Indie Corner - 01/07/2015

Each week I'll spotlight a couple independent books I've read and may have flown under people's radar.

THE PRIVATE EYE v1

I picked up the first issue when it first came out.  Then, just as I do with webcomics, immediately forgot about it.  Some months later, the first collection came out.  I was excited, purchased it, and immediately forgot about it once again.  In preparing for a recent trip, I loaded up my tablet with some comics, happy for the chance (read: excuse) to read them.  This was among them.

I could explain what's happening, but would rather new readers discover them as the story unfolds. It's written by Brian K Vaughan, and I shouldn't have to tell you what else he's done.  I'm not going to say, "It's like Saga!" because it's not.  But if you like his work, I recommend checking this out.  The series can be purchased "for any price you think is fair" from http://panelsyndicate.com.  Issue 9 came out in early December and the upcoming issue 10 will be the series finale.  I imagine there will then be a second collection, which I will purchase, and read in a more timely fashion.

Afterlife with Archie

AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE v1

Warning: this collects only the first five issues of the series. There are more, and you will want to read them.

I'd never read an issue of Archie before. Growing up, if it didn't have Spider-Man, I wasn't interested.  By the time I grew out of that phase, I was much to cool for Archie, or anything that didn't have a bunch of pouches and big shoulder pads.  By the time my tastes had matured further, Archie has among the farthest from my mind.  Then the last couple of years happened.  Suddenly, I'm reading about Archie on a regular basis, both the comic company and the various series themselves.  Seemingly everyone says they're good.  I'm surprised and generally confused, but still don't bite.  Then Comixology's 12 Days of Free Comics happens in December, and I get the first issue of the series for free.  I think, "Cool.  I'll check this out someday to see what all the hype is about."  Fast forward to last week when I'm on vacation and load up the first issue during a moment of downtime.  I bought the collection before I'd finished reading that first issue.  The series is good.  Really good.  Trust me.

I genuinely meant to talk about the writing and art, but I'd honestly rather you just experience it yourself while reading.  And I hope you do.

LUMBERJANES 1

My origin story for Lumberjanes is much the same as Afterlife With Archie: kept hearing good things, picked up the first issue free, and was instantly impressed.  The story centers on five members of the Lumberjanes, a rough Girl Scouts equivalent.  They quickly get into some shenanigans and spend the rest of the issue dealing with the fallout from that.  There's very little I can say here to convey the fun and highly enjoyable nature of the first issue.  I recommend anyone remotely interested pick up the first issue or even just glance at some preview pages.  

The first trade is out in April, which I eagerly await.  You can expect to hear from me again about this series at that time.

CRIMINAL MACABRE v1

I can't recall which I read first, 30 Days of Night or the Savage Membrane, the first Cal MacDonald novel.  Either way, I was an instant fan of Steve Niles' work.  I really enjoyed the Cal MacDonald novels but was slow to follow Cal when he transitioned comics.  By the time I had, there was a confusing number of collection and no clear reading order (for some reason, I didn't bother consulting Wikipedia for the answer).

A short while back I picked up a code from Steve Niles on Facebook for a Criminal Macabre digital bundle.  In the lead-up to this trip, I downloaded a bunch of issues (checking Wikipedia this time!) and was happy to find Cal still the drug-addled monster hunter he always has been.

The book doe an excellent job of introducing Cal, his supporting cast, and the greater world, so this is a great jumping on point.  Recommended for anyone missing the old-school Constantine from Hellblazer.

SHAOLIN COWBOY TPB

The collection that came out in December is the earlier series - with the horse and the baby - and not the more recent series with zombies.  Those descriptions should be vague enough to avoid spoilers but enough information for anyone that's read one or both series to know which I'm talking about.  I didn't pre-order because I couldn't tell from the solicitation which story was in this book.  It's my understanding, I was not alone in my confusion.  I hope this clears things up.

It's weird that I could write a paragraph to describe which series this collects, yet struggle to describe the book itself.  Those familiar with the work might sympathize.  Darrow's work really needs to be seen - it's incredible and incredibly detailed.  Working as his own writer as well, he's unleashed to draw anything he wants.  What he manages to produce is simply one of the craziest comics I've ever seen or read.  While I can't recommend it for everyone, I will recommend it for anyone looking to trying something new.

Indie Corner - 10/02/13

Each week I'll spotlight a couple independent books I've read and may have flown under people's radar.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 26

If you're not reading the Villains micro series, or really any of the micro series, you're missing out.  While the cover says issue 26, it's really more like 40 with the two micro series factored in.  The two go hand-in-hand, immediately evident by fallout from the Hun issue in the opening pages, and later, a reference to the Donatello issue.

