Silverfish

Listed in "500 Essential Graphic Novels" as: Crime/Mystery (Best of the Rest)
Contains: Silverfish (Original Graphic Novel)
Year: 2007
Publisher: Vertigo
Writer: David Lapham
Artist: David Lapham (w/ greytones by Dom Ramos)

Well, here we are already, faithful Comics Questers!  What's it been?  A little over 12 hours?  I'M BACK ALREADY!!!

That's due in part to the fact that I couldn't put the sensational work that is David Lapham's Silverfish down.  So, let's not waste any more time with nonsense before we tear right into that sucker...

It all starts as good fun.

Mia Fleming is not too fond of her stepmother, and that's putting it lightly.  But her father and stepmother are headed off for a weekend with some friends, leaving Mia and her asthmatic little sister, Stacey, at home.  Mia decides to call some friends of her own and begins venting to them how much she dislikes her stepmother.

They decide to go rifling through Suzanne's (that's the stepmom) things.  The friends decide to start making prank calls to some of the numbers in Suzanne's address book.  The replies they get arouse suspicion.  They look through more of the belongings of this lady who calls herself Suzanne and find large sums of cash, a knife, and all sorts of evidence of a double life.

Finding out this much dirt on ol' "Suzanne", the kids just couldn't leave well enough alone.  They continue making more silly calls.  They may have found the reason that Suzanne seems to be hiding in Daniel, a man that one of the girls taunts and continues to call.  Little does she know that she's probably stumbled across the sickest, most sadistic individual she's encountered in her life...

My experience with this book reaffirms the old adage: "Never judge a book by it's cover."

I didn't want to read this one.  I wasn't excited at all about it.  I looked at the cover and was thinking, "Look at this cover.  Looks like a mom and her child running away.  It's all pink and weird.  It's probably just some mom and her kid running away from some tripped-out... thing and the plot's probably so buried I'll just smash myself in the head with this book after finishing until I die..."

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Coming in at a relatively short 160 pages, this may be the perfect graphic novel.  Lapham gets in, establishes the characters' motives and desires and then grabs the reader, hanging on until the very last panel and never letting go.

The story is, contrary to my anticipations, actually not complicated at all.  The story starts off with just the right amount of intrigue, just a few pages.  Then we shift to getting everything set up as the kids begin finding out numerous things about Suzanne, making the reader more and more uneasy as they begin to flirt more and more with disaster.  Lapham also conveys the insanity of the character Daniel with some very psychotic and disturbing images, but doesn't go over the top with it.  Just right.

The art style is heavy and gritty against black panel borders, the perfect feel for this work in which even the few light-hearted moments are tainted with a sort of uneasy feeling.

In fact, how else can I say it?  What else can I say?  Slim, quick, sharp-hitting, suspenseful, dark, memorable...  Perfect.

I may have already said too much and I'm not gonna spoil any more of this one for you.  If you have any interest at all in crime fiction, graphic fiction, or an absolute suspense story thrill ride, stop what you're doing and go get this now.

Mr. Kannenberg's rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: 5 out of 5
19 down, 481 to go

Next time: We've worked our way up to another Top 10 pick from Mr. Kannenberg's book!  Join me (though I should have done it about a month earlier) as we take a look at The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation.

Stay well until then, folks...  :-)

Shade, The Changing Man: The American Scream

Listed in "500 Essential Graphic Novels" as: Superheroes (Best of the Rest)
Contains: Shade, The Changing Man #1-6
Year: 1990
Publisher: Vertigo
Writer: Peter Milligan
Art: Chris Bachalo (Penciller)
        Mark Pennington (Inker)
        Daniel Vozzo (Colorist)
        Brendan McCarthy (Original Series Covers)

Back again, fellow Comics Questers, and this time I've done an unintentional Vertigo two-fer!  I didn't realize when putting these in order to review (which, in truth, is kind of random, anyway) that I had two Vertigo titles in a row!  That's definitely good as I tend to enjoy Vertigo stuff.

Anyway, let's delve into the madness that is Shade, The Changing Man: The American Scream. (You may scream at this point before reading the review, if you'd like...)

We open with a girl walking down a street clutching a bottle of alcohol to her chest.  She's narrating and we find that her name is Kathy and that she's bugshit nuts.  We can discern this from all the insane, swirly, astral beings floating around her as she continues her walk.

She gives us the reason that she's so crazy by recounting a bit of her past for us.

She once was happy with her boyfriend.  She tells of a time where they set out to visit her mother and father, stopping along the way in a field to make love and stare at the sky.  It's the last time she was truly happy because as they conclude the trip and arrive at her parents' place, she sees them brutally murdered.  If this wasn't enough to drive the poor dear insane, police assume that her boyfriend (apparently because he's black and this is the South) is the one that had broken in and killed her parents.  They shoot him dead before her very eyes.

