{REVIEW} PICK OF THE BROWN BAG: May 28, 1997
Rayctate
Pick of the Brown Bag
a weekly review
by
Ray Tate
May 28, 1997
Welcome to the Pick of the Brown Bag. In this column, I pick
from my current batch, the most enjoyable and the most
disappointing comic books. E-mailed compliments and
criticism are welcome. You may also post your complaints
and kudos to rec.arts.comics.misc. Argument is
encouraged. Flamers will be poured another tequila.
The Contenders
Batman Annual 21 Batman Chronicles 9
Batman: LOTDK 96 * Batman: Mr. Freeze
Catwoman 47 Flash 127 *
Furies 7 * Ghost 25 *
Griffin 1 * LSH 94
Robin 46 Skeleton Key 23
Spectre 55 * Strange Att.: MF 2 *
Superboy 41 Trinity Angels 3
Wonder Woman 123 * X-Files 29
Another week for female super-heroes. In WONDER WOMAN,
John Byrne choreographs a battle between Diana, Artemis and
Etrigan, and though the melee evolves from the conflict of the
characters' personalities and seems to make sense, it merely
serves as a diversion for the return of a major player. The clash
in addition employs a real-world means to draw in one-time
supporting characters--including Hippolyta whom he softens
without dismissing the good Queen's rather stern demeanor in the
William Messner Loebs reign. Furthermore, Mr. Byrne comments
on the implausibility of design running through the current model
of the super-heroine. Artemis distinguished herself through Mr.
Loeb's talent, and though the artwork by Mr. Deodato and to a
greater extent Ed Benes offered technical brilliance, one must find
fault in a warrior woman possessing hair the envy of Crystal Gayle.
Though we net-critics often speak of Mr. Byrne's writing skills,
one sometimes forgets Mr. Byrne originally marveled us as an
artist. His Artemis evokes the original design without copying the
style. He bestows the elfin eyes and curvy face favored by
Deodato and Benes while opting for a more modest, thus less
exploitive, bikini-zone. Then there are those subtleties practicing
artists--a humble hack such as myself--recognize. On page six,
we see a beautiful example of foreshortening through the simple
line shading of Diana's arm and, again on page thirteen, depicting
her left leg. As the battle ensues we watch Diana's muscles pump
like monarch wings, and colorist Patricia Mulvihill adds literal
depth with soft brown shading around the combatants exposed
sinew. She outdoes herself, on page sixteen, with a perfect
suggestion of the power contained in Donna Troy's legs as she
bounds across traffic-snarled vehicles.
So, I kept asking myself, how will Alex Fury survive the fall?
Will creator Bill Knapp rely on contrivance and greatly depress
me? A resounding, no! The FURIES engage in a clever stratagem
to rescue their leader, and guess what folks, it's utterly believable.
No, sudden birth of Alex Fury's latent super-powers. No,
cheats like there just happened to be a barge loaded with cotton
candy floating anear. Mr. Knapp uses only what was last seen
and the powers he already established for his heroes to rescue
our falling favorite--Katherine Janeway of the super-hero set.
What's more, Mr. Knapp redirects the rescue as a cinch-pin,
not just an ending to a cliff-hanger, in order to echo ramifications,
real-world and larger-than-life, across the proceedings.
He considers the consistency of the water. He quietly eliminates
the character who possibly could have facilitated a drier and less
risky save and introduces readers to her thought-processes to
distinguish her from someone who could have merely played a
stereotype victim. Yes, I know. I dance divinely. Buy the issue,
and find out about whom I speak. Enjoy Mr. Knapp's ease of
characterization. Thrill to his anatomic black-and-white artwork.
Elisa Cameron learns the truth about her death, but this story
element pales when compared to the culmination of her
transformation. Way, way back when GHOST drifted through
walls in search of her killer, you knew this character had potential.
The twin .45s and the costume--not unknown to the real world of
fashion--alluded to the pulps, and like the pulp characters of yore,
you knew there was something more in what you saw as less.
