Comic Bytes

Some little bite-size reviews/comments. So with a little nod to the Fast Show, this week I have mostly been reading:

Loki Agent of Asgard #16

Writer: Al Ewing

Artist: Lee Garbett

Colour Artist: Atonio Fabela

Letterer: Clayton Cowles

 This carries on in the same light-hearted, fun fashion already established, as the battle between the forces of Asgard and the old Loki and his allies comes to a conclusion of sorts, in which the new Loki has a decisive part to play. It's not often a super-hero comic makes me smile when I'm reading it nowadays (they all seem so serious, po-faced and grim) but Loki, together with Ms Marvel, has me grinning from ear to ear. Take this from Sigurd the First Hero to Queen Freyja and the other deceased Asgardian gods:

Sigurd: We also bring tokens of our fealty from our long sojourn on Midgard.

Sigurd: The mortals believe these, when worn, confer the heroic magic know as...”cool.”

Queen Freyja (donning sunglasses): I see. Well then heroes...let us ride.

If that doesn't at least raise a little smirk then you officially have no sense of humour.

Beneath all this there seems to be a serious comment on the modern day insistence on binary stances which allow for no shades of grey, no overlapping on any Venn diagrams (e.g. you're either Tory or Labour, football managers are either great, when they're winning, or awful, when they lose, etc.) Loki is neither for one side nor the other. There's also appears to be some meta-textual theme being played with here with Loki as the god of stories. We'll see how that develops but it is being handled with a delightful lightness of touch, which is something Ales Kot needs to develop. This leads nicely into the other comic I've been reading this week.

Zero Volume 4: Who By Fire

Writer: Ales Kot

Artists: Ian Bertram

      Stathis Tsemberlidis

      Robert Sammelin

      Tula Lotay

Colours: Jordie Bellaire

Letters: Clayton Cowles

This has been a good series, and this is an interesting conclusion. What it all means I have no idea and will spend some time mulling it over. This started out as a science fiction war/black ops book rooted in the international political situation of current times. The use of different artists throughout has been well handled and added to the overall effect the book had on the reader. This final collection changes none of that but adds a strange meta-textual twist to it as it intertwines the tale with William Burroughs, who appears to be writing the tale, or some of the tale, or commenting on the tale with Allen Ginsberg. All the while there is a metaphor for the violence inherent in man, and whether this can be removed or is something we need to learn to accept and learn to live with and limit. The shift is slightly jarring but one has to believe that the writer had it in mind from the beginning.

There is little doubt that Ales Kot is an ambitious writer, striving to move the comics form on, and Zero has been largely a successful series. The main fault I find with this concluding volume is that it reads less like moving the form forward, and more like moving it back to ape the worst of Grant Morrison's excesses. There is also a fault with the series overall in that humour is definitely lacking. Even in the heaviest tale, in fact especially in the heaviest, darkest stories, you need that humour to help lighten things. It gives the reader a sense of relief and, more importantly, it serves to emphasise the darkness, to make it more effective, by acting as a contrast. It's an old trick (Shakespeare used it in every tragedy he wrote) but it works and works well. Without it a book can start to feel dragged down by the weight of it's own portentousness.

All this is not to say that Zero is a bad book. It is well worth picking up and has some fine moments, but don't expect too much from the whole package. Definitely a case of the parts outweighing the while, but having said that most of the parts are damn good.

New Comics

Where the blogger writes about his newly received monthly package of comics from the nice people at Page 45 before he's even read them, although God knows why he thinks anybody would be interested. Anyway, let the inane babbling commence.

Bacchus Colour Special (Dark Horse)

Creators: Eddie Campbell, Teddy Kristiansen

Everyone who has been collecting comics for any length of time will recognise this. There is mention of a comic by a favourite creator on a favourite series and your brain thinks, “I don't remember that. Better grab me a copy”. You grab yourself a copy and eagerly open it up, whereupon there is a dawning realisation that you already own it, in fact bought it when it first came out twenty years before. Cracking open the comic anyway for a quick look, all the while cursing the gods for only giving you a small house and thus forcing your beloved comic collection into the loft, when the Comic Book Gods smile down and grant a blessing. The past twenty years may have made you forget you had the comic, but they also made you forget how wonderful it was. Truth to tell I'd not have retrieved this from the loft anyway, so it's with some pleasure that I anticipate reading through it properly once the collected Bacchus Volume 1 has been consumed. After that it's off to anyone I know that I think will appreciate it.