The killer was a man named Troy Grenzer.  We get a peek into his story next.

Troy is all tough in his last hours.  He's to be executed for killing Kathy's parents.  In the final moments, though, Troy's tough exterior cracks.  They pull the switch to electrocute Grenzer and he doesn't die...  because Shade, The Changing Man has taken up residence in his body, the first body he could inhabit when travelling from his dimension to Earth, to fight an ever-growing madness called The American Scream.

This book is weird...  And I come to you telling you this as someone who unabashedly revels in and often enjoys weird things.

It's got explicit killings, JFK conspiracy theories, the delusions of insane folks, spillings-in from other dimensions, psychedelic imagery, and all sorts of crazy things.

When we get right down to it, though, I think we can see where Milligan and crew are going here.  We Americans are going mad.  Mad with violence, mad with substance abuse, mad with film stars, mad with examining the things that cause our madness.  Mad with everything that we will let madness get the upper hand with.

This madness spun into a being, although a scary, trippy, crazy looking thing, is the American Scream.

Shade, Kathy and several supporters and detractors dance around with the American Scream in this book, fighting it, eluding it, reveling in it.  Kathy's madness is the insanity brought on by the murder of all her loved ones.  A character named Duane Trilby's madness is the poring over every bit of information he can find about JFK to find his assassin and also the dealing with the death of his little girl.  Pieces of society go mad on TV... 

Really, that's what I get from this book.  It's seemingly an examination of America and everything that we obsess over, worship, kill ourselves with, indulge too much in and addict ourselves to...  to the point of madness.

Shade has come to battle against all that.

The artists handle this whole vast and strange concept magnificently.  Bachalo and crew's work pops when an electric chair comes alive into a snarling demon, when a giant stone bust of JFK tears through the pavement and begins asking questions, when Shade transcends dimensions.

The original series covers are pretty sweet, too.  From psychedelia to horror to iconic superhero cover, cover artist Brendan McCarthy brought his A-game.

While a work that didn't have me blown away as I turned the last page and sat it down, even an hour later, upon further reflection, I'm beginning to realize how many levels it works on and wanting to go back and study it more.

Mr. Kannenberg's rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: 4 out of 5
17 down, 483 to go

Hey kids, it's October, so come on back next time and join me for a work that's listed in the "Horror" section of the book with Charles Burns' Black Hole.  It may be a few days, cuz that sucker's huge, but I'll try and come back as soon as I can for all you faithful.

Be well until then, guys. :)

The Originals

Listed in "500 Essential Graphic Novels" as: Science Fiction (Best of the Rest)
Contains: The Originals (Original Graphic Novel)
Year: 2004
Publisher: Vertigo
Writer: Dave Gibbons
Artist: Dave Gibbons

What?!

We're 16 books into this thing and this is only the SECOND book in the science fiction genre that I'm going to review?!  How did that happen?! I rather like sci-fi!!!

Let's get to it, shall we?

Actually, as we begin, let me just say that if you're not a fan of sci-fi (I know at least one dear reader of this thing who isn't), you'd have little to worry about in reading this.  Really the only thing that's sci-fi about this book is the hovering scooters and motorcycles used by the rival gangs...  But you have no idea what I'm talking about that with any of that yet, do you? 

Let's fix that.

The story begins as protagonist Lel is walking through a city that's eerily retro and futuristic simultaneously.  As he narrates, he talks about finishing school, about all the stuff that grown-ups and teachers tried to shove down his throat, and about he and his buddy Bok really wanting to become Originals.

The Originals are nothing more than a glorified gang, smartly dressed, loving music and fashion, popping pills, and hovering around on their floating scooters.  They absolutely detest a rival gang which they call "The Dirt", who look like a crowd you might see at any modern day biker bar, wearing leather, swilling beer, and riding what look like (also) hovering Harleys.

Lel and Bok finally do get into the Originals by helping existing members locate and fight a group of Dirt louts.  They'rs invited to an upscale dance club that the Originals party in called The Place and they ascend to becoming full-fledged Originals, both scoring their own hovers (which is how they refer to the hovering scooters) and Lel beginning to sling pills to dope heads for Ronnie, the seeming leader of the Originals.

Lel meets a girl, tensions between the Originals and Dirt rise, and we go from there...

As I said above, despite its inclusion in the "Science Fiction" portion of Mr. Kannenberg's book 500 Essential Graphic Novels, this really doesn't feel like a science fiction read.  Again, the only thing sci-fi about it are the hovering bikes and scooters.  The rest feels...  If I had to put it into a phrase...  A post-apocalyptic mob flick.

