Comic of the Week: Conan the Barbarian #1 is a Fitting Successor to Past Conan Comics

January 07, 2019 by d. emerson eddy in Comic of the Week

Conan the Barbarian #1 was released 1/2/2019. — **Conan the Barbarian #1** was released 1/2/2019.

By d. emerson eddy — Know, oh prince, that there would come a day that Marvel would regain the license to Robert E. Howard's Cimmerian...

Conan, as a property, is near and dear to my heart. Dog-eared copies of some of the old Ace paperbacks were among my favorite things to read as a kid. They filled me with a sense of wonder and sparked my imagination in regards to mythology, archaeology, and history, having a lasting effects that endures to this day. Later, I got into Marvel's Conan comics, mostly under the Epic imprint, but I normally took to Conan as a prose literary experience.

It wasn't really until Dark Horse took over the license—and began publishing the beautiful series from Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord, as well as reprinting those early Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith stories—that I really began to appreciate the comics experience more. Timothy Truman, Cullen Bunn, P. Craig Russell, Kelley Jones, Greg Ruth, and countless other creators tapped back into that sense of wonder I had as a kid and reignited a passion for Conan and his world. (I also highly recommend checking out The Conan Reader this week from Dark Horse that collects a wide cross-section of some of their best in a thick volume.)

It made me wonder, though, about Marvel regaining the license. Would it be as good as what Dark Horse had accomplished?

I don't know what the future holds, but this first issue is off to a good start. The artwork from Mahmud Asrar and Matthew Wilson is beautiful. Capturing the action, violence, and feel of Conan perfectly. There's a weight and a grit to Conan, the background characters, and the world conveyed through the artwork that enhances the atmosphere of the story, especially during the fight scenes. You feel and hear the chunk of the axe and the slash of the sword, which I think is interesting since there are no accompanying sound effects like you'd normal see here. That seems to be a testament to how powerful Asrar's line art is in representing the action.

Which is not to say that Travis Lanham is absent throughout the book; he's given a lot of dialogue and narration to tackle, just that most of the sound is left to the art. Lanham's lettering definitely captures the spirit of an old tale from the Nemedian Chronicles in appearance.

And then there's the plot and execution of the text of the story. To my mind, Jason Aaron was born to write Conan comics and it shows in this first issue. It's rich in lore without being side-tracked by too much explanation. It's the right kind of wordy, being dense in narration and dialogue, but not feeling over-written, cramped, or cluttered. It's not quite the same style as Roy Thomas, or Howard himself, but that's the general feel.

It jumps between two different time periods, connected by a dead god and a witch, and it feels like it gives a holistic view of two of the major time periods of Conan's history, as a pit fighter starting out and then as a king, while building something larger. It's a good introduction to Conan and tells an interesting story in its own right. I'm very intrigued as to where Aaron, Asrar, Wilson, and Lanham take this.

Conan the Barbarian #1
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Mahmud Asrar
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $4.99

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d. emerson eddy is a student and writer of things. He fell in love with comics during Moore, Bissette, & Totleben's run on Swamp Thing and it has been a torrid affair ever since. His madness typically manifests itself on twitter @93418.

Comic of the Week: Klaus and the Crying Snowman #1 is another holiday gift from Morrison, Mora, Dukeshire

December 24, 2018 by d. emerson eddy in Comic of the Week

Klaus and the Crying Snowman #1 is our 12/19 comic of the week. — **Klaus and the Crying Snowman #1** is our 12/19 comic of the week.

By d. emerson eddy -- Grant Morrison, Dan Mora, and Ed Dukeshire's Klaus began life as a mini-series in 2015, introducing a take on Santa Claus that was more evocative of old Germanic mythology as filtered through a kind of superhero meets fantasy lens. I'd almost say it's similar to what Marvel did originally when they reimagined Thor, but somewhat more magical and heartfelt. That series outlines his origin, humanity, and path to immortality as he fought for his friends and family to keep light and joy in the world. Since that original series, the creative team have been delivering a present of a new Klaus one-shot every year, (that can be enjoyed on their own without having read anything else), Klaus and the Crying Snowman now being the third.

