Underwater Welder - More reasons to love Jeff Lemire

I promised myself last night that I would go on to Comixology and purchase a digital copy of Underwater Welder once my paycheck cleared. Well, it did and I did. I sat down with my Kindle tonight after having dinner with some friends and started reading. I am a pretty slow reader and I tend to linger on artwork for awhile, especially when I'm reading Jeff Lemire, but I couldn't stop and I completed the entire book and it's past my bedtime and I don't care because I need to talk about this. Jeff Lemire is dangerously good at sequential storytelling. What I mean by that is that I feel as though every time I read a Lemire written and drawn presentation, I am worried that he is peaking. I'm worried that someday, he will have gotten so good at pulling all of the right heart strings, that he won't have anywhere to go but down. How can he continue to create such moving literature? When the day comes that I put down a Jeff Lemire book and say it wasn't his best, I will stop reading comics.

How do we find ourselves caring so deeply for these characters? How can he tell a bigger story with a few splashes of ink than most artists can tell with their greatest collection of works? If I knew how he did it, I still couldn't hope to actually do it so beautifully.

I really don't want to give any details to this book in review form. You just have to experience it for yourself. The man just weaves miracles. It reminds me of Amelia from the comic Chew. She is a journalist who has the ability to write about food with such passion and detail, that the reader can actually feel the sensation of eating the food she's describing. Jeff Lemire has the power to magically pull us into his story and turn on an empathy that we weren't aware we were capable of.

There are no superheroes or space creatures or cybernetic dinosaurs or death rays in his tales, only realistic people with realistic skeletons in their closets. In a way, we must bare the weight of their world. You owe it to yourself to read everything that Jeff Lemire writes and illustrates. Sure, Animal Man, Frankenstein, and Justice League Dark are good mainstream comics, but I don't feel as if he is given the freedom to really pour his soul into these books.

Check out Underwater Welder, and if you haven't already, read Essex County, Lost Dogs, and his ongoing title Sweet Tooth. It will make you appreciate sequential storytelling in a brand new way.

Frankensein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #7

Ok, let me go on record as saying that I have alot of criticisms for this series thus far, and have completely ignored them in favor of just enjoying the hell out of it, but this last issue of Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE bothered me.

I love Jeff Lemire and pretty much red anything he writes )I'm finally caught up on Sweet Tooth!), and I love Alberto Ponticelli's gestural artwork. My problem with this issue is twofold. I found myself checking the title page several times to make sure that Ponticelli actually penciled this book, and decided that he was either sorely rushed or had a different inker and colorist. The visuals were horrible!

Now, understanding that half of the characters are of the undead persuasion, I risk saying that the pages lacked their usual life. The fact that this trend got progressively worse until the final awful page, tells me that, if Mr. Ponticelli pencils his pages in numerical order, that he was horribly behind schedule.

I could say the same for Batwoman #7, but that's another post entirely. I feel as though the New 52 is loosing steam rapidly, which is really bad for new DC readers. like myself, who were hit with a barrage of exciting new books and adventures, only to taper off after the first story arc. Which leads me to another irk of mine.

Many of the New 52 story arcs don't seem to stick the landing. When we get the trade, it will undoubtedly collect issues #1-6, per industry standard. If this is the first issue of the next story arc, it makes no damned sense. Sure they could collect #1-5 instead, but to hell with paying trade prices for five-issue books. I just bought a Sweet Tooth trade that was eight issues long. EIGHT ISSUES. That's getting your money's worth. I don't know how the New 52 trade structure will pan out, and for most of the books, I'm reading, I'm not sticking around any longer to find out.

I know that comics take time to create. I've taken 5 months to write one issue of my own comic, and it isn't even laid out yet! I don't work for DC, however. So When a monthly title delivers in its first 5 issues and starts to feel rushed in subsequent issues, I feel that it is a momentum that can't be kept and I won't keep reading it.

This issue was a mess from the start and a train wreck at the finish. It took only a few minutes to read, which tells me that the story didn't move much, and in those few minutes, it was a sloppy mucky-muck of muddy artwork. I know Jeff Lemire is a good writer. I also know that Alberto Ponticelli is a marvelous artist. So it makes sense that, togetehr, they should put out an enjoyable sequential story. Well, it seems to me that both of these talents were victims of scheduling. Clearly, the quality that we've seen from this book can't compete with DC's deadlines. maybe they were too busy slapping a new ugly logo on all their books to realize that they were compromising their craft.

