Category: Comics

Reasons why I totally love comics. They’re in no order at all.

• Andy Diggle & Jock on The Losers
• Scott Pilgrim, by Bryan O’Malley
• Street Angel
• Grant Morrison
• Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely together
• Warren Ellis when he gets to write whatever the hell he likes
• Maus
• Mike Allred
• Peter Milligan writing whatever the hell he feels like
• Sandman
• Chris Ware
• Chris Claremont’s X-Men (the first time around)
• John Ostrander’s DCU work (Suicide Squad, Firestorm, Spectre, Hawkman)
• Bill Sienkiewicz
• Ninjas
• Slave Labor
• Oni Press
• Vertigo
• Alan Moore
• Frank Miller
• Greg Rucka’s Queen & Country
• Project Superior
• Adrian Tomine
• Mike Carey’s Lucifer
• Brian Michael Bendis’ Alias
• J.H. Williams III
• Owly
• Brian K. Vaughan and Pia GuerraThere’s probably a lot more that’s just plain slipped my mind. But these are some of the reasons that keep me coming back week after week, month after month.

Let’s be entirely clear about this: There are action movies,
and then there are Action Movies.  The
former are cheap and plentiful and can be found at your average movie theatre
on just about any given weekend.  They
usually come with a big budget, plentiful advertising, mid-range acting talent
and a script dragged from the bottom of the “Generic Action Thriller”
barrel.  They’re made by directors who
assume that viewers don’t care about characterization as long as they see some
big explosions, and that spending a lot of money on special effects and CGI is
a substitute for being intelligent and inventive.  They often compete for the much sought-after
title of “Shortest Time From Theatrical Release to DVD”.

The latter are much rarer. 
Take your vintage Spielberg, Cameron, Tarantino or Rodriguez and look at
how they make a movie: Big budgets and explosions are still found aplenty, but
they realize there’s no point in blowing up a building if the audience doesn’t
care about the people inside, and that all the rock-em sock-em action
spectaculars in the world don’t make up for a lazy script. 

Andy Diggle’s The
Losers falls in the latter category. 
At root, the book is about a team of rogue special forces operatives who
go around blowing stuff up and shooting people. 
But Diggle keeps the script smart and snappy, throws in twists and turns
aplenty, and the artistic team keeps finding ways to show off action sequences
in ways that grab your attention and hold it down while they pummel it with
even more breathtaking sequences. 

This third volume continues The Losers search for Max, the mysterious person pulling strings at
the CIA and funnelling money around the Goliath Oil Company.  The first part of the story takes them to the
Persian Gulf kingdom of Qatar, where Max had invested in a seemingly abandoned
and useless oil rig.  Their arrival is
not unexpected, though, and the Qatari government soon ropes them into sticky
situation: The CIA and a terrorist cell are at each other’s throats, and the
government wants to avoid American bloodshed without actively opposing the
Anti-American factions within the Royal Family. 

The art for these opening chapters is provided by Nick
Dragotta, whose style is a fairly jarring change for those used to Jock’s
stylish and edgy work on the title.  It
at times feels a bit too light and cartoonish for the dark and realistic style
Jock has established, but once you’re past the stylistic differences, it
becomes clear that Dragotta’s got a style and sense of design all his own.  He turns in some fantastic action sequences,
including a chase through the streets of Doha and the terrorist attack on the
CIA office. 

Ale Garza’s work on Blowback is much more in line with the
books’ overall style.  Diggle and Garza
turn the spotlight on Aisha, the freedom fighter, terrorist, CIA informant and
who-knows-what-else as she attempts to break an old comrade out of CIA holding
in Turkmenistan.  Aisha goes into all-out
James Bond mode as she employs deception, disguise and a whole mess of violence
take down prison guards, soldiers and the CIA. 
Her nearly-invincible, totally-lethal approach brings to mind Frank
Miller’s Miho, and she may enjoy her brutal brand of violence more than
strictly necessary.  The story spends
expands on her personality and motivations, yet still leaves plenty of
questions unanswered – such as what the heck she’s doing with The Losers.

The highlight of the third volume – and perhaps the entire
series to this point – is The Pass, in which Diggle finally explains the events
that led The Losers to their current
path as officially “dead” and rogue agents.  Working as “military advisors” in
Pakistan in 1998, The Losers are sent
to eliminate a suspected terrorist connected to Al Qaeda at his stronghold in
the Khyber Pass.  The plan is simple:
Stake the place out, wait for Ahmed Fadhil to show up, then signal an airstrike
with a laser-guided missile. 

As is usual in The
Losers, everything is not as it seems. 
Fadhil shows up as scheduled, but the unexpected cargo that arrives
forces a spontaneous rescue mission. 
From there, everything spirals out of control as they encounter a secret
that was supposed to be dead and buried. 
The status quo seems to change with every page, and Diggle keeps the
script tight and full of tension. 
Regular artist Jock returns and makes every page count, from the early
and carefree days of The Losers to
the breathtaking conclusion.  The team
appears more human than ever as they alter their mission parameters to perform
a truly heroic deed.  The final chapters
are nearly impossible to put down, and the inevitable “death” of the
team is heartbreaking.  On top of that,
the volume ends on a fantastic cliffhanger that makes me wonder if I can stand
to wait another 6 months for the next trade.

