Archaic Spider-Man Reviews: Number 62

Wow, sorry guys. This is a whole week late; but my scanner is up and running again now, and just in time for the final showdown with the Kingpin. Peter's been promising that he will kill Wilson Fisk for a couple of issues now, and I continue to approach this concept with a mixture of disbelief and amusement. Still, he looks pretty into it at the start of slot 1 (Back in Black part 4)...

WHY ISN'T HE WEARING ANY CLOTHES? Let's just hope he's not that naked after the jump.

The basic idea here is that it isn't Spider-Man who is going to have vengeance and kill Fisk, but rather Peter, so he's taken off the mask and shirt. I just wish his black trousers didn't make him look so much like shadowy naked guy in the picture above. The actual fight with Fisk is pretty cool, because it isn't really two people fighting, more Peter beating the shit out of Fisk. He's eerily silent for the first few clashes, taking Fisk apart with lethal precision. Peter then makes the same point I made last week about Fisk having no real capabilities beyond his massive ego, though he puts it more eloquently than I. Anyway, the fight culminates in a pretty badass moment

'You keep talking like a bitch, I'm gonna slap you like a bitch'

Let's just ignore the fact Peter seems to be picking Fisk up by his skin and just enjoy this emasculation of an evil man. This could only really get better if it finished with a soul punch.

Well, Fisk lies bloodied and defeated on the floor. Now all that remains is for Peter to finally take vengeance like he's been saying, right? Of course not, because this is shaping up to be a typical redemption story - hero falls, hero starts violating his own rules, hero approaches ultimate violation of said rules, hero has a change of heart, hero throws Emperor Palpatine over the balcony into the core of the Death Star... Anyway, here's how Peter rationalizes not killing Fisk.

Yeah, I totally believe you.

That's most of the first slot right there in that fight, so there's not really much to review. It ends with Pete and MJ watching over May as she sleeps. They're running out of money, but I've run out of comic, so time to give Eddie Brock cancer!

Slot 2 is The Last Temptation of Eddie Brock: Part 1. Eddie Brock? I thought he was dead from the terminal cancer he got way back when he sold off the Venom symbiote. In fact, in that arc (the first from Marvel Knights: Spider-Man) Brock slit his wrists! He should be dead twice over. Instead, he's just in a pretty, creepy splash page with a skewed panel order.

I could get into this after all.

Brock is crazy, or tripping from his medication, or part of Venom is still hanging around. Whatever the reason, this is quite a cool concept, because Venom's voice is like an aspect of Brock's mind now; compelling him to act and giving him strength. He spots MJ, who has been visiting May, who thanks to the God of comics just happens to be in the same hospital. MJ has been feeling survivor's guilt for not taking the bullet that hit May. A fair point really, and it would certainly please Max, who really hates her. I simply don't get her appeal.

Meanwhile, Peter does something filling before going to visit Madame Web. There's a clever moment here where Peter explains the whole situation to Web and asks her to perform a kind of séance for May. Web is a precognitive psychic, and has already agreed to his proposal; so talking to her is shown to be basically unnecessary. That said, I bet she sure is lonely; she seems to spend her days sitting in her Spider-Chair, waiting for people to turn up and ask for help. Poor lady.

In the last few pages, Brock's inner Venom has been browbeating him into attacking the Parkers. Brock has ordered a black Spidey suit to wear, for no real reason. What, do companies just mail out costumes to anyone that wants one? If this kind of service exists, why does Peter often complain that his suit smells bad or is falling to pieces? He can just buy a new one from the Gap!

Slot 3 is the conclusion of Sandblasted, and Spidey, Sandman and a random pothead are tracking down an impostor Uncle Ben using the helmet they found last ish. There's a nice odd-trio vibe to this, as they compete to be the best characters from Scooby Doo and then squabble about directions. It's not like they have to track down a killer before an innocent man gets electrocuted by the state... Speaking of which, Sandy's dad is getting his date with the chair fast-tracked to that same night. Barring some kind of Deus Ex Machina, it seems hopeless for him. *Snigger*.

They track the Ben killer to Midtown High, and the helmet asks Pete what kind of justice to administer, to which he replies 'poetic justice'. I just know this is going to go wrong. Sandy and Spidey run into the building and find the target; the school principle. All is not as it seems, however, as the 'principle' soon shifts into Sandman, and then Spider-Man 2211. Turns out, this is the Chameleon from 2211. Still, i'm sure he's an ok person really. Oh shit, I made him mad!