Grant Morrison is probably best known for throwing big ideas, outlandish eccentric and hitherto unthought of propositions, out in his comics as if they were candy. His larger-than-life epics tend to get a lot of the spotlight, but personally I find when he's quiet, he's most compelling. When he mixes a childlike sense of wonder with heartfelt adversity and the human condition, I've found he's created his best works in All-Star Superman and Joe the Barbarian. That spirit is what typifies Klaus and again in Klaus and the Crying Snowman. There's the bombast and action of Klaus and Sam taking on the Tree-Clops and the terrors of Titan, to capture the imagination, or the idea of a number of Santa-themed heroes representing different cultures powered by belief, but the heart of the story is Sam's struggle. Of being a snowman created by a son who misses his father.

Bringing the magic to life is Dan Mora, who is criminally unheralded in the industry as of yet. His artwork is gorgeous, his layouts and designs phenomenal, and use of color amazing. He has a style that has hints of the Kuberts, some Stuart Immonen, Sean Murphy, and Russell Dauterman, even a little bit of Walt Simonson, but combines into a look all his own, both detailed and refined. The design for Sam the Snowman alone is wonderful, keeping a simple core body and traditional face, but adding a flair with his scarf and unique visual when it comes to his arms made from branches. And he draws the best wolves.

Ed Dukeshire rounds out the team, providing some great lettering work. The fonts and word balloons for Sam, the Yule-Goat, and Surtur all get a unique appearance, giving an appropriate feel to their voices. Sam's white on blue narration boxes are also a nice touch.

Overall, Klaus and the Crying Snowman captures what I feel is the spirit of the Yuletide. Not the crass commercialism of modern society, nor the overly religious trappings of an observing Christian Christmas, but a sense of wonder, a sense of family, and belonging. It appeals to the kid in all of us that just wants to be safe and warm, surrounded by joy and wonder. That's magic.

Klaus and the Crying Snowman #1
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Dan Mora
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Price: $7.99

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Comic of the Week: Black Hammer Cthu-Louise, an Original Idea in a World of Homage

December 17, 2018 by d. emerson eddy in Comic of the Week

Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise is out now. — **Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise** is out now.

By d. emerson eddy — For a few years now Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston, along with a host of other talented collaborators, have been building a universe at Dark Horse in Black Hammer, founded on a deep love for Silver Age comics, paying homage to many of the characters and characteristics of that era. The series began as a kind of mystery about the disappearance of a Justice League analogue, but quickly spiralled out into spin-off series, including a far-flung future with teen heroes and a focus on one of Black Hammer's arch-enemies and his legion of villains. It was in this spin-off, Sherlock Frankenstein & The Legion of Evil, that we first met Chtu-Lou, and his cute little daughter, Cthu-Louise.

While the homages to the Silver Age Justice League, Legion of Super-Heroes, Legion of Doom, Vertigo, and beyond are wonderful, reading through The Quantum Age #5 this week as well got me wondering if the Black Hammer universe would work as well without the pastiches and homages to DC Comics. For my money, yes. I actually find that the non-homage, original characters and story elements are even more impressive. Such is Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise, a one-shot from Jeff Lemire, Emi Lennox, Dave Stewart, and Todd Klein.

This story plays hard into one of Lemire's favorite themes, the importance of family, but it does so from a unique perspective. Louise doesn't have a loving family. Her father, Lou, was a super-villain, and now is just a lazy, abusive father taking out his frustration on his relatively innocent daughter, who is only looking for love and acceptance. Her mother is absent most of the time, working, but is equally emotionally abusive to Louise. When you add the problems she has at school due to her monstrous appearance, Cthu-Louise doesn't have an easy life. But she does have her “grandfather”, the elder god who granted her father his powers and thereby hers, and it's interesting how Lemire massages this into an “Eye of the Beholder”-type story.

Lemire's Plutona collaborator, Emi Lenox, handles the line art for this story and, combined with the greens and purples of Dave Stewart's colors, presents a fairly light-hearted, cartoon-like style. It works well for Louise's age, giving it a colorful, deceptively-simple appearance, covering the darkness beneath the surface.

On top of that, the lettering from the legendary Todd Klein adds overall to the feel of the story, giving us some unique fonts and word balloons for Cthu-Louise, Cthu-Lou, and her grandfather. It's particularly interesting the gradation of the word balloons that the style of Cthu-Louise and Cthu-Lou's is about halfway between the normal human balloons and that used by her grandfather. It's a subtle way of showing that Cthu-Louise is an intermediary between normal and the beyond.