Plain and simple, Ghost seemed bent on driving bullets through
thugs. When she discovered new powers or became more
skilled with her older abilities, the new deftness allowed her to kill
criminals more efficiently, yet like the Shadow, you continuously
saw a haunted character. You didn't quite know the origin of the
ghost, but the speculation provided endless pleasure. We never
knew who or what the Shadow was. Even the consensus
opinion that he was in fact Kent Allard, ace pilot seems, upon
reflection unsatisfactory. Eric Luke chooses Walter B. Gibson's
credo to raise Ghost above her modest origins, and though your
reviewer predicted the outcome, he was never the less delighted
by the sheer power in the dialogue and actions propelling this
chapter's end.
The art team augments the strength of Mr. Luke's superior
storyshowing. Open the page, and your eyes feast on a
reference to the poster-worthy cliff-hanger. Unfathomable
emotions churn from X's eye on page two, and though there's
a clear reference to Ghost's revealing costume, Ivan Reis, Randy
Emberlain and Chris Chelenor create instead a sense of vigor.
Women who choose to enhance their attributes look ridiculous,
but Ghost's rather larger-than-life, but smaller than Catwoman,
breasts when balanced with the beefier torso pivoting on a thicker
waist implies threat and a complete overt dominance of the situation.
Numerous scenes--through nebulous cloak or hooded eyes allude
to Ghost's Art Noveau ethereality. Her anger resurfaces, practically
off the panel, on page--oops, forgot to number the pages again--Oh,
well, you'll know it when you see it, and check out that final look of
triumph on the final panel.
Another spook delights in John Ostrander's ghoulish glee
resulting from a fascinating character study of the SPECTRE.
Ah, the good ol' days when Spec appeared out of nowhen and
enlarged a pair of scissors to snip a criminal stylist. A pity he
never hit the disco cliques. Jim Corrigan's zeal for seventies-
inspired poetic justice originates from host body Nate Kane's
delving into an unsolved crime in which Corrigan was suspect,
but that's only the surface reason. What really drives Jim on a fun
hunt that never the less seems to contradict the character growth
of previous issues can be found in Kane's lack of faith.
Though Kane griped about Jim's disappearances and his callous
nature, he eventually grew to trust Corrigan and his eerie
counterpart, but now the trust shatters
--MINOR SPOILER AHOY--
In addition, the redemption of Julia Edmonds seems to contradict
Spectre's role as the wrath of god. If a potential for rehabilitation
exists, then the Spectre becomes no better than those he judges.
Each of these judgments then defines an act of survival.
--SPOILER ENDS--
Tom Mandrake's flowing art style and a bookmark rendition of
the Golden Age Sandman add to the worth of DC's most
competent titles.
The cover to "Batman Chronicles" will certainly attract naive
Bat-fans, but speaking as one--I recommend you pass. While
Andy Helfer's, Cully Hammer's, Robert Campanella's and Noelle
Giddings' clever, character worthy Poison Ivy story employs an
enjoyable light treatment of Ivy's manipulative yet victimized nature,
the two feature stories miserably fail.
The Crisis hasn't been kind to Batgirl, and I mean more than
the paralyzing bullet. Her entire career has been retconned into
that of an obnoxious amateur. Last week, we saw her kill a
man and learn those hard cliche' lessons. This week, the grim
determination and skill she seems to possess on the cover vanishes
in the upstart nuisance teaming with Robin. Where is the smart,
jujitsu master who partnered with the teen Robin in "Batman
Family" and the resourceful crimefighter who paired with
Supergirl in "The Superman Family?" Where is the cunning
detective whom Batman welcomed when facing Dr.
Phosphorous? Where is the "queen" who rescued Batman from
certain death at the hands of General Scar? If you want a good
Batgirl story may I suggest you track down the classic "Batman
Adventures" or the pre-Crisis detectives.
LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT conveys the mystery
and magic of Batman. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning balance the
mythic quality of the character with his mortality. We see Batman
is indeed a human being, but his prowess of mind convinces even
his friends that he may be more.
The opening escapade brilliantly realizes how even the most skillful
detective can be outwitted yet still maintain his impressive presence.
