Leave it to Chance, Volume 1: Shaman's Rain

Listed in "500 Essential Graphic Novels" as: Adventure (Top 10)
Contains: Leave it to Chance #1-4
Year: Originally: 1996; This volume: 2002
Publisher: 1996: DC; This volume: Image Comics
Writer: James Robinson
Art: Paul Smith (Art)
        Jeromy Cox (Colors)

Hey, gang...

Well, provided I finish this post without spontaneously combusting, falling asleep from the toll of the work week, or otherwise keeling over, I think I've met my goal.  That was to get three "sets" (of five; each of which included four "Best of the Rest" books and one "Top 10" book from 500 Essential Graphic Novels) done before the end of September so I could steal yet another idea from my brother (who does a film blog similar to this one at http://1001movieman.blogspot.com/ ) and do a sort of end-of-the-month round-up for September.

And any of us could spontaneously combust at any time, so let's get to it!

We begin Leave it to Chance, Volume 1: Shaman's Rain with young Chance Falconer staring proudly at her father Lucas Falconer who is a practioner of the occult and protector of their town of Devil's Echo.  Lucas is giving a press conference after having just defeated a giant demon threatening the town and all the press want to crowd around, praise him, and ask questions.

Chance may be more enamoured with what her father's actually just done, though, rather than Lucas himself.  You see, Chance has just turned fourteen years of age.  The age when young Falconers undergo their first trainings in occult protection.

Chance's father doesn't share her excitement.

He's been scarred by his trade, losing a wife as a result, and besides...  Chance is a young lady.  Lucas Falconer wants a strong male heir to carry on his magicks.

The young, exuberant Chance won't seem to take "no" for an answer, though...

And here we begin the story...

This volume, which has had mountains of acclaim heaped on it, been nominated for Harvey and Eisner awards, and to which Mr. Kannenberg gives a weighty five stars in 500 Essential Graphic Novels leaves me with a simple one word question: How?

The work is an all-ages book that's seemingly perhaps geared at young ladies. I give it some accolades on that front.  Young ladies need their heroines and there's probably a shortage of good ones.  Chance is a fine one.  It's said to have found fans among males and even older readers, too.

As far as me, myself: I can't even say that this book isn't my cup of tea when just a few reviews ago I was raving about how Neil Gaiman's The Books of Magic was an awesome journey through many a magical wonderland, exposing fantasies and daydreams come to life on the page.

We've got a bit of that here, but we've also got an oppressed contigent of goblins who've been drugged to attack sewer workers (?) and too many politics of a mayoral race for me to think that this might be enjoyed by a young girl.  That politics bit took me out of it.  I wanna see more crazy creatures from other worlds, not a rerun of evening CNN programming.

Speaking of what we did see, though, the artwork by Paul Smith and Jeromy Cox was nice.  It was fittingly cartoonish, but beautiful as the characters, dragons, beasties, and other fun things jumped off the page.

I don't know, maybe I've lost my youth and can't get into something of this nature.  Maybe this one just wasn't for me plot-wise.  I really expected an all ages story to pack more adventure and less politics, thugs (though they were cool-looking monsters), and fictional media coverage.

Bottom line from this reader: A fantastic young, little girl protagonist who just won't quit, but in the end too much real-life clutter and not enough escapism for this thirty-something dude to be carried away by.

Mr. Kannenberg's rating: 5 out of 5
My rating: 2 out of 5
15 down, 485 to go

Join me (hopefully and probably sometime within the next 24 hours) next time as I run down the month of September and give a final word on our first 15 readings here, folks.

I'll also give you the scoop at that time on the next five books we'll delve into as we begin October and hopefully get at least one of those reviewed this weekend, as well.

I thank all of you who have even glanced upon this page and invite each of you to start any discussion you'd like by commenting. 

Until next time... Be good, be well, and take care...

Whiteout

Listed in "500 Essential Graphic Novels" as: Crime/Mystery (Top 10)
Contains: Whiteout #1-4
Year: 1998
Publisher: Oni Press
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Steve Lieber

Hello, faithful Comics Questers.  Sorry it's been a few days.  I had a rather lazy weekend, then got wrapped up in (fantasy) football, napped, and battled a headache.  But anyway...

Here we are at our second "Top 10" pick of Mr. Kannenberg's great book and the first I've reviewed labelled "Crime/Mystery".  Let's take a quick look at Whiteout.

We open at the "Bottom of the world. Antarctica."  Tortured U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko, whose husband passed from cancer less than a year after they were married and who killed a violent prisoner once upon a time, has come here to perhaps forget all those awful things.  She is, after all, though, an agent of the law and will continue to come upon her share of violence.  As the story opens, she's crouched over a dead body.

