· vertigo

Woman’s Eye View: Comics Week 7/21/10

July 22, 2010 in comic reviews, comics, DC Comics, marvel comics, vertigo, wildstorm, woman's eye view | 2 comments

The following is a selection of comics released this week (7/21/10)* that focus heavily on women in comics – whether that be characters, creators, or even readers.

The books are rated as BUY, TRADEWAIT, or SKIP.

*It should be noted that this list will focus on North American/English releases as that’s mostly what I have access to. Additionally, as I am in general unfamiliar with Manga, I will not be including Manga titles in my lists. For some great reviews and discussion of Manga titles I urge you to check out Danielle Leigh on CSBG.

Notably missing this week is True Blood #1, co-written by IDW editor Mariah Huehner and which I am very anxious to check out but which was either sold out or missing at my shop. Also missing was Welcome To Tranquility #1, and Tiny Titans #30. Bummer all around, but hopefully I can pick them up next week. It certainly occurs to me that these inconsistencies in my comic shops (I went to two today) could be perhaps solved by digital solutions in which I am the only one in charge of what’s available to me or not…well, beyond what the companies make available of course. It’s a powerful argument for digital to me. Also, I have books that I definitely prefer to have in print, but there are many books I’m interested in reading but not terribly interested in “having forever”, so if digital was available to me easily and same day (and I had a reader of course) and for a cheaper price, I suspect I would try more stuff and only buy the stuff I know I love in print but purchase a significant amount digitally. In some ways I prefer to have the collected trades for stuff I really love anyway, as that works better from a convenience standpoint of books sitting on book shelves as opposed to jammed in short boxes. Digital v. Print is a tough thing for me though as I don’t like the feeling that’s often put out there of it being “either/or”, but I confess that digital seems appealing to me in the same way that individual songs instantly accessible on itunes are. Time will tell.

BLACK WIDOW #4. Marjoirie Liu (writer). Daniel Acuna (art and cover). Marvel. 32-pages. $2.99

This is a really good book…so good that I’m dreading the creative team switch after issue #5. Acuna’s art is gorgeous and is a perfect fit for this suave noir-y spy story. I love it. Liu’s story is working well, definitely a bit mysterious and cryptic (Natasha IS trying to solve a puzzle of course) but she’s giving me enough story and reveals in each issue to keep the momentum. As usual with Black Widow stuff I find it a bit cryptic for my tastes sometimes, but that’s my only complaint. This is a great book. Certainly the star of Marvel’s “year of women” push as far as I’m concerned. BUY.

DV8 #4 (of 8). Brian Wood (writer). Rebekah Isaacs (art). Carrie Strachan (colors). Fiona Staples (cover).

We’re halfway through the series and it remains one of my favorite monthly books, if not THE favorite. I confess this issue was my least favorite of the series thus far, but I think that’s likely to do with the fact that it focused heavily on Matthew/Threshold who has always been the least accessible DV8 character to me. This issue does its best to help me (and others?) get inside his skin a bit, but it’s still tough for me with this character. Additionally there was some slightly clunky storytelling in Gem narrating things she couldn’t possibly have seen or known…it didn’t bother me in previous issues, but here it stuck out a bit. Still, easily the best comic I read this week, as usual. BUY.

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Tags: SDCC, woman's eye view

The 15 Covers I Wish I’d Included…

July 20, 2010 in anniversaries, blog-o-versary, comics, DC Comics, lists, marvel comics, vertigo | 10 comments

A year ago I posted a list of 100 of my favorite Comic Book Covers. But as with any list…as soon as you hit publish you can’t help but think what you’ve missed. I’ve been thinking a lot about what I missed and regret not including that first time around, so I decided, in honor of San Diego Comic Con 2010 and the three year anniversary of this blog, to give you the “15 Covers I Wish I’d Included”.

Now, some of my second guessing came immediately after locking the list (where was Skottie Young?) others came up later and some even from discussions others were having about my list (to say some discussions were more civil than others would be a massive understatement).