Overall, this is an excellent comic that shows the possibilities of the Black Hammer world outside of the main narrative, that the universe itself has legs of its own, and that the characters within it can carry a story without necessarily working within the meta-narrative of Silver Age homage and nostalgia (even if Cthu-Louise herself is a twist on a Lovecraftian pastiche). Lemire, Lenox, Stewart, and Klein give us a story that stands on its own tentacles.

Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Emi Lenox
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letters: Todd Klein
Publisher: Dark Horse
Price: $3.99

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Comic of the Week: Wizard Beach #1 is an under-the-radar debut that deserves attention

December 10, 2018 by d. emerson eddy in Comic of the Week

Wizard Beach #1 is out 12/5. — **Wizard Beach #1** is out 12/5.

By d. emerson eddy — This week has seen a fair number of incredible debuts, end-loading the year with some great reads like Die, The Freeze, and Self/Made from Image, Martian Manhunter and Shazam from DC Comics, and Killmonger and Winter Soldier from Marvel. Any one of those could be considered a phenomenal read this week, and you shouldn't be disappointed. From flights of fantasy to intrigue thriller, intellectual science fiction to lighthearted superhero family drama—these comics have you covered, and I can wholeheartedly recommend any of them. But there's one debut this week that may have flown under the radar and deserves your attention, Wizard Beach #1 from BOOM! Studios.

The main draw for me here is the line art from Conor Nolan. I first noticed his art earlier this year when he was working on Bedtime Games from Dark Horse (with Nick Keller, Kelly Fitzpatrick, and John J. Hill), and the artwork just captivated me. Nolan has a style that looks highly influenced by artists like Bernie Wrightson and early Sam Kieth, with maybe a little Eric Powell, presenting highly detailed, but highly exaggerated artwork that works incredibly well for horror, but now also here for humorous fantasy. Nolan's work tends towards a more refined, almost cartoon-like approach for this story, with a fairly clean fresh-faced design for our main protagonist, Hexley Ragbottom, amidst the scruffier cast of characters.

Joining Nolan to tell the tale is Shaun Simon (previously of Art Ops and True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys) and what we get here is a very unique take on wizarding and a world of magic. Often times in these sorts of things, we'll have an upstart young wizard looking to upend the rules and forge his or her own way, but not so here. Instead we get the reverse. Hexley wants to see a return to the days of old when wizards were powerful and respectable, in part to halt the end of the world and the decline of magic, and also out of what feels like responsibility to his heritage. When his father refuses to help, he searches out his uncle, Salazar, who, much to Hexley's dismay, is a beach bum. It's a very funny reversal of roles and leads to some rather unique predicaments even in this first issue.

Rounding out the creative team are Meg Casey's wonderful colors, presenting an amazing darkness in the opening battles between wizards and monsters, then changing to the brighter atmosphere of the wizard beach itself. And Mike Fiorentino embellishing upon the designs on the page with a nice flair for some of the chapter headings and newspaper articles, giving even the lettering a feel of blending the natures of both a magical and a mundane world.

Overall, this isn't the type of story you'd necessarily expect. It's at turns humorous and irreverent, and plays with some entrenched fantasy themes, turning them on their ear. Simon, Nolan, Casey, and Fiorentino have the beginning to something different here, something different and also something highly entertaining.

Wizard Beach #1 (of 5)
Writer: Shaun Simon
Artist: Conor Nolan
Colorist: Meg Casey
Letterer: Mike Fiorentino
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Price: $3.99

Comic of the Week: Marvel 2-in-One #12

December 03, 2018 by d. emerson eddy in Comic of the Week

Marvel 2-in-One concludes this week, and what a wonderful ride it has been. — **Marvel 2-in-One** concludes this week, and what a wonderful ride it has been.

By d. emerson eddy — All good things come to an end. That's the reason why The Simpsons is currently in season 30 while Futurama was allowed to go into that good night twice. For the past year or so, Chip Zdarsky has been writing one of the best Fantastic Four series not to be called by that title, aided by artists like Jim Cheung, Valerio Schiti, Declan Shalvey, and finally for the latter half of the series' run Ramón Pérez. Marvel 2-In-One represented the heart and soul of the Fantastic Four team as Ben and Johnny travelled the multiverse to find their missing family. In many ways, the heart was broken and the soul was crushed as Johnny found that Ben had been lying to him about the rest of them being alive, and later the broader sense of Reed and Sue lying to them both.