As you can see, the body is intensely frozen in the arctic ice and the face is mutilated.  We come to find out that the killer is one of five males in hundreds on "the Ice" (which is what the folks who live here call Antarctica).  Marshal Stetko begins investigating, but it seems everything and everyone may be against her.  Attempts at killing her and seeming double-crosses keep her hands full as she seeks her suspect.

Writer Greg Rucka has penned a good, solid story with compelling characters here.  U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko is a great character, dishing it out to those who'd stand in her way and struggling with the memories of her tormented past against a backdrop that matches her cold demeanor.  We never know whether the characters that she's interacting with are ultimately plotting to help her or to hinder her and Rucka (along with Lieber's art) keeps the tale taut and exciting.

Lieber's art is gritty, cold, dark, and sets the perfect mood for this mystery in Antarctica.  He goes into great detail about how the art came to fruition in a bit of extra material in the back of the volume, giving a bit of insight into the tools of the trade of making artwork of this caliber. 

As I said, the story is good and solid and I really loved some of the characters, especially Carrie Stetko.  She was tough, funny, mouthy, and relentless in the search for the killer.  A truly realistic and memorable character.

In the end, though, plotwise, this one isn't really all that groundbreaking.  We've got pretty much your run-of-the-mill murder mystery, only with very interesting characters.  Despite the very fine points that both creators have worked in here, the end result may not be something I'd deem "essential" and certainly not at the top of that heap. 

And with that, a short volume gets a short review. 

My final opinion: Even sensational characters, fantastically visually represented yet interacting in a run-of-the-mill plot equal middle of the road for this reader.

Mr. Kannenberg's rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: 3 out of 5
10 down, 490 to go

Come back next time when we'll have a little "Fun with Milk and Cheese".  Be well and we'll see you then.

Blankets

Listed in "500 Essential Graphic Novels" as: Non-Fiction (Top 10)
Contains: Blankets (Original Graphic Novel)
Year: 2003
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Writer: Craig Thompson
Artist: Craig Thompson

Well, here we are, gang. 

As outlined in a prior post, I'm going to do a "Top 10" pick from the "500 Essential Graphic Novels" book every fifth book.  This is review number five, so here we go...

With the last couple entries wrapped up, getting little satisfaction out of those books, I began to despair.

Was this first trip to the library picking up a load of graphic novels gonna be a bust?  Maybe I could only enjoy graphic novels of a sci-fi, horror, or superhero nature!  Am I so short-sighted that anything I read in the medium that's outside my comfort zone, I'll automatically pick apart?

These questions and many more plagued my brain as I began to worry about its future not even five books into this little project.  Then I picked up Craig Thompson's "Blankets".

It's a semi-autobiographical work about Craig Thompson (yes, the same guy that wrote the thing).  Unlike Seth in "It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken" (which I previously reviewed), this tale is actually about the author and truly autobiographical.

It primarily tells the tale of Craig Thompson growing up in a strict Christian home, but also touches upon so much more.  The chapters of the nearly 600 page work also show us Thompson's childhood, school life, his relationship with his younger brother, some very unfortunate events of his youth, his first love, his passage into adulthood and multitude other things entwined within the aforementioned.

I'd heard people rave about "Blankets" in several places, picked it up and taken a peek at it in bookstores, and seen the awards that it had piled up.  I'd been skeptical that such a book could ever win me over.  Me, with my love of mind-bending multiple read epics, my love of superhero comics and sometimes explicit horror...  Could a book with this subject matter or this art style hook me?

Oh, man, did it ever.

This book is excellent.  Craig Thompson says he wrote it from the simple premise of what it feels like to sleep next to someone for the first time.  He takes us on a journey in these pages.  The journey travelled seems to be important pieces of his entire life up until the time the book was published laid bare, the beautiful with the visceral, for all of us to marvel at.

This wasn't the first book I reviewed for the blog that used a black-and-white style that was more cartoony than the superhero style artwork that I'm most at home with, but this book and Thompson's work are just on a different plane.

With a relatively simplistic approach, he takes the reader to atmospheres and mindscapes that in hindsight just puts me that much more in awe of the work.  No color, no flashiness, no art team...  Just Mr. Thompson and his sensational work to strike straight to your heart and give you something that you'll likely carry with you for some time to come.

This book was well-deserving of a "Top 10" spot in Mr. Kannenberg's book and may be the best thing I've read for these efforts here on the blog thus far.  A true thing of beauty that gets my utmost recommendation.

Mr. Kannenberg's rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: 5 out of 5
5 down, 495 to go