present events, and after a couple small interludes, we see the beginnings of a revolution.

The Good: Nearly every change this comic made was for the better. The format is a lotmore conducive to storytelling, and the story as a result is easier to follow. With the introduction of Cherri Cola (a dumb name for a character, but go with it), we finally have a connection between all the stuff everyone blathered on about in the last issue and what’s happening now, making the whole history seem relevant once again. Pretty much every character introduced in the last two issues has a moment worth mentioning, and there are little touches that make the book worth reading nowadays.

The Bad: The book’s mythology, while definitely better than what we had before, still has a lot of work to do before they feel legitimate. There’s a moral argument towards the end of the book that is as complex as trying to decide whether you want cereal or rusty nails for breakfast, thus making the weight around it feel unnecessary. Oh, and the complete disregard for the events of the previous issue (nothing more than a passing glance) almost makes me wonder why they even published the first issue if they knew it was so bad they’d have to forget it to move on.

The Art: The art is very good, with characters and enemies having a very distinct style while still falling back on traditional archetypes when necessary. It’s nothing you’ll be telling your kids about years from now, but it more than gets the job done.

Final Verdict: If this issue was $2.99, I’d give it a recommendation, but given it’s actually $3.99, I’m not so sure that anything more than a conditional recommendation is warranted here quite yet. If you’re a big My Chemical Romance fan, or you’re looking for a dystopian comic series with an interesting artistic style, go for it. Otherwise, I’d wait until this series does something really special with the premise at hand.

B.P.R.D. Vampire #4 by Mike Mignola, Gabriel Ba, and Fabio Moon

Prior Reviews: #1, #2, #3

What It Is: After the epic vampire fight from the previous issue, Anders escapes from the mausoleum, only to discover the rest of the town is not happy to see him. We also learn more about his current affliction, and the cult of Hecate.

The Good: The art is great. Oh wait, I talk about that in the art section. Um… It’s definitely atmospheric, with the mysteries of the town being incredibly captivating. It’s definitely well written. And I suppose anything that makes me want to keep reading the series can’t be all bad, right?

The Bad: The pacing is all over the place in this issue. Most of it is a fight scene with a dark force that wasn’t really foreshadowed well, and the pacing was confusing. What happened to this series being about vampires? You teased an entire squadron of vampires, and we haven’t seen them yet, so I can only guess that you’re saving them all for the final issue, which seems rushed. This whole issue felt kind of pointless, and it doesn’t really bring up any philosophical point worth discussing. I’m not sure why they spent a whole issue on this, but I’m hoping the next issue can find a way to make it all make sense. Also, no giant spider. The cover is a lie.

The Art: Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon continue to be the best part of this series. There are some really powerful images here that create this dark atmosphere that pervades the entire issue. And even though the flow of the witch fight wasn’t great from a narrative perspective, it does look quite awesome. These guys need more work.

Final Verdict: At $3.50, this isn’t an issue I would recommend unless you were already invested in the series. There are better Hellboy Universe series out there, and I’d much rather send you to those, but this series is far from being without merits.

So that’s it for the first ever Review Bag! Let me know in the comments what you think about this format for future use. In the meantime, expect some more reviews next week :).

Chase Wassenar, aka MaristPlayBoy, is the Lead Editor and Founder of the Red Shirt Crew. He had fun with this review bag, and hopes you did too. You can read his other articles at ToyTMA, follow him on Twitter at @RedShirtCrew or email him at theredshirtcrew@gmail.com.

Review: B.P.R.D. Vampire #3

So far, I’ve been a broken record on B.P.R.D. Vampire. I found both the first and second had the same problem: great setup, but no payoff. For $7.00, I wasn’t sure I could give an unconditional recommendation until I could see the payoff was worth it. Well, I have good news for you: in B.P.R.D. Vampire #3, Mike Mignola, Gabriel Ba, and Fabio Moon have finally delivered on the promise of the series, and it’s totally amazing. Also, vampires! Actual vampires!

This is the issue in which we start to see payoff for all the great set-up that’s permeated the first two issues. After finding themselves stuck in the crypt, our protagonist, Anders, and his companion, Hana, try to find their way out. But while searching for the front door, Anders finds far more than he would have expected, and it becomes clear very quickly that things are not as clear cut as they originally appeared.