The biggest legitimate complaint I heard about the list beyond certain creators being missing was that there wasn’t enough diversity – and I agree. I don’t know if these covers will remedy that, but I think at the end of the day I’ll feel better about the list as a whole once it’s been modified.

The most interesting thing that happened while I was revising my list was the order. I was never that convinced that even if I had the right covers that I had them in the right order, and doing these new 15 really proved that out – because when I looked through the covers I didn’t feel confident just lopping off the last 15, instead I went through and picked out all the ones I was reconsidering, and replaced them.

In keeping with the rules of the original list, I limited this list to US saddle stitched issues – so you won’t find any graphic novel, anthology, or non-US covers here. And since comics from July 2009 to July 2010 weren’t eligible for the first attempt, I didn’t let them in this time either (but I do have a fun post for those ineligible covers coming up soon). As was true of the original list, the revised list continues to skew hard toward X-Men, badass chicks, some nostalgia and iconic imagery. What can I say? We all like what we like.

You can find the original 100 here, here, here, and here.

#015.

Catwoman 19. Javier Pulido. This Pulido cover looks like Cooke to me…but it’s not (see the update below) Regardless, what sells it for me, and why I think it belongs has more to do with this being a moment I have YEARNED for in comics, and that Pulido managed to turn it into a really iconic lasting image. The image of Batman and Catwoman, still masked, kissing on a cover is an image that will stay with me forever thanks to the iconic choices made here.

Update: I originally wrongly attributed this cover to Cooke…and honestly, if I tried 1,000 more times I’d still think it was Cooke’s work…but regardless it’s not and apologies to both Cooke and Pulido as well as to commenter Stuart that pointed out the error.

The cover it’s replacing? #95 – Kick-Ass #1 by John Romita Jr.

This was honestly the easiest cover to remove from list as I was never entirely convinced that it belonged there in the first place and I’m not personally a huge fan of John Romita Jr.’s style. It’s a solid cover, but does it belong on a 100 Favorites List? Not mine.

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Tags: 100 Favorite Comic Covers, 100 Great Comic Covers, San Deigo Comic Con, SDCC

Woman’s Eye View: Comics Week 7/14/10

July 15, 2010 in comic reviews, comics, DC Comics, marvel comics, vertigo, woman's eye view | 3 comments

The following is a selection of comics released this week (7/14/10)* that focus heavily on women in comics – whether that be characters, creators, or even readers.

The books are rated as BUY, TRADEWAIT, or SKIP.

This was a really ho-hum week, I guess something had to compensate for last week’s awesomeness.

*It should be noted that this list will focus on North American/English releases as that’s mostly what I have access to. Additionally, as I am in general unfamiliar with Manga, I will not be including Manga titles in my lists. For some great reviews and discussion of Manga titles I urge you to check out Danielle Leigh on CSBG.

Revolver by Matt Kindt came out this week, and while I wasn’t able to purchase it it’s definitely worth a look. Great premise and the artwork looks fantastic.

Additionally I am STILL looking for copies of The Last Unicorn #2 and Ghost Projekt #3 so that I can review them here, but I expect both to be BUYS based on excellent previous issues.

THE AVENGERS ACADEMY #2. Christos Gage (writer). Mike McKone (artist and cover). Jeromy Cox (colors). Marvel. 32 pages. $2.99.

This kind of snuck up on me this week as I was so let down by issue #1 I wasn’t expecting much here, but this was solid all around. The writing was good, the art was nice (except for the cover, which is very weird looking – what is up with Quicksilver’s head/torso?), and the storyline is taking a nice interesting turn. The issue focused mostly on Finesse and I feel like we got some unexpected surprises in that. The book still has a lot of female leads (Finesse, Veil, and Hazmat) and all of them wear super appropriate superhero gear, which is refreshing as all get out. The sole “problem” is Tigra’s string bikini…which gets more ridiculous and absurdly out of place with each issue. Time for a makeover Tigra! BUY.

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Woman’s Eye View: Comics Week 6/30/10

July 1, 2010 in comic reviews, comics, DC Comics, marvel comics, vertigo, woman's eye view | 14 comments

The following is a selection of comics released this week (6/30/10)* that focus heavily on women in comics – whether that be characters, creators, or even readers.