It would break my heart to drop this book. I like the creators and want to support them, but there are other creators I respect that I chose not to support this last month, because preordered this hot mess. Publish a week late if you have to, but please publish work that is consistent with what you have shown us prior to this.

The New 52 is falling off the wagon.

I give Frankenstein: Agent of CRAP two lumpy inkers down.

FAIL DC. You have failed these creators.

Too Often or Not Enough - Episode 3

Changes to creative teams.
So, the breakout hit if the New 52 is getting a new artist. Travel Foreman is leaving Animal Man and Steve Pugh is making his return to the character. Now, I hadn't seen Pugh's artwork, so I had to look him up. I like his art, but I feel that Foreman's unique style is a big part of what cemented this title as a frontrunner. Now, I have faith in Jeff Lemire as a writer and I am certain that the book will continue to intrigue, but I feel that we have lost an extremely dynamic writer/artist duo. I understand that Travel Foreman is dealing with some loss in his personal life, and I can't fault him for getting burnt out, but it brings to mind other series that have drastically changed tone with the transition between artists.

Different artists aren't always a bad thing, and there needs to be change sometimes in order to get those memorable titles, but I find that we get changes too often. I miss the days that we would have one consistant artist for years. Here's some notable changes that have happened over the years that I feel have affected a comic for better or worse.

X-Men Volume 2 and Uncanny X-men

Now here is an interesting transition. Jim Lee had been drawing Uncanny for a long time and really defined the type of X-Men stories we got to see in the late 80's and early 90's. Then when the new X-men book arrived, it was easy to read, because Jim Lee was the artist. However, where we gained a great new book with great familiar art, what happened to to the original book? Uncanny X-Men #281. You know the cover. I has Jean and Storm and Colossus battling sentinels with art by Whilce Portacio. I sorry if I offend anyone, but I HATE this art. I dropped Journey Into Mystery when he came onboard halfway through Fear Itself. I really just can't look at it. I read adjectiveless X-Men exclusively at this point. It's kind of like what's happening now with Regenesis. I hate the art on Uncanny, and love it on Wolverine and the X-Men. To the point of hating the stories. It was supposed to be a brand new era, but it just falls flat.

X-Force 1991

Those of us in my particular age range remember the speculative days of the early 90's. When Rob Liefeld took over New Mutants, I'm sure it was an exciting new change. I fell for it, and it made sense that Rob would be drawing the book that replaced it, X-Force. I know it's easy to jump on the Liefeld hate train, so i will. Comics readers are going to look back on this era and wonder what the hell we were thinking. In any case, I was reading through my old X-Force collection and getting ready to swallow a bottle of pills, when I realized that the art takes a distinct turn around issue 20. I recognize this! Like, it looks like something from recent memory. This can't be. This is 90's X-Force! It is not something that should be appreciated artistically. So who is this mystery artist that saved this book from fading into crappy obscurity along with parachute pants and grunge? Only one of the best artists of today, who is getting praised by everyone for a book that is on everyone's radar from the New 52. I'm talking about Batman artist Greg Capullo. It was a time warp seeing his name on my 1993 X-Force comic. This is an example of an excellent change of art.

So, artistic change is not always a bad thing. I just feel like it is not always well planned. In the case of Animal Man, it's something that is a special case. The artist has personal things that need his attention, I understand. It just reminded me of the times when changes in art are editorial in nature. You don't go from Jim Lee to Whilce Portacio, and you do go from Rob Liefeld to Greg Capullo. Unfortunately, I don't think you can go anywhere from Travel Foreman. His style is too unique and perfectly suited to Jeff Lemire's Animal Man to avoid anxiety with his departure from the title. We'll miss you, Buddy(pun intended). FYI, as you all probably have heard, Trav can be followed over to Birds of Prey, so show your support and pick up his new book, but don't stop buying Animal Man, because Jeff Lemire is killing on that book. Also, put in your preorders for Frankenstein to keep it around for awhile because this is another example of how Lemire is a wonderful writer and I want him to continue to get work.

Comics that I am reading - Looking back at 2011

Since everyone who blogs or has a podcast has already gotten together their year-in-reviews for 2011, I decided to look at my current comic-reading habits and compare it to the same time last year. Since my blog is just over a year young, it should be pretty illuminating.
Here's a cross-section of my currently continuing comic conundrum:

Reading monthly:
DC
-Batwoman
-Animal Man
-Swamp Thing
-The Flash
-Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.

