Weird comic. Especially for a first issue. Dick Foreman’s narrative choices don’t help it much either. He makes Black Orchid the subject of the issue, not a player. She’s an urban legend and so on; Foreman’s got a lame investigative reporter narrating and trying to find her.

There’s a lot about how great it is to drink coffee in the narration. Probably two or three hundred words. It’s sort of uncomfortable to read, it feels so amateurish and I’ve liked Foreman’s writing before.

The Jill Thompson pencils (with Stan Woch inking) are cool, but they don’t really make the issue worth it until the finish. When Black Orchid finally does have a scene, Thompson and Woch do wonders. Before her arrival, it’s just an interesting looking comic. The style’s not quite mainstream, but going for it.

For a first issue of an ongoing series, Foreman fumbles big time. Big time.

CREDITS

Sightings; writer, Dick Foreman; penciller, Jill Thompson; inker, Stan Woch; colorist, Digital Chameleon; letterer, Clem Robins; editors, Julie Rottenberg and Tom Peyer; publisher, Vertigo.

Garth Ennis probably missed his calling as a history professor or at least the writer of history books. He has an amazing small section where Fury explains what’s wrong with the French military approach to fighting in Vietnam. It’s short, concise and completely digestible.

He also has a great device–the visiting senator–for allowing Nick to do expository dialogue.

The first half of the issue deals with the overall plot, at least how it concerns all the supporting players. There’s the girl, who Nick’s shacked up with, there’s the senator (her boss), there’s the sidekick, there’s the former Nazi soldier.

Even at his most inventive, the first half is what one would expect. It’s excellent, but nothing surprises. The second half, when a French base is attacked, is astounding. Ennis and Parlov brilliantly choreograph the sequence–the sidekick being the reader’s point of view.

Ennis has ambitions for Fury.

CREDITS

Number One Fucky; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Goran Parlov; colorist, Lee Loughridge; letterer, Rob Steen; editors, Sebastian Girner and Nick Lowe; publisher, MAX.

Hester’s back and he and DeMulder do a fantastic job illustrating Anna–she’s the author of “River Run”–and her life as it all falls apart. Millar might be explaining how she found herself in the predicament of being stuck in her own stories, but it’s not clear. He might be fooling.

Bad things happen to her, page after page, and one forgets the comic is called Swamp Thing. When Alec finally does show up at the end, he’s a stand-in for Millar, the author, explaining to the character why she’s going through such torments.

As a comic about a writer’s life falling apart and her work not even being able to keep her together, it’s quite good. Millar’s rather writerly again and he wears that hat well.

Alec showing up at the end feels forced, like Millar’s now trying to neatly tie everything together.

Messy would’ve been better.

CREDITS

River Run, Chapter Six: Sink or Swim; writer, Mark Millar; penciller, Phil Hester; inker, Kim DeMulder; colorist, Tatjana Wood; letterer, Richard Starkings; editor, Stuart Moore; publisher, Vertigo.

Poor Judge Dredd. Even with a great page or two from McMahon–he does better with full scenes, not trying to summarize–the story ends on a lame pun from Shaw. Worse, there were some obvious better ones.

Invasion has decent art from Sarompas, Flesh has a possibly good setup for the next issue (at least in terms of giving Sola something interesting to draw) and Harlem Heroes is lame. There’s a disconnect between Tully’s interest in the game play and how Gibbons draws it.

Kelvin Gosnell’s pacing on Dan Dare is a surprise. He rushes through the showdown with the big alien queen. It doesn’t make the story any better, but it does make the badness read faster.

And M.A.C.H. 1 is its usual terrible, this time with Mills giving the super spy a Bolivian sidekick who talks like Speedy Gonzales.

The issue’s lacking any gems.