The books are rated as BUY, TRADEWAIT, or SKIP.

*It should be noted that this list will focus on North American/English releases as that’s mostly what I have access to. Additionally, as I am in general unfamiliar with Manga, I will not be including Manga titles in my lists. For some great reviews and discussion of Manga titles I urge you to check out Danielle Leigh on CSBG.

First off…Last week I should have mentioned Neil Young’s Greendale, the graphic novel by Joshua Dysart, Cliff Chiang, and Dave Stewart, which is excellent and most certainly a BUY. You can read a more detailed post about it and a preview, here.

Also, I was unable to pick up The Last Unicorn #2 this week. I suspect, based on The Last Unicorn #1 (and that incredible cover), that I’ll be marking that one as a buy…but we’ll have to wait for next week. My shop also didn’t have a copy of Ghost Projekt #3, which I’ve been enjoying and also suspect will be a buy…so expect that review and rating next week as well.

HERALDS #5 (of 5). Kathryn Immonen (writer). Tonci Zonjic and James Harren (art). Nathan Fairbairn and Antonio Fabela (colors). Jelena Djurdjevic (cover). Marve. 32 pages. $2.99

While I’m still a big fan of this mini-series, and it was some of the most fun I’ve had reading comics in a long while, I have to admit that the beginning was stronger than the ending. The first issue has such great humor and fun, but as we delved deeper into Nova/Frankie Ray/Frances the story became a bit unclear…especially for those of us that weren’t completely familiar with the story of Nova/Frankie Ray to begin with. Generally I feel a mini-series needs to be able to stand on its own, and I’m sure many readers would be left with a lot of questions here…and not the good ‘what happens next’ kind (although we do get to wonder that as well). Additionally, this issue is the weakest from an art perspective. Though Zonjic has more of the book and it’s excellent, some of Harren’s pages made it really hard to tell the ladies apart and made for some confusing reading. Also, though I am loathe to admit this, because I LOVE the cast, I think there were just too many awesome people in this book and the end result was that while it was a lot of fun, I didn’t care that much about Frances and her fate, so the necessary punch at the end is really missing. Too bad. I still rate this as a BUY for fun value alone, and if you haven’t been picking it up, I’d recommend getting the trade when it’s released. It’s not a perfect book, but it’s unlike almost anything on the shelves by the big two these days…and I support that and encourage it.

I stand by my desire to have an ongoing Heralds book helmed by Immonen and Zonjic. With either this cast, or a rotating cast of ladies…I don’t care. I think Immonen and Zonjic could deliver a monthly book that I’d adore. I certainly would buy (and blog) the hell out of it if this was a taste of what it could be.

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Woman’s Eye View: Comics Week 6/23/10

June 24, 2010 in comic reviews, comics, comics news, DC Comics, marvel comics, vertigo, woman's eye view | Permalink

The following is a selection of comics released this week (6/23/10)* that focus heavily on women in comics – whether that be characters, creators, or even readers.

The books are rated as BUY, TRADEWAIT, or SKIP.

*It should be noted that this list will focus on North American/English releases as that’s mostly what I have access to. Additionally, as I am in general unfamiliar with Manga, I will not be including Manga titles in my lists. For some great reviews and discussion of Manga titles I urge you to check out Danielle Leigh on CSBG.

Maybe it’s just the heat, but I found the comics pretty depressing this week…

AMERICAN VAMPIRE #4 Scott Snyder and Stephen King (writers). Rafael Albuquerque (art). Dave McCraig (colors). Vertigo. 40-pages. $3.99

This is still a good little book, but it’s the weakest of the story thus far. Pearl is still a solid female lead and though she’s a bit overly sexy in this issue, it’s mostly with purpose. I’m still going to list this as a BUY, but I hope the writing on the Snyder story gets back to business as usual as it felt a bit off/forced/cliche this time around. Tentative BUY, if only because the first three issues have been so strong.