The Losers shows
that action and excitement don’t have to preclude intelligence and
characterization.  Despite a somewhat
cliched premise, the book remains excellent because of the attention paid to
the little things: Diggle, Jock and the others have defined each character
well, given them both large and small motivations, and made sure they’re not
just cyphers for the advancement of the plot. 
The story itself remains intelligent and unpredictable – there are
plenty of unexpected twists and “Ooooh, cool!” moments to be found
here.

The relatively poor sales of The Losers continues to be somewhat baffling.  While not every great book can be a hit, The Losers is one of those books that
really should be.  It’s not a
particularly artsy, literary or intentionally obtuse book; on the contrary,
it’s got to be one of the most accessible appealing books on the market.  Put it on film, and it would be right up
there at the box office with X-Men and Spider-Man.  While the comic market currently marginalizes
non-superhero books, The Losers is
one book that deserves to break the pattern. 
It’s one of the fastest, funniest and most exciting books on the stands,
and Trifecta just about takes the formula to the max.

I’m not entirely sold on “Takashi Miike: Family Film Maker”.

Miike is, when he’s on top of his game, and insane genius. Audition and Happiness Of The Katakuris are fantastic, and Gozu, Visitor Q and Dead or Alive are inspired filmmaking. It’s true that he makes a lot of dreck, but you can’t be perfect when you’re making 3 or 4 movies per year. His films are often remembered for their bizarre, often grotesque scenes; while Miike doesn’t get by entirely on shock value, he still knows how to shock, repel, and entertain with graphic sex and violence.

The Great Yokai War, like last year’s Zebraman, is more or less a family film. There’s some weird stuff here, like a newborn calf-demon and a some occasionally frightening monsters, but for the most part it’s family-friendly. It’s sort of a live-action version of Spirited Away, with a dose of Harry Potter: A young boy finds himself proclaimed the hero of a war between demons and an evil sorceror who’s turning friendly spirits into mechanical monsters. It ends up looking like Power Rangers on a big budget: Cheesy, but with enough enthusiasm and originality to keep the audience entertained.

The story is children’s entertainment by-the-numbers for most of the film: Unpopular boy, prophecy, reluctant hero, plucky friends, furry sidekick… Miike gets away with it by infusing it with his usual weirdness. The spirits and demons are imaginative and fun: One is a wall with legs, another hops around on one leg, and one just counts beans. It’s not quite enthralling, but there’s enough to provide some laughs and entertainment.

The final fifteen minutes, though, see Miike break out his usual bag of tricks, as things go from “Kind Of Weird” to “What The Fuck Was That?” While most of the film sticks to a safe formula, it’s fair to say that you’ve never seen anything like the finale to Great Yokai. It shows that Miike doesn’t rely on explicit violence to make a point; it’s just as crazy as anything else he’s done.

Not entirely essential viewing, but enjoyable for Miike fans and those with an appreciation of the weird and cheesy things in life. If nothing else, rent it and watch the last 15 minutes. No amputations or necrophilia, but perhaps he’s saving that for his big romantic flick.

I think a lot of people read Adrian Tomine’s work and say “Hey! That could be me!” His characters seem very real and normal (albeit in an emotionally dysfunctional way), and the fact that they’re generally losers and outcasts makes them an easy identifier for comic book fans.

But this is just silly. I picked up Summer Blonde a few weeks ago (yes, yes, behind the times), and while “Alter Ego” doesn’t resonate with my personally, the character names are just freakin’ me out. The main character, Martin, doesn’t have any relation, but he’s got a friend named Ryan (me) dating a girl named Beth (my ex). That’s weird enough. But Martin’s dating a girl named Erin, a name shared by my sister and another ex. (Yes, I know, that’s fucked up even without Tomine’s help) And the girl Martin almost has an affair with is named Jenna (my current significant other).

None of the people in the story have much in common with the people in my life (aside from Ryan dating Beth), but it’s just too weird.

And yes, I know it’s sad that I’m only starting to read Tomine now. Summer Blonde was awesome, though, I’m going to pick up Sleepwalk soon, and there’s an all-new issue coming out in December. So get off my case.

Once upon a time, there was a boy.  He was a good boy who always tried to do what
was right and look after his friends.  He
had a bit of a wild streak, but he tried to keep it under control.

One
day, this boy met a girl.  The girl was
very, very beautiful.  The boy fell in
love with the girl, and they were very happy together.

For a
while.  Then the girl decided she wanted
more.  She moved on.

The boy
didn’t.