The rare shiny red Gyarados!

I'm not sure if this makes me want to play Pokémon, Starcraft or Warhammer. Needless to say, Chameleon 2211 is some kind of big red... thing, but he's only in this form for a few panels before Peter decides it would be a good idea to yank the helmet onto the alien's head and order it to administer justice. And... he's exactly right, because this somehow swaps the Chameleon with Sandman's father just before the electric chair was activated. That's such a bullshit, pulled-out-of-ass ending to a reasonable strip! How can the helmet teleport people? When was this explained? Why didn't the helmet just teleport Spider-Man to the school in the first place? Come to think of it, what will Spidey do with the helmet now? It's far too useful to not use again.

Actually, what was the Chameleon 2211's motive for all this? Was he just trying fuck things up for a few people in a really minor way? Framing one lowlife crook and then hiding for a while is not a grand master plan. This just leaves too many questions unanswered and unanswerable.


Well, that was AstonSpid numbah 62. Next Issue, Spidey protects May from Eddie Brock, discovers the truth about Miss Arrow and takes on the law. Till then, g'night.

Flip The Page Review: Lockjaw & The Pet Avengers #4 (of 4)

"Hey Max, you can TOTALLY keep up with a reviews blog without it becoming difficult. Who knows maybe you'll do some awesome planned video reviews and successfully build yourself up as a minor thing on the internet worth reading!" said my inner hope.

"Fuck off, you won't update on time and all you'll do is minor news and reviews, no-one will read them and you'll constantly hate on yourself and whinge, which is something you'll never change. Now shut the fuck up and keep reviewing until someone notices and plugs you, rocketing you to a hit count of more than 6 recurring readers." reality utters in response.

"Great now I'm miserable, what am I gonna do about THAT?!" the inner hope responds as it shrivels and DIES.

"Read Lockjaw & The Pet Avengers, it's fucking awesome."

"Oh yeah man I love that!"

[/satire]

HIT THE JUMP NOW YOU'VE REALISED I'M NOT BEING SERIOUS!


Now that THAT horrible attempt at humourous writing is over I can actually address the comic in question. Lockjaw & The Pet Avengers is a brilliant limited series by classic letterer and unfunny Franklin Richards strip creator Chris Eliopoulos and awesome Marvel Adventures artist Ig Guara. It's been a ray of light in a sea of Avengers overexposure, reminding everyone that a Bendis-less Avengers series is a much cheerier and satisfying one (see Dan Slott's Mighty Avengers for further evidence of this).

It might sound like I'm singing the praises of this series a bit much, but it is genuinely brilliant and astoundingly original. The writing is a great insight into the attitudes of animals exposed to the world of superheroes and indeed into the personalities of the eternal background characters that are animal sidekicks. Could anyone say that they even wanted to know these things prior to this series coming out? I didn't, but now I wish we got this insight into all the minor aspects of the Marvel U. Bring on "Chrysler Building & The Architecture Avengers"!

(wow, what a poor quality image)

The art is Ig Guara. I don't know much about the person but Guara could well become one of the best artists for Marvel in a few years. Seriously, place Guara on The Initiative. It's a match made in heaven.

Well my mood is slightly enhanced by all this now so on with the moments.

1. The face-off you never knew you were waiting for!

There's something decidedly epic about Thanos, a character who has WIPED OUT HALF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE, facing off with a group of animals, of which only 4 of which can really be said to have anything resembling powers. But really it's the fresh amount of colours and how decidedly nonplussed Obama's dog Bo is in the hands of such a monstrosity. A flippin' moment and no mistake.

2. Alas Ms. Lion, I knew him well...

This moment actually made me go 'OH SH-' so loud my cat actually got startled. That's how much this stood out as I was going through the comic. Of course being kid-friendly they couldn't kill the mascot of the team (or the Rick Jones as the role is officially know... Wait he's died at some point I think.. Well he got better) so we go from this moment of epic, containing the best animal reaction faces in a Marvel comic, to...

3. THIS is why Niels is my favourite character of the team!

There's not much I can say here. Sure it's Niels showing he cared about Ms. Lion which is a nice moment but really it all comes down to one thing: AWESOME USE OF CRYSTAL. Which of course means it all gets vair pretty and colourful, which is one of the many great things to Lockjaw & The Pet Avengers.