This has been a good year for Chip Zdarsky Marvel tales, with him proving repeatedly on Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man and Marvel 2-In-One that he could deliver highly emotional, introspective character pieces. He could guide us into the heads of some of our favourite heroes and let us know how they tick. He does so here again with this series finale, letting us in on the raging tempest inside Johnny Storm, as he and his sister hash it out. First through retail therapy, then a confrontation with the Mole Man and Rachna Koul tying up a couple loose ends from earlier in the series. It's only been in this title where the larger complications of Reed, Sue, and the kids being off on their adventure have been addressed in any sort of meaningful, mature manner, and it has been magnificently accomplished.

It took me some time to come around to Ramón Pérez's slightly different style on this series than his previous thinner and cleaner lines on titles like Nova, but the style here grew on me. The darker, heavier lines worked well on the beaten-down world run by a villainous Spider-Man, continuing to give weight to the emotional situations between Reed & Ben last issue and Sue & Johnny this issue. With Federico Blee's colours, there's a certain bleak feel to the art that works incredibly well for the frustration and disappointment that feels for what amounts to a betrayal from the rest of his family.

Overall, this has been a thought-provoking, heart-wrenching ride, dealing with what it means to be a member of this fantastical family and what happens when there are impediments in the way for that family to function to its fullest. Chip Zdarsky has handled the hard questions and messy emotions of having your family let you down here, but he reminds us at the end that they're still a family, and that families are at their best when they stick together.

Marvel 2-In-One #12
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Ramón Pérez
Colourist: Federico Blee
Letters: VC's Joe Caramagna
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99

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Comic of the Week: Go-Bots #1 is a great example of nostalgia done well

November 26, 2018 by d. emerson eddy in Comic of the Week

Go-Bots #1 is the Comic of the Week for 11/21. — **Go-Bots #1** is the Comic of the Week for 11/21.

By d. emerson eddy — Nostalgia sells. Memories of your youth, precious moments from your childhood. Especially among geeks. It's one of the reasons why you see so many reboots and remakes of favorite childhood properties like Transformers, She-Ra, and Ghostbusters. It's also often a cynical move on the part of intellectual property holders in order to play a safe bet, but that's a different argument for a different time. Right now, it's about nostalgia.

This week, IDW's Transformers mainline continuity came to an end with Optimus Prime #25. While it grew out of a nostalgia for Marvel Comics' Transformers title, especially with Simon Furman writing, it soared off on its own path, creating a brave new continuity. Although Optimus Prime was an end, IDW also launched a new beginning featuring other robots in disguise, this week’s Go-Bots #1.

The Go-Bots were like the Transformers, technically predating them, featuring robots that transformed into vehicles the same way, along with some that became rocks. Yes, robots that turned into rocks. I had a few of both the regular Go-Bots when I was a kid, as well as a couple Rock Lords, so you could kind of say that this new comics series is aimed at people like me and my feelings of nostalgia.

In more recent years, the Go-Bots became part of the Transformers franchise in various forms. Most in a type of mini-car vehicles utilizing the names but not their original designs, this series from writer/artist Tom Scioli takes us back to the originals.

Scioli is probably best known for his Kirby-esque art on Godland with Joe Casey, but he’s also garnered attention for the ‘80s cartoon inspired Transformers vs. GI Joe for IDW that featured a style similar to this. He gives this series an incredible attention to detail, making this feel like a dated product, from the art style to color reproduction, the faded yellows and browns making the pages feel old, and the little bits and pieces of ‘80s pop culture references that might not even be noticed if you weren't already familiar with them. It's a fun trip down memory lane.

Yet, beyond that, Scioli still makes this a highly entertaining story. If it were just nostalgia, it would likely be fairly empty, but there's a depth to the storytelling that works independently. He introduces us to the major players like Leader-1 working for the military, Turbo and Cy-Kill in the racing and illegal robot combat arena scenes, and every day bots like Scooter who are just fulfilling their function for their doting human companions. Scioli presents a dense tale of a world made better by the Go-Bots, and, in this first issue, a hint of what might happen should their morality chips malfunction.

Overall, this is a fun comic with great art that revels in some of the ridiculousness of the source material (the clever names like Cy-Kill or the new character T. Coriander Banks) while still being enjoyable and comprehensible for new readers.

Go-Bots #1
Writer, Artist, & Letterer: Tom Scioli
Publisher: IDW
Price: $3.99