Tagged: ComicMix

Review: ‘Burnout’ by Rebecca Donner

burnout-6585070[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a series of reviews of the five books coming out from DC’s Minx imprint this year.]

There is something almost daringly simplistic about Burnout ($9.99), as the central character Danni directly narrates her own story of teenage love and angst. No surprise, then, that fire is the central imagery to the book, unapologetic flames that do nothing but burn.

The first comics work of Rebecca Donner, who’s published work in nearly every other medium, Burnout finds Danni and her mom relocating to a remote locale, a forresting town. It’s quiet, aside from the drunken shouting of her mom’s new boyfriend.

The boyfriend’s son, Haskell, is the smoldering love interest, a young man angry at the world and especially at loggers, whom he attacks with near-thoughtless contempt. As Danni falls into a crush on Haskell she also falls into his world of ecoterrorism, and Donner turns the heat up even more.

A few times, the story becomes overly cute and childish, but by and large it is a stern book, as self-serious as the teenagers it describes. That’s not meant as criticism — Donner very effectively translates the caged sensation of youth, and the struggles (often misguided) to break free.

Minx books are at their best when they speak honestly with their intended audience of adolescent girls, and while the message of Burnout isn’t a happy-go-lucky one, it is honest. For that and much more, it’s a story that lingers in the mind, like the sharp pain of a burn.

[NOTE: I recently chatted with Donner about the book over at CBR.]

Van Jensen is a former crime reporter turned comic book journalist. Every Wednesday, he braves Atlanta traffic to visit Oxford Comics, where he reads a whole mess of books for his weekly reviews. Van’s blog can be found at graphicfiction.wordpress.com.

Publishers who would like their books to be reviewed at ComicMix should contact ComicMix through the usual channels or email Van Jensen directly at van (dot) jensen (at) gmail (dot) com.

 

The Weekly Haul: Reviews for May 23, 2008

Kudos to Marvel, who blew the pants off the competition in this week’s batch of issues, with an unprecedented four books being so good I have to list them all as tied for the top spot. And, surprise surprise, none of them were Skrullapalooza ’08 tie-ins.

Superheroes aside, a good mix of indies came out as well, making for a well rounded week that I’ll count as an early birthday present to yours truly.

Book(s) of the Week — While these four Marvel books are all essentially equals, the pole position goes to Black Panther #36. Now, I’ve long been something of a Reggie Hudlin hater, but he packs so much story into this issue without making it feel overloaded that it reads like a pre-Bendis Era comic. Killmonger – who makes a surprisingly good villain – rallies a destitute African nation around him in a way that truly captures the continent’s actual unrest. Meanwhile, we finally see the Storm-BP marriage addressed in a believable way, some intense fighting and the line of the week: "He’s already the Mole Man! What more could we do to him?"

Over in Ghost Rider #23, Jason Aaron follows last issue’s big buildup with a huge explosion (literally), and a storyline that perfectly depicts just how tortured Johnny Blaze really is. The art, by Roland Boschi, continues to shine, all scratchy and intense.

Captain America #38 makes the cut as another flawless entry from Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting, with special credit for an entirely plausible and non-Skrullish explanation to the mysterious Steve Rogers that Sharon found last go-round. Meanwhile, Bucky continues to gain his sea legs as the new Cap and the Red Skull’s plans meet political reality.

Lastly but not leastly, Peter David wraps up his Arcade storyline in X-Factor #31, which pulls readers deeply into the looming destruction of Mutanttown with the little emotional moments David is so good at. He also lets Arcade continue to be a relentlessly entertaining villain and makes this team of non-heroes truly heroic.

The Runners Up:

Scalped #17 — I’ve always been on the fence about this series, which has gone back and forth between too action-heavy and too slow. This issue strikes a solid balance as the community buries Dash’s mother and he finally lets himself mourn.

Robin #174 — The best from DC this week, as Robin and Batman figure out the identity of the new hero muddying Gotham’s waters. I won’t spoil it here, but it’s a true surprise that doesn’t seem TOO contrived. The real highlight is the realistic way Chuck Dixon captures everyone’s emotional response to the big news.

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Manga Friday: Done in One

One of the differences – I won’t say “advantages,” since opinion differs on that subject – of manga from Western-style superhero comics is that manga stories all have endings, eventually. Oh, “eventually” can be a long, long time coming – two decades, in some cases – but manga are created by one person or set of people, and all eventually come to an end, unlike corporate-owned characters, who live as long as their revenue stream does.

Some manga, though, end more quickly than others. Some even end in a couple of hundred pages – a story short enough to fit into one volume. And, by luck, I have two stories just like that in front of me this week.

Haridama: Magic Cram School
By Atasushi Suzumi
Del Rey Manga, May 2008, $10.95

Kokuyo and Harika are childhood friends who both ended up at the Sekiei Magic Cram School – named after its founder and apparently only teacher – studying to be magicians (who, once they’ve climbed the magic ladder as far as they can, we’re told are qualified to open cram schools of their own, which makes the whole thing seem like a pointless pyramid scheme). They’re “Obsidians,” people with only Yin or Yang power – instead of both, like proper magicians – and so they need swords with stones in the hilt to channel their lesser powers.