4. "Oh yeah, we haven't ACTUALLY named the team yet!"

In no way does this feel slightly shunted in at the last minute. Not at all. A little... A fair bit. But we forgive it simply because The Pet Avengers are awesome.

5. "OOH AND WE SHOULD TOTALLY MAKE THEM BE ALL AWESOME AND ASSEMBLE LIKE THE REAL AVENGERS!"

FUCK. YEAH.

6. I'MMA CHARGIN MAH LAZOR!

Okay it's coming from his collar but tell me that doesn't look like a shoop da woop. Gets your attention with the sheer awesome. Perhaps this is the start of an epic battle that will span the universe.

7. Lockjaw's really GOING PLACES! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OH I'M SO FUNNY!

Ah cool it is. How vibrant and interesting and awesome it is. Honestly if you haven't stopped reading to buy the fucking comic by now you best be waiting on the Hardcover!

8. Lockjaw's kinda like a really hairy multicoloured lantern

Wait, am I just stretching out the previous moment to make it seem even more awesome?

... Yes. Yes I am.

9. The Light Fantastic

PRETTY!

10. A perfect ending to a great comic

It really is. Corny as fuck, sure but it really is a great way to round out this corny limited series. If only it was getting a full ongoing...

OH WAIT IT TOTALLY IS!

Honestly you won't find a comic more worth your time this year (except perhaps Nomad: Girl Without A World, but that's obvious) and if you haven't looked at it yet hopefully this review will make you check it out in preperation for the hardcover out in October.


Next up: A brief idea of the history of Flip The Page. Wait what we have a history? Well I certainly do with the title of this blog. It's brief and uninteresting and certainly nothing to do with western comics and may well just be about manga.

Flip The Page Review: Incredible Hercules #132

I. LOVE. HERCULES.

Not literally, that would involve a large amount of combining reality with myth, marvel comics and potentially time travel failing the marvel part. No, I'm talking particularly of the comic THE INCREDIBLE HERCULES, a series that has not yet managed to be anything other than hilarious and awesome since it replaced The Incredible Hulk post-World War Hulk. Heck, the Sacred Invasion arc is the highlight of Secret Invasion!

So as such I decided to review the latest issue, the start of 'THE REPLACEMENT THOR' arc. Sure it's a week old now but it took a while to get round to doing it.

HIT THE JUMP TO READ THE REVIEW ALONG WITH MAYBE 2 OR 3 OTHER READERS OR SOMETHING!


When this arc was first announced a fair few people were skeptical, especially those who just refuse to fathom how Gods can exist from both Norse and Greek mythology, let alone cross over as such. I however am first to cry foul of people not suspending disbelief in a world with a man who can climb shit and a young boy who can make ENTIRE OTHER PLANETS, and as such embraced my beloved beardy-man's new guise with great love in my heart and I can say with my head held high that I was 100% right and.... That it doesn't really matter anyway.

The writing is Greg Pak (whose work on Planet Hulk and World War Hulk stands up there with some of Peter David's legendary 12 year run) and Fred Van Lente. If that last name didn't make you groan then you obviously haven't read enough of my posts here. Van Lente is one of many writers who in time will be the best in the business, if not of all time then certainly for the future. The double-team of these names have managed to churn out a comic with no weak issues yet, and this one is no exception, written as tightly as... a..... tight.... piece of writing?

... I'm not sure what happened there, so let's move on to the art.

Before talking about Reilly Brown's stellar pencils I have to bring up Rafael Albuquerque's cover, which I should have taken a right turn at (Bugs Bunny jokes are lame, I know shut up). It's a truly eye-catching and beautiful piece of art and if it doesn't make this issue sell like a motherfucker I will be beyond words with shock. Reilly Brown only improves upon this with some vibrant and enticing pencils in the actual issue and knocks me away with some of the best visuals this side of artists like Mike Allred, Stuart Immonen, Kyle Hotz and Amanda Conner. Wait is there another artist I wanna suck up to?.... Humberto Ramos. Yeah, now I've namedropped enough.

TIME FOR THE MOMENTS TIME NOW YES?

1. Thor's Origin Riffed To Hell

Because if YOU were the much more awesome Hercules you too would take the piss out of Thor's weak-ass origin. Hilarious as hell and grabs ya, much like the Agents of Atlas recaps have been doing until recently.