HERALDS #4 (of 5). Kathryn Immonen (writer). Tonci Zonjic, Emma Rios, and James Harren (art). Nathan Fairbairn and Ronda Pattison (colors). Jelena Djurdjevic (cover). Marvel. 32-pages. $2.99

I guess we’re finding out why comics come out monthly and not weekly. Issue number one had one artist, issues two and three had two artists, and now issue four has three artists…I get it, drawing an entire book (and inking it) is time consuming…but it seems like they (Marvel) could have thought ahead a bit here so that we didn’t have to have SO MANY artists. Fortunately, Rios is quite good, so her addition here is not unwelcome…but it doesn’t help the overall cohesiveness of the book to have so many changing art styles running around unchecked. The artists all do their best…and it’s good work, but it IS a bit disjointed. The story is still working well enough for me, but it’s definitely a frustrating read to a degree if you don’t know much about Nova/Frankie Ray (which I don’t). The premise assumes a certain amount of knowledge of the character that I’m not sure is fair for a mini-series…I thought we’d get more details for those out of the loop as we moved along, but we’re almost done and those details seem unlikely to come. That said, it’s still the most fun reading I had this week, and it’s full of badass ladies that I almost never get to read about, doing their thing (although they do seem to need to get saved by Reed Richards in this issue…hrm.). BUY anyway.

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Woman’s Eye View: Comics Week 6/16/10

June 17, 2010 in comic reviews, comics, DC Comics, marvel comics, vertigo, wildstorm, woman's eye view | 5 comments

The following is a selection of comics released this week (6/16/10)* that focus heavily on women in comics – whether that be characters, creators, or even readers.

The books are rated as BUY, TRADEWAIT, or SKIP.

*It should be noted that this list will focus on North American/English releases as that’s mostly what I have access to. Additionally, as I am in general unfamiliar with Manga, I will not be including Manga titles in my lists. For some great reviews and discussion of Manga titles I urge you to check out Danielle Leigh on CSBG.

BIRDS OF PREY #2. Gail Simone (writer). Ed Benes and Adriana Melo (pencils). Ed Benes and Mariah Benes (inks). Nei Ruffino (colors). Ed Benes and Nei Ruffino (cover). DC. 32 Pages. $2.99

Ugh. What to say? I have to be honest. I don’t love this. I thought this issue was hands and feet above the last issue…which I really disliked. So that gives me hope that we’re at least headed in the right direction…but I’m very frustrated by this as it’s a book I WANT to love. Despite the fact that I worship at the altar of Gail Simone regularly, I had a lot of problems with her writing (and story/plotting) in the first issue…I feel like she’s back on her feet here though…a lot of strong character voices and some funny dialogue that really fits her style and the BoP style that she helped create, and while the issue is still action packed to say the least, she’s doing less than she tried to do in the first issue, which I think is good.

The problem with this issue is the art. I’m not a Benes fan to begin with, he’s very heavy with the male gaze and T&A, but I try to mentally prepare myself for that when I come into this book. But T&A aside, this just looked really rough to me…perhaps because there were two pencilers and two inkers…which makes it uneven at best to read. In addition it was overly dark and not well paced…the storytelling was often hard to follow and impossible to get invested in. I caught myself many times wondering how drastically different/better this book would be with a more consistent cleaner artist on it – preferably one that treads lightly on T&A – because when of your three main characters you have fishnets, a mini-skirt, hot pants, and a bare midriff between them you don’t need EXTRA T&A. I mean…CLIFF CHIANG. Imagine if Cliff Chiang was drawing this book…it would be like a whole new book! All that said, I am loathe to list this as a tradewait, because that’s how books get canceled and I’ve waited SO LONG FOR BOP TO COME BACK!!! So I can’t do it…I’m listing it as a BUY, but with heavy reservations. Support the book, hope that we get a new artist, that’s all I can say.

ETA: I should also mention that there is a lot of controversy over this issue because of the apparent death of a character…I know very little about that character and didn’t understand all the ramifications until now. I’m still a bit on the outside here, so am not going to make any judgments at this time, but I thought it should be noted that big percentage of readers are finding the issue very offensive.