CREDITS

Invasion, Train Story; writer, Pat Mills; artist, Sarompas; letterer, John Aldrich. Flesh, Book One, Part Seven; writer, Kelvin Gosnell; artist, Ramon Sola; letterer, Jack Potter. Harlem Heroes, Part Seven; writer, Tom Tully; artist and letterer, Dave Gibbons. Dan Dare, Part Seven; writer, Kelvin Gosnell; artist, Massimo Belardinelli; letterer, Potter. M.A.C.H. 1, Bolivia; writer, Pat Mills; artist, Enio; letterer, Bill Nuttall. Judge Dredd, The Statue of Judgement; writer, Malcolm Shaw; artist, Mike McMahon; letterer, Aldrich. Publisher, IPC.

Fury MAX gives Garth Ennis the opportunity to do one of his favorite things–historical war stories–with one of the things he does really well, world-weary protagonists. Well, I suppose he takes the opportunity to use the series to do those things, not so much it gives him the chance.

This first issue is set in Indochina in the mid-fifties, while America’s involvement in Vietnam is just to monitor the French’s progress.

Ennis gives Fury a mismatched sidekick, he introduces a knowing dame–Ennis and artist Goran Parlov don’t turn the espionage genre on its head, they just tilt it quite a bit–and some hints at the supporting cast.

Reading Fury isn’t so much to see what happens next–he’s narrating from present day, so he lives and the reader hopefully knows how Vietnam turned out–but enjoying Ennis’s excellent storytelling abilities.

He’s in his element.

CREDITS

While All the Planet’s Little Wars Start Joining Hands; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Goran Parlov; colorist, Lee Loughridge; letterer, Rob Steen; editors, Sebastian Girner and Nick Lowe; publisher, MAX.

Phil Jimenez pencilling Swamp Thing. I sort of get it–he’s realistic and the story this issue is set in the real world. It’s a real world retelling of the first Swamp Thing comic only this time the Hollands have a daughter… and Swamp Thing arrives from another dimension to save them.

There are, not surprisingly, complications.

Millar uses the “real” Alec Holland to narrate the issue. The regular Alec–you know, Swamp Thing–he pops in and has some scenes with the Hollands, but he mostly bonds with the daughter.

The daughter is the stand-in for the author of the “River Run” short stories, which means she’s writing them about Swamp Thing. It’s a little odd. I’m hoping Millar ties it together because otherwise it all feels too contrived. Good issues or not, his frame seems false.

The Jimenez art is good, but lacks personality. Wrightson he ain’t.

CREDITS

River Run, Chapter Five: Darker Genesis; writer, Mark Millar; penciller, Phil Jimenez; inker, Kim DeMulder; colorist, Tatjana Wood; letterer, Richard Starkings; editor, Stuart Moore; publisher, Vertigo.

This issue has a neat thread running through its three feature-length stories. The Huntress (from Earth-Two) comes to Earth-One for a visit. In the Batman story, she meets him and Robin. Then she teams up with Batgirl and Batwoman. For the finale, her going home sets off the events for Man-Bat and the Demon’s story.

Gerry Conway and Jim Aparo’s Batman story is okay. Conway pauses on some character stuff–Batman meeting his “daughter”–but ignores other obvious moments, like Robin’s girlfriend being a shallow mean girl. Dick’s upset most of the issue, so his Aparo brow fits. And the ending twist’s decent.

Bob Rozakis writes a lot better than Don Heck draws the three female superheroes teaming up. Lame villain characterizations, but great stuff with Batgirl.

The winner is the Man-Bat and Demon story. Rozakis’s script is fun and Michael Golden’s artwork is breathtaking.

CREDITS

Scars; writer, Gerry Conway; artist, Jim Aparo; colorist, Adrienne Roy. Horoscopes of Crime!; writer, Bob Rozakis; penciller, Don Heck; inkers, Bob Wiacek and Vince Colletta; colorist, Jerry Serpe; letterer, Clem Robins. There’s a Demon Born Every Minute; writer, Rozakis; artist, Michael Golden; colorist, Serpe; letterer, Jean Simek. Editor, Al Milgrom; publisher, DC Comics.

It’s a full-length adventure–Langridge breaks it out into three acts and follows through. I was a little surprised how carefully he plotted the third act; the issue runs on jokes, not the narrative, but Langridge keeps both going.