2. Ugly Bird People In Your Grill (Or Ripping Off Your Roof)

Nice to see that harpy things have the common decency for good comic timing (Hercules having just regaled Zeus with how he is the favourite son and no longer looked at him as an incompetent buffoon after the recent hell arc thing). Ugly things, but make for an interesting image that touches your goolies in nice ways.... Let's pretend I said something cooler there.

3. Balder The..... Brave?

"Oh I'm Balder the brave, look how brave I am running like a sissy from some monster things! Waaaaaaah" or something. Still looks awesome and despite how it isn't REALLY Balder it IS nice to see him in his pre-ragnorok clothes.

4. Explosions Are Cool!!!!!!

Some superheroes would have a convoluted and drawn out plan to deal with a monster. Hercules just hits it WITH A FUCKING CAR! Awesome. And Pretty. Oh yeah gotta sound like a critic... BOOM WHEEE EXPLOSIONS!

5. This Is A Page With Some Weather. Which Is Awesome.

I hate child characters, but Reilly Brown has made me want a poster of this page. Seriously if anyone can hook me up with something like that let me know. Also of note: the whole replacement Thor thing works out ever so well with the Zeus the THUNDER GOD hanging around. It's almost too convenient...

6. Like A Hammer, But A Mace!

I've always been fond of Hercules' mace, so perhaps this flippin' moment gets some bias from me, but it really stands out, along with most of the gold-framed pages, and has the most childlike glee on Herc's face since....

Oh GOD, the legendary grin he gave Amadeus when the young lad was totally scoring! THE HORROR!

7. Inside The (text) Box

"Okay," I hear you say. "It looks nice and epic, but then it's just a text heavy big panel." No. No it isn't. It's a very VERY small text box hidden away:

I love these things, especially one as self-congratulatory as this. You stop for the big picture and then see the text box and you're hooked; This comic must be yours.

8. SCIENCE!

Dream Amadeus cameo ALMOST makes up for him being absent this issue (which sure, is a plotline but fuck that I want me some genius stuff as well as boneheaded hilarity!). Probably the comedy highlight this issue, but I'm indecisive and not very competent at this whole critic thing.

9. Malekith The A-wha?

"I'M SO FUCKING EVIL THAT WHEN I REVEAL WHO I AM TO NO-ONE IN PARTICULAR THAT I HAVE TO RIP UP MY MAGICALLY CREATED DISGUISE! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

If this is serious it's so awful. If it's a delightful parody of how villains often pull this shit then it's GENIUS.

10. Next Issue's Cover

Okay this is a cheat. But c'mon, floating brains attacking Amadeus? AWESOME!

And that's the moments. All in all a great issue packed to the gills with awesome. I don't think I could say anything that negative about it other than that it loses some points for having Hercules on his own for the current arc (well, he's with Zeus but fuck him). The Amadeus arc may well suffer in the same way. We'll see.

Rating:

Flippin' MUST BUY!




God knows what's next. More reviews? Quick-fire? Solicits? Top Ten Writers? Could be anything. But you can bet one thing: IT'LL PROBABLY BE LATE!

Astonishing Flashbacks: The Death of Jean DeWolff, by Tim

Way back in the first volume of AstonSpid, Peter David's arc 'The Death of Jean DeWolff' (originally run in Spectacular Spider-Man in the mid 80's) was featured in issues 26-29. I only started collecting AstonSpid at around issue 120, and so I was only just really getting in to Spider-Man in general. As such, I first came at this story 'blind'; I had read very little before it and was unaware of the story's reputation as one of the best arcs going.

Well, it turns out that Death of Jean DeWolff is... one of the best arcs going. Seriously, unlike The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man, this story genuinely deserves the praise given to it. Hit the jump to see what I mean.



First thing's first; the synopsis. A mysterious gunman named Sin-Eater begins a series of attacks, killing police Captain Jean DeWolff and other representatives of justice and order, including a friend of Matt Murdock (Daredevil). Spidey secures the co-operation of the detective in charge of the case, and starts to track down Sin-Eater. Meanwhile, one of Aunt May's friends is brutally mugged, and Peter is disgusted by Murdock's legal defense of the attackers. When a good friend of Murdock's gets killed, he begins his own investigation.

One of the things that really stands out about this arc is the tone it sets and maintains throughout. Here's an example; the first three pages of comic. Go on, click this and read it.