A great deal of the credit for this Dark Knight's ominous appearance
must go to the staging of Anthony Williams and the slippery inks of
Andy Lanning. We see the character detach from the shadows and
at first seem to appear where the danger presents itself, but the
writing team's understanding of their character dispels that notion with
sharp knowledge you expect the Batman to possess and avenues
you anticipate him to explore. In addition, they produce an ingenious
theme in which the Batman does not recognize his own legend. He
keeps remarking on the skill and intellect of his foe without realizing
his own powers of prestidigitation. The only problem with part two
of "Dirty Tricks" can be found its completeness. The smooth
expository dialogue nullifies the need to read part one--the inferior
of the two.
Batman's JLA comrade the FLASH speeds through another flawless
Waid/Augustyn story. Their expert understanding of Wally's
character strikes through unheroic petulance and adds dimension
without eliminating his charm. His charged reaction to the plight of
Keystone really originates from his impotence in the face of Santa
Marta's ruin. Linda's accusatory tone in her dialogue and her
Ryan/Nyberg glares proffer uncharacteristic but believable
pettiness, and the duet's chemistry spikes the story with irony.
When together, the characters seem to feed off each other. Linda
immediately lightens when Wally zips to her rescue. Wally regains
his professionalism and foreshadows the guest-stars appearing next
issue. Furthermore, the entire story speaks out against the scorched
earth policy on our memories. When Wally cries "These guys
were bank robbers, for God's sake!" he sums the fouls the fans
have been shouting when their favorite characters metamorphose
into something unrecognizable.
Former DC hero GRIFFIN returns to his creator Dan Vado, and
fans can rejoice. He presents a likable hero whose characterization
usurps a tried and true plot employing a clever means to lure Griffin
back to his homeworld. The tragedy shows the ends never justifies
the means. The honed dialogue pleases the ear, and Paul Allora's
sharp black-and-white artwork improves on a gamut of genres.
The draftsman skills on the starships while not as fine-tuned as say
Byrne robotics manages a modicum of majesty, and Mr. Allora
draws out a surprising range of emotions from the "eraser"-headed
aliens. Flashbacks to earth depict a cubic style similar to Mark
Millar of "Aztek," but the characters display fluid body language
that enhances the pace.
The energy of the central character in this week's final pick always
made STRANGE ATTRACTORS an enjoyable read no matter
how thick some of the exposition grew. As Mike Cohen and Mark
Sherman shine the spot-light on Pirate Peg, you can easily see why
this character won a cult following.
Always on the move, speaking just enough words to make her
point, she pragmatically balances the multi-layered plot in which
comic books are weapons and the characters we read about
may only be puppets controlled by a master weaving a deadly,
grander scheme. Peg, however, always seemed to sense the
strings, and in the mini-series, we see how her revenge on the
traitorous Klepto may fit into the enigma of Mr. Chohen's and
Mr. Sherman's Retrographix series. However, MOON FEVER
is that rare book that works on multiple levels. You can simply
enjoy this as a superior revenge tale set in a fascinating future
depicting the kind of space opera most science fiction now
finds distasteful. In addition, you can stand in awe of yet
another book, that despite being written by men, depicts women
as cerebral creatures with slim builds and Barsoomian breasts
instead of the typical cloud-headed, cassava-chested cranks of
carnage.
If you missed it the first time, the POBB: BATMAN FOREVER
review will be posted monthly starting in June. You may find this
review in alt.comics.batman or r.a.c.other-media. I really hated
that film.
Past Picks May 21 1997
Anarky 3
Batman: Poison Ivy
Superman Annual 9
"You must treat the character as a discovery, rather than your
own creation. Treat him, not just seriously, but profoundly.
Picture him as real, and beyond you, in mind and prowess."
Walter B. Gibson (Writer's Digest March 1941)
The Duende History of the Shadow Magazine
The Pick of the Brown Bag is Copyright 1997 Raymond Tate. You
may of course copy the POBB for your own amusement or to share
with your friends as it is intended as a public service. You may
quote from it if you find some of my ramblings accidentally praise
your comic book project. Plagiarists will face the Curse of Kharis!
All Hail Kharis!