Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Pick 3 Graphic Novels/Trade Paperbacks For This Week

Pick 3 Graphic Novels/Trade Paperbacks For This Week

This is the part where I pick 3 graphic novels/trade paperbacks and give them a grade. You'll probably mostly see B's and C's because I don't normally read books I don't like and I don't really think there are that many out there that you gotta own/read. I'm going to ignore the obvious ones, Watchmen and Dark Knight, although I will probably eventually get around to the sequel to Dark Knight and maybe the Absolute Edition. Also, since I'm randomly selecting these books for review, I'm probably picking books I have at hand, so mostly new books and there are probably more of the ones I like lying around.

In no particular order:

1. All-Star Superman Volumes 1 & 2 - A+ - Why? Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Almost anything by these two is a must buy.

This series particularly is a look back on the Pre Crisis Superman taking what worked, and taking what didn't work and making it work. Grant Morrison also pulls in elements from the DC 1,000,000 event in the late 90's. It's Grant Morrison, so there are a million ideas on each page. He doesn't hold back. Frank Quitely does storytelling like nobody's business and he does it with such detail that it makes you squirm. I am always reminded of one page from Big Guy & Rusty the Boy Robot by Geoff Darrow or even Shaolin Cowboy, when I see the detail in a Quitely page and that's no small comparison.

I'd actually read Superman every month if this was what it was like. Most of the issues can be read as a stand alone. However, the whole series tells an overall story. So the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. You can read it as a "done in one" or as an overall arc.

Volume one is out in paperback now and the hardback for volume two will be available in February.



2. Impossible Territories by Jess Nevins - B - OK, this one is not a comic book (I'm already violating the rules), but a book about a comic book. Impossible Territories is the annotations of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Black Dossier, available in an Absolute Edition and the paperback will be available in November.

Some of this material was posted previously at one of Jess Nevins' many sites. Jess is a research librarian in Texas who takes great delight in torturing himself. He goes through comics like the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and finds many if not all of the obscure references with the help of many of his internet friends and organizes them in a format that we as laypersons can understand. With the LoEG material, he also has the advantage of being able to verify references with series artist, Kevin O'Neill and even some with Alan Moore himself.

I think part of the reason Alan Moore enjoys the League material as much as he does is the prospect of stumping Jess Nevins and friends. He also enjoys when Jess finds references that he and Kevin O'Neill weren't aware. So it is a reference book, which makes it a geek item for sure, but if you enjoy the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen books and are curious where these characters and settings come from, Jess' series of League Reference books are a must have. If you're not, then it is still an interesting read.



Also available are guides to the previous LoEG series:


3. Compleat John Byrne's Next Men - C - John Byrne is a name that brings about many feelings amongst comic book fans. He and Rob Liefeld are the only topics I can remember being banned from one Avengers related fan group I belong to. He runs a board where he says things that enrage many people and has apparently burned many bridges with people within the industry. However, in my opinion he is one of the best artists in the business. He is one of the few who can consistently produce two books a month of great quality.

This review is about the Compleat collections of his creator owned series John Byrne's Next Men published by IDW. The original series, published by Dark Horse Comics, was release in the early 90's during the Image/Valiant boom and was about six teens who lived in a virtual reality world and wake up to find the real world nothing like the world they came from (years before the Matrix). The Compleat Next Men are black and white collections of the original series including the prequel, 2112, graphic novel, and also the Mark IV backup features. While they are interesting and good books, I think Byrne's writing is almost a little too hard science fiction for comic books some times and that shows here. The series ended a bit too rapidly. It reads like he still had six more issues of story to tell. Plus, I'd rather see this series collected in color.

If John Byrne was to revive this property today, I'd be there. Volume 1 is out now and Volume 2 will be out in November 2008.



Addendum: One series by John Byrne I'd like to see collected that hasn't been is the X-Men: The Hidden Years by Marvel Comics. It takes place after the original X-Men series had become a reprint book and before Giant Size X-Men # 1, running for 22 issues. That would be a book on my Hot Buys list.

Update: 10:35 Robert - I just found this. It's a hard cover collection of issues 0-10 of John Byrne's Next Men to be released by IDW in March 2009 according to Amazon.com.



Also, I forgot to mention Hellboy made an early appearance in JBNM 21.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

As I have discussed hoodies and bracelets, I don't see why you can't discuss a book. Its all about "geekiness" to be honest.

Superman? A+ for Superman? I will have to chekc it out.

Robert said...

But it's not just Superman. This is Superman by Grant Morrison with few restrictions. All Star Superman is Grant Morrison's Superman. It's not tied to continuity in any way.

Unknown said...

Looking at ordering the "All Star Superman" today.