BLACK WIDOW #3. Marjorie Liu (writer). Daniel Acuna (art). Marvel. 32 pages. $2.99.

This book, after a rough start out of the gate (mostly in the form of one really sexist cover and one slightly less sexist cover) is turning out FANTASTIC. I’ve been enjoying the story all along and both writing and interior art have been solid, but this issue really sold me. The art especially was stunning…completely gorgeous while also being paced well and good with action (and you need to be good with action when you’re having Black Widow and Elektra battle it out). Personally the colors are a bit dark for my tastes, but I can admit that the darkness fits both the character and tone of the story and it was still freaking beautiful. This is so far above and beyond the two Black Widow mini-series we got this past winter (one of which was far better than the other, but neither of which were impressive) that I was actually really sorry to learn this week that we have only two issues left with Liu and Acuna before we get a creative team switch. I don’t know why the change is happening but it strikes me as a bad idea…this is one of the best new books I’m reading…which is freaking hard to do in this market, especially with a female lead character. If you haven’t been reading this book, we’re still not that far in, so get on board. BUY.

DV8 #3 (of 8). Brian Wood (writer). Rebekah Isaacs (art). Carrie Strachan (colors). Fiona Staples (cover). Wildstorm. 32 pages. $2.99

Another excellent entry into Wood’s DV8 re-imagining. This issue focuses on Powerhaus (as pictured) and as such isn’t AS female focused as other issues have been (which is fine of course). The art by Issacs and Strachan remains top notch and Wood’s writing is strong and his pacing feels right on target to drive this story home with real satisfaction in the time we have left. I catch myself every month wishing this was an ongoing. Any chance of that Mr. Wood? BUY.

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James Jean & Fables

June 8, 2010 in art, artists, comics, comics news, james jean, vertigo | 6 comments

Wow. Thanks to following James Jean on twitter (@processrecess) I saw this pretty amazing Fables commercial that’s apparently been running on BBC America. James Jean’s visuals are somehow even more badass in this format, which is…unexpected.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ruCWzUWDFU&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0]

You can also watch it here on the Vertigo website.

And if you don’t know about James Jean…WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Learn more now. Even though he’s largely moved away from more commercial work toward fine art, and sadly no longer does the Fables covers, he’s still one of the most amazing artists working today.

And if you don’t know about Fables…WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Learn more now. And here’s a cool list I did for She Has No Head! about Ten Women Of Fables.

Woman’s Eye View: Comics Week 05/26/10

May 27, 2010 in comic reviews, comics, DC Comics, marvel comics, vertigo, woman's eye view | 6 comments

The following is a selection of comics released this week (5/26/10)* that focus heavily on women in comics – whether that be characters, creators, or even readers.

The books are rated as BUY, TRADEWAIT, or SKIP.

Tradewaiting, for the uninitiated, is the act of not buying individual issues of a comic as it releases, but rather waiting for them to be collected in a trade paperback form (aka TPB).

*It should be noted that this list will focus on North American/English releases as that’s mostly what I have access to. Additionally, as I am in general unfamiliar with Manga, I will not be including Manga titles in my lists. For some great reviews and discussion of Manga titles I urge you to check out Danielle Leigh on CSBG. I will do my best to include independent and graphic novel selections as they are released as well – but if I’ve missed something excellent feel free to let me know in the comments.

Here we go…

Dazzler (one-shot). Track 1: Jim McCann (writer). Kalman Andrasotszky and Ramon Perez (pencils). Rick Ketchem (inks). Jim Charalampidis (colors). Track 2: Jim McCann (writer). Francesca Ciregia (art). Cris Peter (colors). Marvel. 40 pages. $3.99.

I will admit upfront my bias against and dislike for Dazzler, which makes any story starring her an uphill battle. That said, I’m always looking for positive books featuring women, so despite my dislike of Dazzler I still hoped for the best. This is not the best. A frustrating and pointless story that really goes nowhere and ends quite unsatisfactorily. The art was not bad overall nor was the actual writing, but the plot was horribly weak. I much preferred the art in “track 2” by Ciregia, but it wasn’t enough to save a still weak story. Also bad in this tale is the objectification. Dazzler is falling out of her top from the cover all the way through the first story (which is the bulk of the book) the T&A lightens up considerably in Ciregia’s story, but it was too little, too late. SKIP.

