I’ve recently been fortunate enough to get in contact with a very close friend that I haven’t seen in a very long time. This was the friend that I found early on in high school solely because we were two of the only kids in our entire 2,000 person high school who read comics. After high school, our paths diverted. We occasionally talked, but really didn’t hear from each other much. Now, however, we’re both out of college, and he’s moved to my town, Columbus. Which brings me to the topic of this month’s column:
\"Catching Up On Comics\" or \"Required Reading\"
I first want to touch on something I focused on last month, the Millarworld.biz books. As I’m writing this (January 22), only two of the December-promised books have come out, and one of those just came out yesterday. According to comments from Millar on his site, the delays on The Unfunnies and Chosen are due to printer error, while the holdup on Run is caused by penciler Ashley Wood being late with his pencils. All are slated to be released before the end of January, so, we’ll see.
The one that I have seen, Wanted, didn’t exactly live up to my expectations. For the most part, it was an introduction to the players of the game. There was one cool action scene, but the rest was just examining Wesley Gibson\'s shitty life. The latter third of the story hinted that the miniseries would be picking up steam quickly, but the whole \"the father I didn’t know was a world-class super villain and I’ve inherited his powers\" schtick worries me. I haven’t been dissatisfied with any of Millar’s work so far. I just hope this isn’t the one that ruins it for me.
When is a superhero team not a superhero team?
When the superhero team is the Wildcats, and the series is Wildcats Volume 2. Taking place a couple of years after the first series ended, the Wildcats are scattered across the globe. The 28-issue run-- originally written by Scott Lobdell and taken over in issue eight by Joe Casey-- delves into the lives of these heroes/people as they try to cope with adapting to their post-superhero team life. Some have returned to their roots, while some seek to destroy them. However, in the end, none of them can ignore who they are or where they have been. While not uniting to fight the forces of evil, they all unite as friends.
The art of Travis Charest in the beginning is as phenomenal as anyone familiar with his work would come to expect, but the time it takes to produce such work is what killed the Lobdell/Charest run. I love the way Sean Phillips, who took over the artistic chores throughout the rest of the series, used his blacks within his pages, but there was always something about the way he drew that bothered me. No, wait-- looking back, the only character I have a problem with is Spartan. Everything else about his art is really cool. Spartan just always looks constipated or something.
Next, I need to sink my teeth into Wildcats Volume 3.
\"With a name like The Losers, how good can it be?\"
Someone needs to shove their foot up my ass!
If you want a suspenseful, action-packed book full of political intrigue, pick up the new H.R. Pufnstuf Annual. Yeah, right. Pick up The Losers, you moron! I swear to God, this book had me shocked. As with most comics starting off, I expected the first few issues to be exploring the team, getting to know everybody, and to be acquainted with the backstory on why this former black ops group had been turned on by the CIA, who then tried to kill them. No such luck! Within the first story arc, the entire status quo of the team is shaken up, and the background behind the team is shrouded in mystery. I praise the ground that Andy Diggle walks on for crafting what I rarely see in comics today: genuine suspense. I think it’s going to be a long and intense ride before we really know what\'s going on with these badass characters. You can check out more of what he’s done on his site.
Of course, I couldn’t end this train of thought without mentioning the art of the man simply known as \"Jock\". The graphic style of black placement he uses is becoming more and more common in the industry today. What’s not too common is the depth of emotion and characterization within the facial expressions and body language of the characters that Jock is proving to be a savant with. Even though the face of the enigmatic Cougar is shrouded in shadow, you can still feel the intensity of his telling glare reaching out to you. You have to see it to believe it. Also, he seems to revel in rendering technical equipment. Guns, vehicles, buildings, and the like. You can find more on Jock on Mr. Diggle’s site. I certainly look forward to checking out more of his work.
Okay, I think I’ve flooded your senses with enough information for today. I’ve still got a few more titles I want to rave about, but I’ll save those for another time. I\'m looking to come up with a cheesy tagline for my column, so give me some suggestions.
EMAIL J-MIL HERE.