The other two main characters of this story are Sekiei, their young teacher – there don’t seem to be any other students in the school, in fact – and Nekome, a third-level sorcerer who recently graduated from the rival Torame school. Sekiei pushes Kokuyo and Harika to work harder and achieve more, while Nekome mildly torments them and puts down their abilities. (more…)

‘Dungeon Monstres, Vol. 1: The Crying Giant’ Review

The “Dungeon” series has gotten so full of stories, so complicated, that there’s a diagram on the back of this book to explain how all of the sub-series relate to each other.

Up top are the three main sequences – The Early Years (the creation), Zenith (the height), and Twilight (the downfall), as it says here – and below that are explanations of the other three clusters: Parade, Bonus, and Monstres. All are set in a giant castle in a standard fantasy world – the castle was set up by “the Keeper” as a habitat for various monsters, who could kill and devour the inevitable wandering adventurers. (So it’s a hack-n-slash D&D campaign turned on its head; the monsters win every time.)

Dungeon Monstres, Vol. 1: The Crying Giant
By Johann Sfar, Lewis Trondheim, Mazan, and Jean-Cristophe Menu
NBM, June 2008, $12.95

 

This particular subseries focuses on, as the back cover says, “great adventures of secondary characters.” So Monstres is the Cable & Deadpool of the “Dungeon” world, I guess…

The other different thing about Monstres is that the stories are illustrated by guest artists, not by series creators Johann [that’s how he’s credited on this book; though I’ve never seen the “h” in his name before] Sfar and Lewis Trondheim. In this case, the first story, “John-John the Terror,” has art by Mazan while the title story is illustrated by Jean-Cristophe Menu, head of the alternative comics publisher L’Association.

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ComicMix Six: The Best Movies Adapted From Comic Books

In a previous edition of ComicMix Six, I set forth my picks for The Worst Movies Adapted from Comic Books. Now, because a "worst" list is nothing without a "best" list, I’ve assembled another one for you. This time around, I’m casting the spotlight on the opposite of bad movies and highlighting The Best Movies Adapted from Comic Books.

In contrast to the worst films, these stellar examples of cinematic goodness are not only great comic book adaptations, they’re great movies, too. From brilliant direction, exciting visuals that enhance rather than obscure the story, to compelling peformances, these six films deliver in a big way.

They alse showcase adherence to, and reverence for, their source material and represent what happens when talented people who appreciate comics get together to make a movie. Plus, they’re just plain fun to watch.

So now, without further ado and in no particular order, here is my ComicMix Six list of The Best Movies Adapted from Comic Books.

 

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Hereville, Thereville and Everywhereville, by Elayne Riggs

Oregon has become the latest state to garner the national spotlight in this Democratic Presidential campaign "silly season." Just about every liberal blog I read had effusive reports of the huge turnout at last weekend’s rally for Barack Obama in Portland’s Waterfront Park. Now me, I can’t think of Oregon without thinking of two things: the annual Stumptown Comics Festival, which I’ve never attended but which sounds pretty neat; and the person who first introduced me to the idea of Stumptown, my friend of many years, Barry Deutsch.

Barry and I go back so long that, like ComicMix commenter Vinnie Bartilucci, he knew me before my first marriage. As I recall, he visited me a few times back when I worked in the East Village, we probably even shopped at St. Mark’s Comics together, and he was an utter delight to be around. He still is, whenever he comes back east to visit. But he currently makes his home in the wilds of Oregon, so I pretty much see him around MoCCA time and that’s it. Fortunately, I get to see his art whenever I want to.

Barry’s been sketching and doing comic strips for awhile now. His political work reminds me a lot of Matt Wuerker’s style, the way it relies on gentle caricature and well-thought-out illustration to get his points across easily and without straining the reader’s credulity. He’d been bending my ear for awhile about a special long-form project of his, and that project has finally come out. It’s called Hereville.  You’ve probably seen lots of reviews about it online already. Here’s another one. (more…)

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Battlestar Galactica Interview: Mark Verheiden on the ‘Final Five’ and Music

Welcome to the latest installment of Battlestar Galactica Weekly, our recurring Q&A with Mark Verheiden, co-executive producer of the hit Sci-Fi Channel series Battlestar Galactica. Each week, we’ll interview Verheiden about the events of the week’s episode, what those events might mean for both the season and the series, and hopefully unearth some clues about what to expect as the final season of Battlestar Galactica nears its conclusion.

Along with posing our own questions to Verheiden, we’re also taking questions from fans — so be sure to send your questions to me, your official BSG Weekly interviewer, after each episode airs at chris [at] comicmix dot com. New episodes of Battlestar Galactica can be seen every Friday at 10 PM EST on Sci-Fi Channel. You can read previous interviews via our BSG Weekly Archive or the links at the end of this article.