Reading those pages four years ago, I had no knowledge of who Jean DeWolff was or what she was like; I had never heard of her. Despite this, there's something about the way Peter David has this dying woman narrate her life, as it flashes before her eyes, that is arrestingly powerful. The tragic optimism, in DeWolff's last thoughts, stands out in particular. This dark tone is not cliched or over bearing, but rather engrossing.

The arc evolves into a meditation on justice, morality, anger and retribution. The conflict between Spider-Man and Daredevil is juxtaposed with the internal conflicts of each hero. Spidey has difficulty detaching himself from the case because of his grief for DeWolff's death, while Daredevil wrestles with his need to preserve his secret identity, which interferes with helping people.

Added to this is the Sin-Eater, a masked man with a shotgun who is on a mission to kill those that he perceives as having abused their power. Despite his fairly goofy outfit, he's actually an unusually realistic villain; rather than a giggling super-powered goon holding New York to ransom, he's just an insane serial killer, who shoots and runs. This villain could, without any major changes, exist in our world; and that makes him genuinly chilling.

This is an excellent arc and a very good story, with hardly a panel out of place. It's also readily available, having been collected as a trade. If you're a spidey fan who hasn't read it, seriously do, because rarely is Spider-Man done this well.

Flip The Page Review: Black Panther #7

Wow, so I finally got around to reviewing this, a week and a half after I ACTUALLY WANTED TO. Still I loved this series' opening arc and still have great enthusiasm for reviewing this, so here's a belated and pointless crack at BLACK PANTHER #7 by Jonathan Maberry, Reginald Hudlin & Will Conrad!

HIT THE JUMP FOR THE BLACK PANTHERY GOODNESS!


Prior to this renumbering/reboot I had little to no interest in Black Panther save the Civil War and Secret Invasion storylines, brushing it off as a cult thing or some such. That all changed with the first arc of this iteration of Black Panther however, with some genuinely clever choices in writing. Taking T'challa out of the picture and giving someone else a new struggle (in this case his sister Shuri), accepting and being accepted as the Black Panther... You just wouldn't imagine it ever being done, and the execution just makes it all the more amazing to the reader. This reboot worked by changing EVERYTHING.

The question here is "Is it still as good now the creative team's changed up?" and the answer is a resounding... Not really. It's still a good comic, but it's had so much taken away from it. But enough of me being vague and a poor critic, let's review this thing!

My first gripe is the art. Jumping from Ken Lashley to Will Conrad is a jarring process. I mean to say nothing bad of Conrad, who is in fact a pretty good artist, but Lashley was the PERFECT artist for the job. With Conrad you still get some great action and emotive scenes sure, but you also get some fucked up faces and small flaws that make you feel kind of sad. So still good, but not AS good, and that hurts.

The writing is problematic. This issue is apparently Hudlin handing over to Maberry but however I read this it seems like Hudlin wasn't involved at all. All that occurred and developed Shuri in the first 6 issues suddenly seems inconsequential and she's become a self-assured snark like any other 'important public persona' hero. But then this didn't have much time to enter her head this issue so it could just be how it seems.

Now we're past that ON WITH THE MOMENTS!

1. Heartfelt Off The Bat

There's something great about opening on something that actually MATTERS, or isn't just a continuation of some lame cliffhanger like most comics tend to be (yes, even at the start of new arcs). In this case we get a bit of fallout from the first arc combined with a look at T'challa's humanity. It's just a small piece of him looking sad at graves whilst in a wheelchair, but it works enough to remind you he's not just an overhyped guy who used to wear a black suit.

2. I AM (not) WAKANDAN! AND I AM ALONE IN A ROOM WRITING A TITLE FOR A FLIPPIN' MOMENT!

Another case of rejecting standard comic junk is this one page spread (where there'd normally be a two page ya see. Marvel ain't inventive). But that's not important. This is an almost iconic image, a new ruler before her people, showing they can overcome the tragedy that just recently plagued them. Powerful stuff. Though I am tempted to moan about how I preferred Shuri when she was all pathetic and less overconfident. Wait, I'm pretty sure I brought that up earlier anyway... I'll leave now.