Loki Agent of Asgard #16 (Marvel)

Creators: Al Ewing, Lee Garbett, Antonio Fabela, Clayton Cowles

If you've read the review below then you know that I'm a fan of this book. It feels like this is heading for some sort of climax. This all ties in with the latest crossover event from Marvel which they constantly churn out, each one promising things will never be the same ag….<yawn!>. I've no idea if this will continue beyond the tie-ins, but the cynic in me thinks that if it is selling well then it will carry on. Let's hope so.

Zero Volume 4: Who By Fire (Image)

Creators: Ales Kot, Ian Bertram, Stathis Tsemberlidis, Robert Sammelin, Tula Lotay, Jordie Bellaire, Clayton Cowles, Tom Muller, Jeff Lemire

The final collected volume in this series which has served as my introduction to Ales Kot. This has been a magnificent tale, and one I genuinely do not know how it will end. It is very much that rare comic in which different artists are used throughout without detracting from the tale (in fact in this case the different styles used seem to add to it). I'm excited by this but incredibly disappointed, as ever, with the cover. I'm not sure what effect they are aiming for but none of the covers, consistent  as they are in design, have ever really worked for me. If ever there was a case for not judging a book by its cover it is this.

Tim Ginger (Top Shelf Productions)

Creator: Julian Hanshaw

The Page 45 Comic Book of the Month Club is a fantastic innovation from my favourite independent retailer. Each month they select a comic, which could be a full graphic novel, individual issue, or trade paperback collection, and offer them to member of the club with a 20% discount. There's no tie down period, and joining is as easy as emailing and asking to. It is a wonderful way to expand one's tastes, trying comics that you may have completely ignored or been unaware of. I like to think of myself as being completely open when it comes to my tastes in comics, but this has turned me on to creators and books I would never have thought of (e.g. the Japanese creators Inio Asano (Solanin, Nijigahara Holograph), Naoki Urasawa (Pluto)  and Taiyo Matsumoto (Sunny), the above mentioned Ales Kot, Matz and Luc Jacamon (The Killer), Jason Shiga (Meanwhile, Empire State), Andi Watson (Little Star)). However this is one I was immediately attracted to from the reviews I've read of it, and it's heading to the top of the pile for reading next.

The Complete Peanuts 1995 to 1996 (Fantagraphics)

Creator: Charles M Schultz

I've been getting these since they first started, which was when my wife and I first got together. That's eleven years now and the strips are closing in on the end when Schultz retired the strip in 2000 shortly before he died. It will be one of those bittersweet things when we finally reach the last volume. Fantagraphics have done a fine job with their packaging of these wonderful, and sometimes eye wateringly funny, strips. I can't think of anybody better than Seth to put in charge of the presentation.

Loki: Agent of Asgard #15 (Marvel)

Title: The Old Army Game
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Lee Garbett
Colour Artist: Antonio Fabela
Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles
A while ago when I read 2000AD, Al Ewing started to appear to great praise from many of the readers. There was a sense of humour at the heart of his work that made him stand out, and this has happily transitioned over to his work on Loki.

The Ewing/Garbett Loki: Agent of Asgard is fifteen issues old and, despite a slight wobble during the tie in with the last big Marvel crossover event (the curse of modern day super-hero comics), it has shone brightly as a beacon of entertainment that doesn't take itself too seriously. This issue has two main narratives that could be titled “The Origin of Verity Willis” and “The Battle of Asgard”. Both are tales are told completely differently.

Verity's tale is told mainly as a flashback, with muted hues delineating it from the more vibrant colours used in the Asgardian battle narrative, which takes place at the present time. This is nicely executed by Antonio Fabela on colours, and the almost pastel shades seem tom suit Verity's personality. This is a more understated story than the battle, more grounded in reality and the regular panel layout adds to this, only breaking out into a full page splash for the climax showing the result of the actions of the female Orlando type Loki.

On the other hand the battle between the forces of Asgard and old Loki is completely over-the-top and ridiculous in the best possible way. It recalls Walt Simonson's acclaimed run on the title, and has big, energetic panel layouts which really bring out the atmosphere of Odin with a huge machine gun, Loki riding a dragon creature Freyja facing down Loki and Odin blowing some impossibly gigantic horn, the Gjallahorn. Everything leaps off the page  into the readers mind, really bringing the whole spectacle thrillingly alive. The lettering also helps here as the Asgardians have suitably over the top text bursting out of the speech bubbles, and the sound effects are big and bold. It's all completely ludicrous but enormous fun.

I don't know how long this team will stay on this title, but that's a worry for the future. For now we just need to sit back and enjoy the most fun super-hero comics can be.