The way that the whole dance club is set up, the way the boys are trying to get into this elite fraternity, the way they pander to the leaders of the Originals...  Yeah. It feels like every mafia movie or show I've ever seen except with another sort of edge.

It's also been said that these groups, the Originals and the Dirt are patterned to resemble the Mods and Rockers of 1960's Britain.  Lel even has Roger Daltrey's circa 1960 haircut, pops pills, and loves his tunes. 

However you want to look at it, though, this is a story in some future about a boy who wants to gain entry into a group, does so, and then gets maybe a bit more than he bargained for. 

The work is nice, short, and solid, bringing you into Lel's narrative nicely, enveloping you for the time that you need to be there, and then panning back out almost where we met him.  We see the character develop, smarten-up, make that transition from a boy to a man almost right before our eyes in a read that takes less than a half hour.

Gibbons' art, left in the black-and-white style, is perfect for giving this a sort of timeless feel.  We see the hovering bikes and such, but we also see the clothes, the manners, memories of the past.  It's hard for the reader to pin down when this might take place.  It's obviously the future with the hovers, but why does it feel so much like the past?  A fine quality of this work.

The book shows how markedly we can grow up in so short a time and does so against a backdrop of a world that's not overtly strange, but is like an odd memory of the future.  A brief, good read by Gibbons that any fan of his, Anglophile, or fan of gang or mob stories should check out.

Mr. Kannenberg's rating: 3 out of 5
My rating: 3 out of 5
16 down, 484 to go

Join me next time for a return to my beloved superhero comics with Shade, The Changing Man: The American Scream.

Keep well until then. :)

The Books of Magic

Listed in "500 Essential Graphic Novels" as: Fantasy (Best of the Rest)
Contains: The Books of Magic #1-4 (Mini-Series)
Year: 1990, 1991
Publisher: Vertigo
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artists: John Bolton, Scott Hampton, Charles Vess, Paul Johnson (One issue each)

Hello, faithful readers...

Ahhh...  At last we've reached another one of my favorite creators and authors.  Mr. Neil Gaiman.

It had been ages since I'd read any of his stuff.  Even longer since I wasn't rereading something that I'd picked up that he'd written.  When I decided upon The Books of Magic and came to it in my little reading order I've got arranged for the blog here, I couldn't wait to dive in...  Especially given the premise.

We open with four DC Universe practitioners of magic and the occult (a man in a black coat, John Constantine, Dr. Occult, and Mister E.).  We flash back and forth between shots of these mighty wizards and a young, rather Harry-Potter-on-a-skateboard-looking young boy.  The magicians are discussing the young boy and how "he has the potential to become the most powerful human adept of this age."

Their task, and the premise of this volume, it seems, is to approach the boy (whom we come to know is named Tim Hunter), show him things of the world(s) of magic, and then present to him a choice.  Does he want to have anything to do with magic or not?

Each of the four mages get their turn with Tim (one in each issue, each illustrated by a different, very gifted artist), showing him different realms, explaining to him the histories and nature of magic, and guiding him through all sorts of varying experiences hoping to get him to make the right decision at the end of all their ordeals.

These four issues were simply stunning.

Gaiman takes young Tim from the beginning of time to the end of the universe with these four mysterious characters, touching upon everything from the Judeo-Christian version of the creation of the universe to druidic magicians draped in animal skins to the Egyptians to Merlyn to various practitioners of sorcery from the DC Universe (besides the four guiding Tim) to the absolute end of everything.  The ride itself, as we turn every corner with the young protagonist, is truly something special.  I've never seen such a study of so numerous and varied myths concerning magic.  Gaiman handles each as if he were a grand master himself.

And these various journeys that the guides take Tim on...  Amazing.

We are led through diverse landscapes in plot and artistry as Gaiman makes each issue so unique it could stand on its own.  The artists, though using a similar style to one another throughout, each put their own benchmarks on their art.  They lead us through near psychedelia, dark urban landscapes, faerie kingdoms, and massive cosmic wars.  A breathtaking exhibition...

Another amazing thing about this volume is that this was only the beginning, the warm-up, the getting started...  Tim hasn't even made his choice whether he'll wield the forces of magic yet and Gaiman and the artists wow us again and again in what was basically an introduction to a character that ended up getting another 75 issues to take similar journeys.

We've not seen the last of Tim Hunter here on Best Comics Quest!.  The first volume of the actual ongoing series entitled The Books of Magic: Bindings is here on the list in Mr. Kannenberg's book, as well.  If it's half as good as this one, we're gonna be in for a treat.