Popeye’s dad has fallen for a younger woman and Popeye’s suspicious (act one). It turns out she’s after his hidden treasure and Poopdeck Pappy finally sees the light, teaming up with his son–and Olive and Wimpy–to foil her plot (act two). Then there’s the action-packed finish.

Throughout, Langridge keeps the supporting cast fluid. People come in, people go–nice little Castor bit for the attentive reader. The issue feels nice and full, even though it’s a breezy read.

Vince Musacchia packs the pages with panels too. He works up these great little (in size) panels, which read a lot bigger than they measure.

Popeye’s delightful as usual.

CREDITS

Vamped! Or The Fall of Poopdeck Pappy; writer, Roger Langridge; artist and letterer, Vince Musacchia; colorist, Luke McDonnell; editors, Ted Adams, Craig Yoe and Clizzia Gussoni ; publisher, IDW Publishing.

Millar shows off. Admittedly, the constraint of the “River Run” arc–it being a short story collection–let’s him be more writerly than one usually expects from a comic, but this issue is just a fantastic show of talent.

The story centers around a Golden Age hero who has grown old, but still does the superhero thing when needed. Millar doesn’t open with him though, instead setting up the ground situation for the first few pages. Slaughter Swamp is where people go to get rid of themselves and others. And Alec pops into Solomon Grundy’s mind in this place.

The hero shows up to stop Grundy, which leads to a reasonably good fight scene from Hester and DeMulder. It doesn’t read fast enough–Millar foreshadows the hero’s death, which makes one want the issue to read faster. Then there’s the revealation.

Again, not much Alec, but who cares… It’s great.

CREDITS

River Run, Chapter Four: The Secret of Slaughter Swamp; writer, Mark Millar; penciller, Phil Hester; inker, Kim DeMulder; colorist, Tatjana Wood; letterer, Richard Starkings; editor, Stuart Moore; publisher, Vertigo.

I’m sure writer Gerry Conway wasn’t trying for a “Scooby Doo” homage, but he doesn’t quite come up with anything better. This issue features Batman and the mystery gang. Or something along those lines. Mystery Adventurers Club maybe.

It’s a bunch of Gotham citizens and celebrities who solve mysteries together, with Batman sitting–in cape–on a sofa having cookies with them. But not here, because here–with a real murder to solve–Batman is very angry with everyone. Lots of yelling.

It’s low blood sugar Batman.

Conway spends his time setting up the mystery, the clues, the solution, but no time making it an interesting comic. All of the mystery gang is disposable and forgettable, except perhaps the eventual damsel in distress.

The Michael Golden art almost makes the comic worthwhile. He’s got some great composition and some lovely panels.

It’s a fast read too, which helps a lot.

CREDITS

The Adventure of the Houdini Whodunit!; writer, Gerry Conway; artist, Michael Golden; colorist, Jerry Serpe; letterer, Ben Oda; editors, E. Nelson Bridwell and Julius Schwartz; publisher, DC Comics.

Richard Corben adapts Edgar Allan Poe’s poem in The Conqueror Worm. The poem, reprinted at the end of the comic, doesn’t have much narrative (if any). So Corben stitches the poem his own narrative, which feels a little like Hamlet, but it all fits. Corben does well with angry men and forbidden lovers.

There’s a lot of design to Worm. Corben meticulously composes the panels–one can tell, without even reading the afterword, he feels strongly about Poe and wants to do it right. There’s a lot of mood to the comic, but not necessarily the space; Corben uses smaller panels for mood and action.

The end of the story comes with a morale… or at least the implication of one. The poem itself does not and Corben has a complicated finale, which leaves Worm to sit with the reader after he or she has finished.

It’s an excellent comic.

CREDITS

Writer, artist and colorist, Richard Corben; letterer, Nate Piekos; editors, Daniel Chabon, Shantel LaRocque and Scott Allie; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.