The Foot are making moves while everyone else is merely making plans and gearing up.  Leo gives us hope that he'll soon break the reconditioning that has made him a follower of Shredder.  Angel hints at change and internal strife within the Purple Dragons, stemming from the events of Hun.  Mike checks in with an old friend and gets a possible lead on Leo and the Foot's whereabouts.  Donnie checks in with an old friend of his own, and with the help of April, acquires some tech that will aid in their assault on Shredder.  The Foot attack and devastate an unprepared Savate, though Karai grows increasingly insubordinate.  Splinter begrudgingly works with Old Hob, to further Hob's plans, in return for his help when Splinter and the Turtles attempt a rescue of Leo.  And Raph sees Casey in the hospital, easing Raph's guilt over what happened that put Casey there.

That's a lot to cover in a single issue, but all of it flows well together and is a natural extension of the preceding issues.  Nearly every cast member makes an appearance, all with their own goals and agendas.  No room for slouches here.  All of it gorgeously illustrated by Mateus Santolouco, one of the new favorite artists.  It's my understanding he'll be the main artist for the series through issue 50, and I couldn't be happier.

WILD BLUE YONDER 2

My newest favorite series.  If I could have one favorite series for each week of the month, I'd be in comic heaven.  I don't know what sales are like, but I haven't seen anyone talking about this except +Bleeding Cool.  I'd easily recommend this to all kinds of people, especially fans of anime.  It has that feel to it.

Anyway, in the book, we managed wreak most of the face of the Earth through war and nuclear weapons, and now people live in fleets of planes in the sky, or mountain tops.  Great writing, fantastic art, and I really don't have anything else to say except to please try this book.

RAT QUEENS 1

Kurtis J. Wiebe is someone whose work I have an interest in.  Debris was great, though I wish the series were an ongoing instead of a mini series.  Peter Panzerfaust is amazing.  If you haven't checked it out, you definitely should.  I've heard great things about Green Wake, and I may even own it, though I haven't read it yet.  And Grim Leaper was great, with an added bonus that it was drawn by a friend of mine.  So I'll try anything new from him based on his past work.  But this didn't grab me.

Rat Queens is a fantasy book starring four women known for their destructive tendencies.  Mildly reminiscent of Northlanders, but only in the sense that there are non-modern characters speaking like they are modern characters.  Overall, it gave me the sense of trying too hard to be something it's not.  I recommend Peter Panzerfaust instead.

JUPITER'S LEGACY 3

The beginning and the end.  Things come to a head for all members of The Upotian's family.  Issue four will jump ahead nine years, so we can see the fallout from decisions made here, and I'm looking forward to seeing just how screwed up things become.  While I'm generally not a Millar fan, Quitely could illustrate and instruction manual and I'd want to read it.  This feels like Millar might be maturing.  While he still goes for the occasional shock value, this isn't as immediately offensive as something like Wanted or Nemesis.  I'm looking forward to seeing what happens, not only in the future, but back on that island all those years ago.

CRIMINAL MACABRE: THE EYES OF FRANKENSTEIN 1

Niles and Mitten are back for the latest mini series - The Eyes of Frankenstein.  Christopher Mitten does an excellent job crafting the dark world Cal inhabits, with colors by Michelle Madsen adding a wonderful touch that's missing from some of Mitten's black-and-white work.

The re-cap on the credits page covers a good amount of ground people unfamiliar with Cal will need to jump into the series.  The only things left out are the recreational drug use and Cal's current state as a sort-of ghoul, though this gets touched on within the comic itself.

Preview pages for this issue involve Cal meeting Frankenstein's monster, whom is going blind.  But this is actually the end of the issue.  Prior to this, we're shown two additional situations Cal will have to deal with, though he's only aware of one.  Needless to say, Cal's going to have his hands full.  It's a great start to the series, and I know I'll be along for the ride.

SAGA 14

I read this a few days ago, and was just flipping through it again now trying to figure out what to write when I saw "Royal Baby Bump?" on a TV in the background of a panel.  This is why I love the book.  Saga is a story of imperfect people trying to live their lives as best they can, with gorgeous, expressive art by Fiona Staples, set against an incredible sci-fi backdrop.  With sometimes hilariously ridiculous things, like flying sharks and a baby seal in overalls harvesting plants, and tiny background details you may not even see the first time you read it.  You either get it or you don't.

THE INVINCIBLE HAGGARD WEST

Final issue!  Also the first.  The credits page reveals that "This is an limited-edition sneak peek of the first book of Battling Boy." A few weeks back, my shop had a preview copy of Battling Boy which reminded me I had missed this when it was published back in July.  This is Pope at his best.  The characters and world immediately come alive, and the story isn't just read and seen, but felt.  If I weren't already looking forward to Battling Boy, this issue would have done the job.