This book was a great read and certainly the best of the last few that I've read.  It was also a great return to Gaiman's work for me and something that's got me excited to potentially check out the entire run of The Books of Magic.  If you're even a slight Gaiman fan, are intrigued by the occult, or just down for a great adventure with all sorts of fantasy elements, you'll definitely wanna pick this one up.

Mr. Kannenberg's rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: 5 out of 5
12 down, 488 to go

Next time: SSHHHH!

I'll whisper at you then.  Be well, all...




 

WE3

Listed in "500 Essential Graphic Novels" as: Science Fiction (Best of the Rest)
Contains: WE3 #1-3
Year: 2004-05
Publisher: DC/Vertigo
Writer: Grant Morrison
Art: Frank Quitely (Artist)
        Jamie Grant (Colorist & Digital Inker)

Here we go, guys...  The first entry.

First, let me clarify some things and a bit more of the mechanics of how I'm going to move through this "500 Essential Graphic Novels" book.  It's quite simple: Basically, in no particular order. 

The only small bit of order that I am going to follow requires only a bit of explanation.  The book is broken up into ten chapters, each featuring a genre of story.  Each of those chapters has a "Top Ten" section, higlighting the best 10 book in that genre, and a "Best of the Rest" section, listing the remaining featured graphic novels of that section in alphabetical order.

What I'm going to do (at least for starters) is read four (4) "Best of the Rest" books, just hopping around the book in random order, and then a "Top Ten" pick, also in random order.

Make sense?  Now, then...  WE3.

With the first official review of the blog, I wanted to start off with as much as I could with a "something for everyone" kind of book.  Also, Grant Morrison is my favorite author and Frank Quitely is a stellar artist, as well.

We open on what is apparently some sort of upscale mansion/compound. Some big, bad lug is running on a treadmill. There are shady looking characters sitting around everywhere. Drugs, booze and guns are abound.  But if we look closely in the holes in the wall or the heating grates, we see tiny glowing red eyes.

This book focuses on what is referred to early on in the work as "The War of Tomorrow". Treadmill lug and his bad guy friends are apparently those who deserve warring upon because something... some robot-like, crazy, high-tech, mech things are encased in the shadows.  In the next sequence, they bring the hurt to all these guys. Hard.

After carrying out their mission, these extremely efficient, startlingly lethal things (whatever they are, we still can't see them yet) with their crazy robot parts and metal armadillo-like tails are called back to a covert tractor trailer.  The trailer belongs to the U.S. military and these killing machines turn out to be the cutest little dog, cat, and bunny rabbit you've ever seen.

These little guys have been engineered and drastically technologically enhanced for the aforementioned "War of Tomorrow".  A war with no human soldiers, but with what some view to be more expendable animals as the fighting force.

WE3, our three little animal buddies, have done a bang-up job of razing the bad guy compound, but they were just prototypes and will be decommissioned.  The remainder of the book is the story of these three tiny animals' instinct to survive, their valiant effort to fight for that instinct, and the tale of what happens when they do.

At this point you might be thinking, "I thought you said you wanted a book for everyone? This is crazy, sci-fi, futuristic, war crap! Household pets as U.S. soldiers? Come the fudge on!"

This book is anything but that.

I challenge you to make it through even the first chapter without feeling an intense bond with these three little critters.  Morrison has woven genius here, keeping with something that his long-time fans will enjoy (with all the science-y, smart, repeat read-worthy stuff) and also giving us three of the most easy-to-love characters I may have ever seen.

Artist Frank Quitely even bonds the reader to the story right away with the original covers to this fantastic series by making us feel right at home.  You've all seen a flyer for a lost dog haven't you?

That above image is genius.  Giving us something we've all seen to make us feel more at home in this fantastic work.

And while we're on the subject of Quitely's art: this book has art and images like I've never seen.  Look below.  Have you ever seen someone getting shot to shreds look so beautiful?

Or you longtime readers of comics (or readers of sequential art at all): Have you ever seen a panel sequence like the one across the top of this two-page spread?

This was a work where writer and artist worked perfectly together.  It's obvious that Morrison and his script were in the director's chair, but Quitely and Grant execute to perfection in making this thing an experience, not just a "comic book" or a work of sequential art. Morrison tells a story using somewhat less-than-usual dialogue. The first thirteen pages of the story contained no words at all, but evoked enough emotion, aesthetics, and awe to where the reader didn't need anything else.

I chose this one for my first entry because I'd read it before, Morrison is my favorite author, and I love the work. I wanted to give you something that shows that (while I love some superhero stories) comics are more than just musclebound guys in tights.  Comics can be absolute magic.

If this stellar work doesn't show that to you, I don't know what will.

Mr. Kannenberg's rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: 5 out of 5
1 down, 499 to go