Detective Comics #865 (Question Co-Feature). Greg Rucka (writer). Cully Hamner (art). Dave McCraig (colors). DC. 40 pages. $3.99.

Though Detective Comics no longer stars the excellent Batwoman, and is no longer written by the excellent Greg Rucka, the co-feature finishing out (I think this is the last installment?) remains excellent. The rest of the issue is not bad either, but I’m only going to talk about the 10 page co-feature here. Rucka writes Renee Montoya as The Question wonderfully (as he should, he “made” her) and this issue is no exception. He’s also been doing a great job with The Huntress for the last handful of issues and it’s nice (and sadly refreshing) to see such a great female friendship playing out sans bitchy drama. Cully Hamner and Dave McCraig continue to do an exceptional job with the art. BUY.

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Woman’s Eye View: Comics Week 05/19/10

May 21, 2010 in comic reviews, comics, comics news, DC Comics, image comics, marvel comics, vertigo, wildstorm, woman's eye view | 2 comments

The following is a selection of comics released this week (5/19/10)* that focus heavily on women in comics – whether that be characters, creators, or even readers.

The books are rated as BUY, TRADEWAIT, or SKIP.

Tradewaiting, for the uninitiated, is the act of not buying individual issues of a comic as it releases, but rather waiting for them to be collected in a trade paperback form (aka TPB).

*It should be noted that this list will focus on North American/English releases as that’s mostly what I have access to. Additionally, as I am in general unfamiliar with Manga, I will not be including Manga titles in my lists. For some great reviews and discussion of Manga titles I urge you to check out Danielle Leigh on CSBG. I will do my best to include independent and graphic novel selections as they are released as well – but if I’ve missed something excellent feel free to let me know in the comments.

Here we go…

Air #21. G. Willow Wilson (writer). M.K. Perker and Chris Chuckry (art). Vertigo. 32 pages. $2.99.

From a female positivity standpoint I really can’t fault this book, I never have to see crazy naked tits and ass and inane costumes and Amelia Earhart guest stars, which is pretty much awesome. However, I have never connected with the main character Blythe and she seems, despite G. Willow Wilson’s best efforts, flat and weak willed. Additionally, her obsession/relationship with Zayn never really worked for me emotionally. Also of note in this issue is that there’s a weird bathtub scene that, while not gratuitous just seems a little silly and unnecessary. Though I don’t particularly like this book, I have to give it credit for being a rare starring vehicle for a female character AND writer, and a book that tries to represent women well, so I’ll give it a TRADEWAIT.

American Vampire #3. Scott Snyder and Stephen King (writers). Rafael Albuquerque (art). Vertigo. 32 pages. $3.99.

The Stephen King and Scott Snyder series continues to be very interesting with its parallel stories about Pearl becoming an American Vampire, and how her maker Skinner Sweet first became one. Pearl is a great character that I look forward to reading every week, and the art by Rafael Albuquerque is excellent. This is one of my favorite new books, definitely get on board now. BUY

DV8 #2. (of 8). Brian Wood (writer). Rebekah Isaacs and Carrie Strachan (art). Fiona Staples (cover). Wildstorm. 32 pages. $2.99.

Brian Wood and Rebekah Isaacs’ excellent revamp of this old 90’s superhero team continues to be edgy, forward thinking, and interesting. The story is well-paced and beautifully illustrated and the covers by Fiona Staples are like a delicious cherry on top. If you want to read more about DV8, check out my detailed review on CSBG’s She Has No Head! BUY

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She Has No Head! – Ten Women Of Fables

February 22, 2010 in comics, comics should be good, CSBG, DC Comics, she has no head!, vertigo | Permalink

New She Has No Head! post is up on CSBG. Check it out. Thanks!

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