One of the things I love about this issue is the character development through action. Yes, action. That thing the first two issues sadly lacked (last time I mention this; I swear). Seeing Anders in tense situations, both in and out of combat, teaches the reader a lot more about his character than could be shown through dialogue and flashbacks. Yes, those tools can teach us a lot about a character, but when the pressure’s on, one’s true character is revealed, so to speak. It’s a balance all writers have to hit, and this issue strikes that balance beautifully. Anders has gone from a character to whom I held no emotional attachment to one for which I am actively rooting, and I’m definitely excited to see what happens next issue as a result.

My favourite part, however, was the way the issue balanced mystery and payoff. In every story, you need mystery to keep things interesting; no one likes knowing everything that’s going to happen before it happens. On the other hand, if you do nothing but shroud your story in mystery, you run the risk of alienating your audience. It’s a delicate balance, and this issue does it perfectly. We see more of what the characters introduced in the first issue truly are while also having Anders fight a vampire in a spectacularly handled fight scene. It’s beautiful payoff that makes me immediately feel justified in my previous investment to the story. But, in a move that only the best of comic writers know how to do well, Mignola, Ba, and Moon use that very same payoff to tease the next part of the mystery. Immediately, I’m sucked in by the very elements that were just used for payoff. It’s brilliant writing, really, and as a sign of what’s to come, I couldn’t be more excited.

Taken from http://www.darkhorse.com

I don’t know what more I can say about this artistic team I haven’t already said in my previous reviews. They’re awesome. Dave Stewart continues his work as one of the best colourists in the business, and Moon and Ba team up for some of the best vampire design I’ve seen in some time. The art does a great job of conveying scale while still paying attention to detail, and both the locations and individuals are handled equally well. Without giving it away, this book contains one of my favourite panels I’ve seen in a while from a purely aesthetic basis. This is truly a great issue all around.

I had my trepidations about this series, but they’re long gone now. This issue achieves the potential I’ve seen in it for so long and then some. I could not recommend it more highly for the $3.50 cover price, and now recommend that you all go out and catch the previous issues if I’d scared you off before. This is something you need to be reading. Enough said.

Chase Wassenar, aka MaristPlayBoy, is the Lead Editor and Founder of the Red Shirt Crew. He is officially naming this his second favourite Dark Horse miniseries behind Amala’s Blade. You can read his other articles at ToyTMA, follow him on Twitter at @RedShirtCrew or email him at theredshirtcrew@gmail.com.

Review: B.P.R.D. Vampire #2

In my review of B.P.R.D. Vampire #1 by Mike Mignola, Gabriel Ba, and Fabio Moon, I called the opening issues a slow boil with fantastic art that was worth your money. After reading B.P.R.D. Vampire #2, however, I’m suddenly not sure. My assumption was that the first issue was a bunch of plot exposition so that the action could begin in the second issue and take us along from there. Sadly, the second issue contains just as much exposition as the first, if not more, and after two straight issues of nearly nothing happening, my patience is starting to wear thin.
The issue picks up where the last one left off. After discussing his plans with his boss, Simon Anders heads to Southern Bohemia to investigate a potential location for vampire headquarters. Anders is greeted by Hana Novarov, a member of the Czech Communist party, and she gives him a rundown of the history of the area. When an old woman speaks in cryptic words to Anders, they try to use that information to discover where the vampire rituals take place in the area.

Before I get into my issues with this comic, let’s start with the good. Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon’s art is once again fantastic. While not given the same artistic freedom they had with that beautifully chilling eight page scene in the first issue, they are able to do a lot with what they have to work with in this issue. The comic is stylized in a good way, standing out from everything else you would find on your comic store’s shelf without that style detracting from the comic. Since the focus is less on the visuals and more on the story, it does a great job of impressing without distracting from what’s at hand.

Also, the characterization is very well executed. Both Anders and Novarov display a lot of personality here, and their conversations feel very natural as a result. It never feels like plot exposition, even when the comic becomes an information dump to the reader. This is, of course, no surprise to Mignola fans, who have, by now, gotten used to his apt presentation of mythology without ever talking at the reader, but it’s nice to see all the same.

Taken from http://www.darkhorse.com

The core problem with the issue is the structure, namely that for the second issue in a row, nothing happens to grab the reader’s attention. There is a ton of atmosphere built, but much of it hits on the same chords that were emphasized in the last issue. And this issue doesn’t even have the “first issue” excuse of the last one. There aren’t even any vampires shown in this issue!

This is sadly an easily fixable problem: the story should have been a four issue miniseries, combining the two issues that have been released into one. It would have been quite simple to do, as there are several pieces that could be condensed or thrown out entirely without detracting from the overall quality of the story being presented. The book suffers from simply having too much time on its hands, and since you can’t get too far without limiting the rises in action for later issues, it’s forced to meander in a way that feels like your time is being wasted.