3. Obam-again

Okay so this is technically an Obama cameo that makes some sense but still, OVEREXPOSURE MUCH?! That and the expression on Shuri JUST below the panel in question scares the shit out of me. Still a moment's a moment and people would buy it for this, so [/gripe]

4. Wait, didn't the Thunderbolts do this sorta thing YEARS ago?

Seriously, this is the highlight emotive moment of the whole thing, showing the struggle T'challa has to go through, his intent on his poor state of health not holding him back... I mean... WOW. AND YET I CAN'T SHAKE THE FACT THAT THIS STUFF WAS BETTER WHEN JOLT WAS DOING IT BACK IN THUNDERBOLTS YEARS AGO! Can't find a scan of it sadly so take my word at face value. Great moment, done better by someone else. That or I cared more then... Ya know what let's just pretend we never had this conversation.

5. The Black Panther's FUCKING AWESOME

What? She is!

6. T'challa: Still Pimping After All These Years

So more of his lady people appear for some purpose... I don't really care that much in the end, this issue was weak and didn't leave me wanting. But T'CHALLA IS THE BOOM KING! He gets all the ladies!

And that's issue 7 of Black Panther. It's by no means bad, just incredibly weak by the standards of this new iteration. I'll still check it out next month and probably for long after that, but I can't honestly say it'll ever match those first 6 issues.

With that all in mind, here's the rating:

READ IT?

Next up: Incredible Hercules #132

Astonishing Flashbacks: The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man, by Tim

Although I have only been reviewing the title for a few issues, I have about 80 Astonishing Spider-Mans in a big box in my room. This collection holds many of my personal favorite Spider-Tales, and some of the most lauded stories ever written and drawn about the web-slinger. As such, I am trying out an idea for a new, irregular column featuring notably famous, good or awful strips from my old comics - Astonishing Flashbacks.

The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man is one of the most popular and best loved tales in the entire Spider-Man/Peter Parker franchise of comics. I was aware of it's existence before I read it, and when I saw that it would be in AstonSpid #23 back in Feb-Mar of '08, I was reasonably excited. Well, hit the jump to see what I thought back then, and still think now.

This is a human interest story that relies on readers associating with the boy who is finally meeting his idol, Spider-Man. I can relate very easily to the kid above; a geek called Tim (and hates being called Timmy) who loves Star Wars and Spider-Man sums me up quite well as a nine-year-old. No problems there, and the art by Ron Frenz is serviceable at the least, though a little of it's time.

So why don't I enjoy this story? It's not badly written, and uses a clever framing device; but it's just not interesting. Peter explains his origin and powers to Tim, and beats himself up yet again for being indirectly responsible for the death of Uncle Ben; this is painted by numbers, boring dwelling on a story that has been told hundreds of times. The story gains some vitality when Peter takes off his mask and lets Tim see his face, and this is almost a touching moment, but it is ruined by the revelation that Tim is dying of leukemia. This just makes Peter seem callous and calculating, which adds to the artificial feel of the whole strip. And yes, cancer is awful, but introducing a nice young child over the course of 11 pages then suddenly giving them terminal cancer as a surprise ending isn't compassionate writing; it's puerile hackwork.

This story is not awful, but it's also nowhere near good, let alone one of the greatest Spidey stories around. It's a fairly boring story with an ill-conceived ending that was only ever intended as filler for a Thunderball arc that ran short; and the fact that story that is so sentimental without earning it is lauded as one of the greats is a bit of a shame; there are so many better stories out there. I still encourage you to read it if you haven't before; and if you have read it, look over it again with these criticisms in mind. After that, if you disagree, just nail my nadgers to the bedpost in the comment section; that's what it's for!

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1910 review, by Tim

Myself and a group of merry young fools were in Waterstones, killing time before going to see Public Enemies (Soundbite review - Not so much a biopic about Dillinger as a fairly good movie about a guy who was a bit like Dillinger). Since the most/only interesting place in Waterstones, for me, is the graphic novel section, that is where I headed; and we were leafing through the comics, making snarky comments, when I stumbled upon this.

Let me get one thing straight: Alan Moore is, in my opinion, probably the greatest writer in the English language, ever. Feel free to hoot in derision in the comment section, but every single thing he has written is brilliant, and that's not something I can say about any other writer (including Shakespeare, who wrote an awful lot of crap). Moore has created some of the greatest and most interesting characters ever written, from Rorshach to V to William Withey Gull (ok, Gull was a real man, but go and read From Hell anyway; it's like a massive What If for the Ripper murders of 1888). In addition, Moore is very good at taking existing character's (e.g. Superman in For the Man who has Everything; The Joker in Killing Joke) and making them much more interesting.