Or something like that. 
No one really knows what happened to Dwight before A Dame To Kill For, because Frank Miller hasn’t written that story
yet.  But it’s probably close
enough.  As the second chapter of Sin City opens, Dwight isn’t real happy
with the life he’s living.  It’s a dull,
grey existence, but he keeps everything under control.  He’s taking pictures of cheating husbands for
rich jealous wives, working for a fat slob who enjoys his work far too much.

 He
still performs the occasional good deed – cheating husbands can get out of hand
when they’re afraid of being caught – but for the most part, Dwight keeps a low
profile. He keeps his cool.  He stays in
control.

 Then one day, the girl comes back.  The girl – whose name is Ava – made a
mistake.  The man she left Dwight for had
money and style and charm, but he also had a few nasty tendencies that have
recently come to light.  She asks Dwight
for help, and Dwight refuses.  But then
he starts to think about it…

 To say
much more about the plot would be to risk spoiling it. A Dame To Kill For is full of twists and turns and lies and
betrayals.  It’s all about love, lust,
and the grey area in between.  Even when
Dwight’s doing the wrong thing, it’s hard to blame him; can you really blame a
guy for the things he does for love?

 Dwight
is probably Miller’s best defined and most relatable character.  He’s about as close to a regular guy as
you’re likely to find in Sin City, being neither an ex-cop out for revenge nor
a drunken psychopath.  Dwight’s easy to
like: He screws up, but he always seems to do it for the right reason.  He’s a knight in tarnished armour who always
wants to do the right thing, even if he doesn’t always think it

While The Hard Goodbye was Marv’s book, the
big lug gets put to much better use in A
Dame to Kill For.  While Hard Goodbye used Marv as the framework
for the story, Dameallows us to see
Marv from the outside.  Dwight summarizes
Marv perfectly: Marv’s not stupid or insane or anything simple like that:
“It’s like there’s nothing wrong with Marv, nothing at all – except that
he had the rotten luck of being born at the wrong time in history … He’d be
right at home on some ancient battlefield, swinging an ax into somebody’s
face.”

For all
that, and despite being a pretty decent guy, Marv is still just a tool; he’s a
fighting dog to be pointed at the target and let loose. Dame To Kill For is Dwight’s story, so while Marv gets to show up
and inflict some much-deserved violence, his overall impact on the plot is
fairly low.  He does offer some great
insights into the music of Merle Haggard, though.

 Dame takes advantage of the cast and
settings introduced in Hard Goodbye.  While Marv blasted through town like a
locomotive, Dwight takes his time.  Just
as Marv gets some better definition, so too do the girls of Old Town –
including the soon-to-be-deceased Goldie – the mob, and the Sin City police
force.  While Dwight is clearly the main
character, his supporting cast is far better defined than Marv’s.  Everyone serves their purpose in the plot,
and everyone seems like a legitimate character. 
And if Dame accomplished no
other purpose than to introducing deadly little Miho, Miller would still have
done a great, great thing. 

While Hard Goodbye gave Miller the freedom to
do whatever he wanted with his own toys, Dame
To Kill For is a far more focused and evolved work.  There’s a clear purpose and direction at all
points, even if that purpose turns out to be a lie and the direction a wrong
turn.  This is the point where Sin City
moved from being a side project by a guy who usually did superheroes into one
of the most vital and artistic comics of the last decade.  It’s a prime example of what creators can do
with the medium, if they’re only willing to take the risk.

 

This
volume also represents the point where Miller really kicked his artwork into
high gear.  While his earlier work could
be inconsistent at times, here Miller is fully locked into his Sin City
style.  Characters are defined by smoke
and shadows and curves, and Miller’s phenomenal storytelling ensures that every
detail is captured perfectly.  Ava’s
entrance is a work of art; as glamourous and elegant as Ingrid Bergman, but twice
as much trouble.  Miller’s original
covers for the series are some of the most striking pieces of cover art you’re
likely to see: In an era of pinups and exaggerated anatomy, Miller’s sense of
design easily set him apart.  His
constantly evolving style has inspired a slew of imitators over the years, but
not even Jim Lee has managed to capture Miller’s magic.

 A Dame to Kill For isn’t included in the
Sin City film, which is somewhat puzzling; unlike Big Fat Kill, it shares overlaps with both Hard Goodbye and Yellow Bastard.  Marv’s own story bumps into Dwight’s on
several occasions, just as Dwight unknowingly crosses paths with Hartigan.  But Dame is probably the most complex and involving
story of Sin City, so one might hope it’s being set aside for its own movie.

But
while it doesn’t fit into the movie, it still provides the backstory and setup
for The Big Fat Kill, which is a part
of Rodriguez’s tapestry.  More than that,
though, this is simply one of the best stories of Miller’s career, and one of
the definitive Sin City stories: It’s
full of beautiful women, dangerous men, brutal violence, hot sex and
treachery.  While Hard Goodbye represented Miller firing on all cylinders, A Dame To Kill For is Miller driving
full speed through a twisting mountain highway. 
In a career that includes definitive runs on Daredevil and Batman, it’s Sin City that may stand as Miller’s
greatest achievement, and A Dame To Kill
For is the best of the best.