B.P.R.D. Vampire #2 is by no means a bad book. In fact, it’s quite good. It’s just unfortunate that we’re two issues into a miniseries and there’s yet to be anything that makes me feel as if the investment has been worthwhile. While the issue’s $3.50 cover price isn’t bad, when combining it with the first, you’re essentially paying $7.00 for what is essentially nothing but set-up. As such, I’m giving a conditional recommendation. If you must be the first to know what happens in every Mignola series, go ahead and pick this up, as diehard fans will forgive this incredibly slow pace. But otherwise, the series has yet to present anything that makes it a book that you must buy now. My advice: wait for the paperback when such pacing issues won’t really matter anymore. Because $7.00 is too much for set-up.

Chase Wassenar is the Lead Editor and Founder of the Red Shirt Crew. He’s still enjoying the book, but if something doesn’t happen in the third issue, he’ll…probably just be disappointed. You can read his other articles at ToyTMA, follow him on Twitter at @RedShirtCrew, or email him at theredshirtcrew@gmail.com.

Review: B.P.R.D. Vampire #1

B.P.R.D.: Vampire #1 is the latest effort from Mike Mignola, Dave Stewart, Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba (Oxford comma purposefully omitted on account of them actually being twin brothers, which is really quite cool when you think about it). It’s another of the flashback stories that the team has been known to do from time to time, allowing them to explore the history of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense without interfering with the ongoing series. The first issue presented here carries all the artistic weight one would expect from this creative team (remind me to tell you all the reasons Casanova is awesome later), but the story cooks at the slowest boil imaginable, for better and for worse.

Full disclosure: While I’ve read quite a bit of Mignola’s Hellboy books and have a firm grasp on what this universe holds, I haven’t actually read any books from the BPRD series, neither the ongoing nor the flashback series. I did some background research into the main character, but the best I could find was a stub page on the Hellboy wiki. That said, like the rest of Mignola’s books, there appears to have been a conscious effort to make the book new reader friendly, so I don’t think it’s an issue as I review this book.

For once, I’d like to start with the artwork of this book. It’s incredible. If you can’t already tell from the image of the cover, this book has some of the most startlingly beautiful dark imagery you’re going to find in comics today. It’s dark and unsettling, placing you in the perfect mood to read a comic like this, but I also found myself fixated on pages long after I would have usually moved on just to take in everything that was happening. Nearly six full pages are dedicated to the vampire imagery before a word of dialogue is uttered, and with good reason. The art is spot on from beginning to end, and it’s probably worth the price of admission alone.

As far as the story goes…well, there’s just not as much to talk about. As you can guess from a series entitled BPRD: Vampire, there are vampires and agents, and the latter aren’t really big fans of the former. Okay, that’s not being entirely fair. A newly formed vampire is welcomed into the vampire brotherhood by some other vampires that just so happen to already be wearing matching outfits and hairdos (not quite sure how she got the outfit coordination message before finding out who made her a vampire, but that’s admittedly a nitpick). The queen of the vampires is Hecate, whose role matches that of her original mythology as a goddess of necromancy and the undead, though she doesn’t make an appearance in this comic. Also, Agent Anders is having nightmares after the events of BPRD 1948, and decides the only way to make things right is to get revenge on as many vampires as he can kill.

Taken from http://www.darkhorse.com

That’s really it. It’s a ton of set-up that will likely pay off, but there’s not much present in this issue alone. Usually, one would expect an introductory issue to have some big moment that sucks you into the story, then take a breather in issue #2 before diving into the chaos for the rest of the series, but this issue is definitely a slow boil. Don’t get me wrong: it’s a slow boil executed quite well, but I did find myself wishing I had something more to sink my teeth into than what’s been presented. When you get right down to it, there really isn’t much to talk about here. When you buy this comic, you’re buying into what it can (and given the creative team, likely will) be.

If this was any other writer, this would be a conditional recommendation, as fantastic art alone is not enough for everybody, but Mike Mignola and company do the slow set-up better than just about anybody. Yes, there could have been more in this issue, but the art and well executed background information is more than enough to justify the $3.50 price tag. Don’t let the slow boil keep you from buying into this book; you’ll get your money’s worth here.

Chase Wassenar is the Lead Editor and Founder of the Red Shirt Crew. He’s read enough Hellboy to know where this is going, and that alone is quite exciting. You can read his other articles at ToyTMA, follow him on Twitter at @RedShirtCrew, or email him at theredshirtcrew@gmail.com.