This is the thrust of Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series; he has created a world in which the characters from all his favorite novels, plays and films all exist and interact. To someone like me (i.e. oblivious to a fair percentage of the references), reading the series is a bit like following Moore on a strange journey through vaguely familiar settings and characters.

If this kind of world intrigues you, then read on past the jump to the review proper, in which I have a look at the latest offering.


Century: 1910 is the first part of Volume III of the League. At the end of the last proper story, several members died or left, leaving only Mina Murray (Aka Mina Harker, hero of Bram Stoker's Dracula) and her lover Allan Quartermain (from H. Rider Haggard's novel King Solomon's Mines). Since then it was revealed in Black Dossier (as in implied then steadily verified) that they have both gained immortality after bathing in the pillar of fire from, Wikipedia tells me, another Haggard book called She. Allan is certainly looking more chipper.

It was also briefly explained in the Dossier that Mina and Allan have recruited replacement team members to get back up to a team of five. Hawley Griffin, the invisible man, is replaced by A.J. Raffles, a definitely visable thief created by E. W. Hornung, brother in law of Conan Doyle who seems, according to the wiki article at least, to have been taking the piss out of Sherlock Holmes somewhat. Another Sherlockian character added is Thomas Carnacki, a supernatural detective created by William Hope Hodgson, who investigates hauntings and, in this story, has terrifying visions of the future.

The new powerhouse of the team is Orlando, an immortal whose gender is subject to change. Moore created Orlando from some half dozen different characters going by that name written by different writers at different times, because Moore is a fucking genius. Orlando has fought in almost every major war in history, and as such has become exceedingly good at killing, wielding the legendary sword Excalibur.

While the team investigate one of Carnacki's visions, Jack MacHeath arrives at the docks and starts slitting throats. He is Jack the Ripper, a descendant of MacHeath (Mack the Knife) from John Gay's The Beggar's Opera. He sings a variation of the song Mack the Knife from Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weil's The Threepenny Opera which is an adaptation of The Beggar's Opera... I have read a few of Brecht's works, but never read or seen either of the operas, so if this is confusing for you, dear reader, you are not alone. As this is going on, we are also introduced to Janni Dakkar, daughter of Prince Dakkar or Captain Nemo. She wants nothing to do with her father, and while he is on his deathbed she stows away on a liner bound for London.

Events take an exciting turn when... Actually, I'm not going to spoil the whole story like I do with AstonSpid, because it's far more likely that one of you reading will want to buy this comic for yourself, and you really ought to. While it is by no means universally accepted that Moore is the best comic writer going, it is indisputable that he is one of the greats, and he is producing work that is just as good as it ever has been. If your experience of the comic/graphic novel is limited to Marvel or just super-heroes in general, works of Moore like The League are excellent stepping stones onto more diverse grounds of subject. Moore's stories usually have a super-hero element, but are far more complex and, indeed, real, then the usual comic fare. Did I mention that he's also the greatest writer in English ever?

As far as art goes, one of Moore's most prolific collaborators Kevin O'Neill demonstrates superb skill. There's a splash page near the closing of the novel that is utterly beautiful (and fairly bloody). I can count the number of artists at O'Neill's level on one hand; John Romita Jr, Eddie Cambell, the late Mike Wieringo and maybe Bob Kane... The point is, this is a worthwhile purchase for the art alone.

To conclude, I really ought to be paid by the marketing department at Top Shelf and Knockabout (the publishers). That said, this article is very late; Max isn't the only lazy writer on this blog. Regardless, I heartily encourage you to buy this comic, especially if you have enjoyed previous work by Moore (and O'Neill). The League is probably my favorite comic series (unless one counts serial work e.g. Spider-Man) and is well worth a look for any comic fan; especially those readers who may have outgrown certain output.
Flippin' BUY IT.

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES!

So, I'm sure that some of none of you have spotted one small change to the site, Mainly because It's unnoticable at present. The thing in question is simply enough the addition of another writer: Tim!

He's here to provide a fortnightly feature reviewing the Paninininini comics mag-thing ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN. Something that will not only provide great insight into the UK marvel scene (we're WAY behind) but also be a great retrospect for anyone who's read these stories in the past.

... and for the UK people it'll be a good review thing. That too.

So we welcome Tim (yeah his name is so much snappier than Flip The Page shut up) and you'll see his contributions soon!