Publishers' Picks/ Retailers' Reviews -- February, 2001

Angry Youth Comics #3

Ryan's style is reminiscent of early undergrounds, in its any-disgusting-thing-for-a-laugh topics, and his cartoony, exaggerated takes recall Peter Bagge quite a bit. Some of this is, indeed, funny (the cover, for example), but most of it is sophomoric, gross-out humor. Hey, if you're a sophomore, go for it; you'll probably like this; however, I don't think the rest of us are quite ready yet for, say, funny Arab terrorists and plane crash jokes. Grade: C-.

Cage #1

Continuity can be a real pain in the butt sometimes, and this is one of them. Look: this is an interesting book about an interesting character. As long as we see him as a completely NEW character, not connected with the "old" comic character also named "Luke Cage," it's a good book. Unfortunately, Marvel hasn't gone out of its way to help us. Is the "Max"universe a separate place, like DC's Vertigo universe, or Marvel's own Ultimate line? Is this Cage even the same as the one in that other Max title, "Alias"? Do we really have three or four possible versions of characters like Luke Cage and Nick Fury running around? Finally, if you're going to have a good script and really cool art by Rich Corben, does it matter if you get a headache thinking about the rest of it? Ah, the hell with it: Grade: A-, but take two aspirin and call the reviewer in the morning.

Farscape: War Torn #1

Fans of the TV series should like this -- it's faithful to its origins, and the art is detailed and well-composed, effective at reproducing the characters and creating Earth-like-but-alien worlds. The script reads like a typical episode of the series (it should, since Wolfman has been doing this kind of thing for around 30 years by now), and wouldn't have been out of place as an old "Star Trek" plot -- a solar system with two planets fighting over a third. Assuming that later issues don't involve computers defeated by illogic, or guys wearing old Roman centurion costumes, it should be a solid, if unspectacular, effort. If you like decent mid-level TV space opera, here you go. Grade: B-.

JLA: Shogun of Steel #1

Sometimes, the title tells you just about all you need -- especially with Elseworlds books like this. Yep, it's the whole JLA bit translated to feudal Japan, and this is their origin story. DC only offered the first 16 pages (of 64), but it's enough to show competent art, with enough manga influence to be consistent with the topic, and one assumes that much of the rest of the story will play spot-the-DC-character, and let its team fight for truth, justice, and the way of the warrior. This looks reasonably entertaining; whether it's worth the money probably depends on just how big a JLA (or Superman) fan the potential reader is. Grade: B-.

S.C.I. -- Spy #1

Let's welcome back the Moench-Gulacy team, comfortable by now as an old '70s T-shirt (the one you only get out of the closet occasionally now, afraid you'll wear it out). Clever wordplay, sci-fi spy action, op-art panels to indicate computer/communications effects -- hey, it may be retro, but it still looks good, even to newer audiences who've never seen it before, and it's still a lot of fun. Grade: B+.

SpyBoy/Young Justice #1

If you're a regular reader of either of these titles, you'll want this book: you've got your Pop Mhan, your Todd Nauck, your cute li'l super-deformed versions of the characters...and, above all, there's Peter David, flipping from action to characterization to funny bits of business to the inevitable puns, making it all look easy to be so entertaining. Non-fans probably needn't apply here, since you've got two universes' worth of continuity and in-jokes to keep straight, but all of the rest of us should be happy enough. Grade: B.

Tangled Web #11

The neat thing about new-creative-team-every-story titles like this is that you just never know -- the first page here (and, to a lesser extent, the cover) didn't look that promising -- do super-heroes really need Valentine's-Day specials? Well, sure, if they're well done -- and, as it turned out, this was a clever, charming tale done in the Bruce Timm (or Mike Parobeck) cartoony style. It leaves a few small complaints (is there something in the union for cartoony lady reporters that requires them to look like Lois Lane? If Marvel's eliminating tobacco from its comics, how about JJJ's cigar and Joe Robertson's pipe?), but, in its quiet, funny and human way, it turns out to be the best book of the month. Grade: A.

Vagabond #1

This reminded me a lot of "Kamui" (and, you bet, that's a compliment), with its crosshatching and obsessive rendering, its use of grays and blacks for composition, and its easy flipping between the human, martial-arts world and the natural world that surrounds it with its spiderwebs and pine trees, and praying mantises and forests. Nicely-done work; it's easy to tell why this is so popular in Japan, and why it should be here too. Grade: A.