Marvel
-Daredevil
-Uncanny X-Force
-X-Factor
-Invincible Iron Man
-The Mighty Thor
-Venom
-The Defenders
-Wolverine and The X-Men

Other Publishers
-Chew (Image)
-Sweet Tooth (Vertigo)
-The Unwritten (Vertigo)
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW)

Considering reading in trade:
-Batman
-American Vampire
-Irredeemable
-Incorruptible
-The Boys
-Fables
-Amazing Spider-Man

On the chopping block:
-Uncanny X-Men
-Journey Into Mystery
-X-Men Legacy
-Wolverine
-Avengers
-Justice League Dark

 Flashback to a year ago. I was on the verge of completing my complete run of X-Men Vol 2 (Legacy) and now I'm about to drop the title unless something grand happens. I had recently subscribed to several Marvel comics, all of which are about to expire. I did not read any DC comics, and never thought that I would, but now I read several.. I pretty much exclusively read X-Men related books. I was ruthlessly opposed to digital comics and now I am starting to understand a place for them. I preferred to collect single back-issues as opposed to trades, and now I love buying trades. I blogged at least every other day, and now I save it for books that I really want to talk about.

I've read many comics this year, and I'd like to list a few things that made 2011 memorable for comics.

Writers of the Year:
Jeff Lemire - Sweet Tooth, Animal Man, Frankenstein
Matt Fraction - The Mighty Thor, Invincible Iron Man, Defenders, Fear Itself
Mike Carey - The Unwritten, X-Men Legacy
Rick Remender - Venom, X-Force (I know, I need to read Fear Agent)
Mark Waid - Daredevil (Haven't read Irredeemable/Incorruptible)
Jason Aaron - Wolverine, Wolverine and The X-Men (Haven't read Inc. Hulk)
Keiron Gillen - Journey Into Mystery, Generation Hope, Uncanny X-Men
Dan Slott: Amazing Spider-Man (I've missed the last 6 months)
Peter David - X-Factor

Winner: Gotta go with Rick Remender. His run on Uncanny X-Force has been unbelievable. The few Venom books I picked up were just as good. Gotta read Fear Agent, but I have a feeling that he(like Mike Carey) puts more into his creator-owned material than his Big Two work.

Artists of the Year:
Stuart Immonen - Fear Itself
Olivier Coipel - The Mighty Thor
Chris Bachalo - Wolverine and The X-Men
Jerome Opena/Esad Ribic - Uncanny X-Force
Daniel Acuna - Avengers, Wolverine

Marcos Martin - Daredevil
Stefano Caselli - Amazing Spider-Man, Venom
Humberto Ramos - Amazing Spider-Man
Francis Manapul - The Flash
Travel Foreman - Animal Man
J.H.Williams - Batwoman
Sal Larocca - Invincible Iron Man

Winner: A tough one. So many good artists, so many different styles. I'd say Jim Williams on Batwoman for realism and sense of compositional balance,  Trav Foreman Ramos for the abstract and gestural qualities of his work, and Marcos Martin and Francis Manapul are tied for incredible ingenuity and storytelling skill.

Best Series That I Started Reading This Year:
-Animal Man - Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman
-Swamp Thing - Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette
-The Mighty Thor - Matt Fraction and Olivier Coipel
-Wolverine and The X-Men - Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo
-The Flash - Brian Buccalleto and Francis Manapul
-Daredevil - Mark Waid and Marcos Martin
-The Unwritten - Mike Carey and Peter Gross
-Uncanny X-Force - Rick Remender, Jerome Opena, Esad Ribic
-Invincible Iron Man - Matt Fraction and Sal Larocca
-Sweet Tooth - Jeff Lemire and Jeff Lemire
-Journey Into Mystery - Keiron Gillen and various artists

Winner: Another tough one. I'd say the series that surprised me the most was Animal Man. The series that I knew I'd have some vested interest in, but was completely blown away by was X-Force.