There’s a cute little reference to Ultraman and Owlman on the news at the beginning of the issue. Alec’s travels bring him to Earth-Three (or something like it) but he doesn’t run afoul of the supervillains. Instead, he finds himself with the Arcanes.

Only, Anton’s the good one and Abby’s the bad one.

There’s a lot of awful stuff this issue. Millar never gets too graphic, keeping it at the “just enough” level but he makes up for the lack of visuals in disturbing intimations. As a Swamp Thing comic it’s interesting because it’s the first time Millar’s written Abby solo, but it’s more interesting as a DC comic.

The implications of Earth-Three never really come through like they do here.

Lots of great art from Hester and DeMulder. All of it’s disturbing… it’s still great.

Millar’s just wasting time though. Alec isn’t learning anything from his trip.

CREDITS

River Run, Chapter Three: The Bad Seed; writer, Mark Millar; penciller, Phil Hester; inker, Kim DeMulder; colorist, Tatjana Wood; letterer, Richard Starkings; editor, Stuart Moore; publisher, Vertigo.

Really, really bad figures from Chan. Just awful. There’s one page recapping the previous issue in ten or so panels and Chan mangles the miniatures even.

It’s an ugly story.

There’s not much to the writing either. Conway hasn’t got any real subplots–the Commissioner Reeves thing goes nowhere. Batman having a hooker snitch is a little amusing, especially since she’s dressed like a chaste flasher.

And then the villain. Got to love seventies comics–the Black Spider is, you guessed it, black. I didn’t, as he has a mask so who’d know.

Conway doesn’t even seem to be trying. Some sensationalism would help.

The Rozakis Black Canary backup is terrible. Grell and Austin do okay enough on the art, but the writing’s awful. Both in the dialogue and thought balloons. There’s not a single well-written moment.

It’s a bad comic. One should avoid it if at all possible.

CREDITS

The Doomsday Express!; writer, Gerry Conway; penciller, Ernie Chan; inker, Frank McLaughlin. A Hot Time in Star City Tonight; writers, Bob Rozakis and Laurie Rozakis; penciller, Mike Grell; inker, Terry Austin. Editors, E. Nelson Bridwell, Bob Rozakis and Julius Schwartz; publisher, DC Comics.

During a fight scene, one of Stephenson’s survivors takes the time to tell her adversary about being bullied over her skin color as a kid. He’s swinging a flaming stick at her. It’s a bad scene.

Other stuff in the issue makes up for it. Ben Grimm’s friend discovers his superpower–he’s sort of the Flash–and the old guys have some really good moments. But not a lot else in the issue is memorable, maybe because Stephenson is holding off on the superpower revelations.

Or because the scenes with the old guys just goes on and on. Not in a bad way, Stephenson writes them–the rock star scientists–far better than their distressed employees. In fact, Stephenson has so much to do–he brings in the big villain–he only slightly touches on some of his other subplots.

It’s okay, but Nowhere Men hasn’t done anything impressive yet.

CREDITS

Writer, Eric Stephenson; artist, Nate Bellegarde; colorist, Jordie Bellaire; letterer, Fonografiks; publisher, Image Comics.

The pacing is a mess this issue. It’s a decent little issue and all, but Millar’s pacing is just a disaster.

He introduces a world where the Nazis won, where Hitler’s son runs the world (and is married to Marilyn Monroe) and the President of the United States has no problems more than a wandering wife. It’s a perfect world.

And Alec shows up inhabiting a Golem in order to destroy it. Or maybe not. It’s up to Alec, who finds the Nazis prove more environmentally conscious than the Allied nations.

It’s a weird issue to be sure–one has to assume Millar took some joy in showcasing the ultimate bad guys as the ultimate good, just because it’s so out of whack–but there’s really nothing to it.

The President’s a limp noodle of a protagonist. Maybe if Millar had made him stronger….

Great Chris Weston fill-in art.

CREDITS

River Run, Chapter Two: Twilight of the Gods; writer, Mark Millar; artist, Chris Weston; colorist, Tatjana Wood; letterer, Richard Starkings; editor, Stuart Moore; publisher, Vertigo.