This week, Verheiden answers questions about the Episode #7 of Season Four, “Guess What’s Coming to Dinner,” which aired May 16, 2008. Note: These answers may contain spoilers, so read at your own risk.

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COMICMIX (from reader Molly): Are there any legal ramifications for Sam’s shooting Gaeta during the mutiny, for either one of them? I know some were surprised that Sam wasn’t put in the brig.

MARK VERHEIDEN: Given that Gaeta was shot in the midst of a mutiny that he was helping to engineer (in the legal sense, Anders would probably be justified shooting a mutineer), I’m not sure anyone involved wants to get into the unfortunate details of the shooting. Especially with Adama.

That said, and not wanting to delve into “the future” except in the most general sense, this is Battlestar.  The shooting will most definitely have ramifications, but they may not be what you expect. 

CMix (from reader Allison): Was there any significance to the fact that Sharon kills Natalie in front of two of the “final five”, and even asks Chief to pick up Hera, given that her vision is of the Opera House where the “final five” reside? (more…)

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Review: ‘The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch’

finch2-6975608Neil Gaiman has been too busy lately to write much for comics unless it’s an event — like 1602 or his curiously pointless Eternals miniseries — but there’s still an audience for his stories in the direct market. So what’s a poor comics publisher to do? Well, if it’s Dark Horse, what you do is get various folks to adapt Gaiman stories into comics and publish them as slim trade-paperback-sized hardcovers. So far, Michael Zulli did Creatures of the Night, John Bolton adapted Harlequin Valentine, and P. Craig Russell tackled Murder Mysteries. And now Zullis is back again for:

The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch
By Neil Gaiman, Michael Zulli, and Todd Klein
Dark Horse Books, May 2008, $13.95

Now, for most writers, “[[[The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch]]]” would be by far their longest title ever, but Gaiman is not most writers. He’s also responsible for “[[[Being An Experiment Upon Strictly Scientific Lines Assisted By Unwins LTD, Wine Merchants (Uckfield)]]]” ” [[[Forbidden Brides Of The Faceless Slaves In The Nameless House Of The Night Of Dread Desire]]],” ” [[[I Cthulhu: Or What’s A Tentacle-Faced Thing Like Me Doing In A Sunken City Like This (Latitude 47º 9′ S, Longitude 126º 43′ W)?]]],” and ” [[[Pages From A Journal Found In A Shoebox Left In A Greyhound Bus Somewhere Between Tulsa, Oklahoma, And Louisville, Kentucky]]].” So “[[[Miss Finch]]]” may just be one of Gaiman’s more punchy and terse titles.

According to the Neil Gaiman Visual Bibliography — and why should we mistrust it? — “Miss Finch” is one of Gaiman’s more obscure stories, showing up in the program book for the convention Tropicon XVII and a magazine called Tales of the Unanticipated before turning up in one of his collections — though in a different one depending on which side of the Atlantic you live on.

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Battlestar Galactica Interview: Update!

Hey, Battlestar Galactica fans! First, I just want to thank all of you for your interest in our weekly interviews with BSG‘s Mark Verheiden. Every week, you and your fellow Battlestar fans make these interviews one of the most popular features on ComicMix, and we can’t thank you enough for doing so!

Unfortunately, this week’s interview will be a bit delayed, as big things are brewing in the world of Battlestar Galactica, and Mark is hard at work on a few projects that demand his attention. In the interest of always keeping ComicMix readers in the loop, we anticipate this week’s edition of BSG Weekly posting in the next day or two — so be sure to keep an eye on the site for your weekly fix of BSG questions from fans and answers from the series’ talented co-executive producer.

Oh, and don’t worry — we’ll be sure to pester Mark for some info about some of those other, super-secret projects he has in the works, too! Remember: you can always send your questions for Mark to our BSG Weekly interviewer, Chris Ullrich at: chris [at] comicmix [dot] com.

Doctor Who in Review: Season Four, Episode #4 – Sontarans Strike Back!

The hit BBC series Doctor Who is now in its fourth season on the Sci-Fi Channel, and since we’re all big fans here at ComicMix, we’ve decided to kick off an episode-by-episode analysis of the reinvigorated science-fiction classic.

Every week, we’ll have our best Who-philes go through the most recent episode with a fine-tooth comb (or whatever the “sonic screwdriver” equivalent might be) and call out all of the continuity checks, names dropped and storyline hints we can find to keep in mind for future episodes. We’ll post our analysis each Monday, so you have ample time to check out the episode once it airs each Friday at 9 PM EST on Sci-Fi Channel before reading our review.

Missed a week? Check out our “Doctor Who in Review” archive or check out any of the past editions of this column via the links at the end of this article.

Keep in mind, we’re going to assume readers have already watched the episode when we put fingers to keyboard and come up with our roundup of important plot points. In other words, SPOILER ALERT!

Let’s begin now, shall we?

Season Four, Episode #4: “The Sontaran Strategem”

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