Worst Comics I Read This Year:
-Teen Titans #1 - Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth
-The Dark Knight #1 - Paul Jenkins, David Finch
-Uncanny X-Men #1 and #2 - Keiron Gillen and some generic asshole
-Prelude to Schism #1 - Paul Jenkins and Roberto De La Torre
-Wolverine #1-#13 and 15 - Jason Aaron and Renato Guedes
-Age of X Universe #1-#2 - Simon Spurrier and Khoi Pham
-Avengers #16-17 - Brian Bendis and John Romita Jr

Winner: I think all of these are equal losers. Teen Titans #1 was like reading a used piece of toilet paper. The Dark Knight #1 was  like reading an Image comic from 1994, or a used piece of toilet paper. Uncanny X-Men Reloaded is verily disappointing, even though Keiron Gillen, who I respect as a good writer, is in charge of this title. Prelude to Schism was entirely pointless and I don't know why it happened or what came of it. The first 13 issues of Wolverine were bad only because they were so melodramatic and it took way too long to redeem itself on issue 14 only to let me down again with that 'We love you Wolverine' story in #15. After that, the series started getting awesome. Also, the ones in which Nightcrawler was in were good, too, mostly because of Daniel Acuna. Age of X Universe was a bad 2-shot for an almost as bad crossover. Avengers #16 and 17 were too Brian Bendis-y with the 'interview style' of talking head storytelling. It's got its place, but I feel that Bendis is known for this and overuses it.

Best Trade I Read This Year:
-Vol 1-4 of the Unwritten
-Vol 1 of Fables
-Vol 1 of Chew
-Vol 2 of Runaways
-Batwoman Elegy
-Astonishing X-Men Vol 1-4

All of these were good, and I am continuing with every series.

That's the big stuff for my 2011. Hit me up with some of your favorites!

Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE #1

The relaunch of the DC universe has given me, like many other Marvel readers, an ultimatum to finally stop hiding within my comfort zone and try something new. It's the kind of excitement I remember from being an eleven-year-old discovering that there are comics out there for virtually every genre and having a thirst for new books. Since I have very rudimentary knowledge of even the big name DC characters, this is all new for me.

Case in point, Frankenstein:AoS is another book that sounded outside of the mainstream DCU and right up my alley. It's another Jeff Lemire book, so I had high hopes since he blew me away with Animal Man. I've seen Alberto Ponticelli's artwork in Unknown Soldier and looked forward to the high-energy, gestural quality of his work, and he doesn't disappoint.

Basically, the plot is this. Frankenstein is an agent in a clandestine government agency that deals with threats of the super powered kind that seem to be infernal in nature. He is assisted by a vampire, a werewolf, a mummy, and a fish creature. Now, you may be thinking that this sounds slightly like Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. Well, it's exactly like that. I don't think that's a bad thing. I love Hellboy and I love the genre that it falls into, So we make Hellboy green and call him Frankenstein. So what? It's fun!

It's monsters being recruited to fight monsters. I don't need to defend it. Now, if any of you know of some titles that might tie into this one, let me know. Personally, I prefer books that are stand-alone tales, but I have Daredevil and X-Factor in case this doesn't pan out.

I give Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE #1 two broken horns of Anung un Rama up for enjoyability, and one rocky red thumb to the side for creativity.

Animal Man - My first New 52 book

Animal Man is the first book I've picked up from the New 52 and it was the one that was the most appealing to me due to the 'everyman' approach to the character. I like superheroes being accessible in that way.

The intro interview page made me think of Alan Moore's articles in the beginning of every Watchmen issue. I feel that Jeff Lemire has become a very mindful writer and really captures the humanity of the character, which is a very good approach considering he's Animal Man. Buddy balances having extraordinary powers with his family life. Not a topic we haven't seen in comics a hundred times, but it is written in a way that presents itself as fresh and new.

Yes, Buddy was a superhero. Yes he fights crime. What he does that is unique is struggle with feelings of sadness for the people committing the crimes that he is stepping in to stop. A gunman is in a children's ward of the hospital and is demanding to see his dead daughter of whom he is sure is still alive and the hospital is hiding her. Buddy doesn't smash through a wall and beat the guy up. Sure, he knocks the guy into a wall, but only after trying to talk him down and relate to him using his own children as an example. Then he tells the man that everything's going to be ok. It's this desperate need to help people without resorting to violence that makes this story intriguing. Maybe it's just written and paced extremely well.

The artwork by Travel Foreman doesn't hurt the story one bit, either. The realism and motion in his lines are something I have not seen very often in comics. It's simple, yet every contour that is on the page is relevant.

So many people reviewing this book have undoubtedly spent time talking about the dream sequence, so I'll only say a few things. Red is the only color used. The rest is in black and white only. This is significant to lead up to the entity that shows itself in the dream.

The visuals are striking and disturbing. This book has a distinct horror note to it. Which is nice. I haven't read a horror book in a long while. Let's not forget that many of the first comics of the Golden Age were horror stories. I honestly can't wait for the second issue and I hope that this book stays in print for a long time. with the same creative team.

I give Animal Man #1 two enthusiastic wags of a skeletal tail up.