The Walking Dead #86/Elephantmen: Man and Elephantman #1

July 17, 2011

Writer: Robert Kirkman
Art: Charlie Adlard
Gray Tones: Cliff Rathburn
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Cover: Charlie Adlard & Cliff Rathburn
Editor: Sina Grace              
Publisher: Image Comics/Skybound

While Rick Grimes stays glued to the bedside of his comatose son, Carl, the rest of his community is still trying to piece itself back together after the recent zombie incursion. Rosita turns to her only friend, having discovered that Abraham is having an affair with Holly, and Michonne tries to bury Morgan, piecing together her own shattered world in the process. We’re back into one of those “quiet zones” that Robert Kirkman so often attempts to trick us with. At the moment, things aren’t blowing up and nobody is in immediate danger of having their face eaten, so our heroes get to lick their wounds and catch their breath. Interestingly, we also see a shift in Rick’s attitude. Here, despite the fact that Carl could still die at any moment, Rick is planning for a long-term existence in this place. To the readers, who know that in this world “long term” often means until Kirkman decides the characters are too comfortable and starts throwing everything back into upheaval, that seems like a sort of fruitless prospect, but that’s not going to stop him. It’s hard not to respect that.

Adlard and Rathburn do what we want them to do – give us solid artwork with real emotion and a smattering of zombie gore. This isn’t a groundbreaking, earth-shaking issue of The Walking Dead, but it’s a fine example of the sort of character drama that so often exists in-between those issues.

And hey, if that wasn’t enough, we get a flip book this issue for no additional charge! So let’s see what’s in this other comic…

Title: The Devil of the Sixth Heaven (Man and Elephantman Part 1)

Writer: Richard Starkings
Art: Axel Medellin
Cover: Axel Medellin
Publisher: Image Comics

I’ve heard of Richard Starkings’ Elephantmen series before, but I’ve never read an issue and didn’t really know what it was about. This issue really is a perfect introduction into this world. Evidently, in this universe a race of powerful “Elephantmen” (although other large, powerful animals like rhinos and hippos were also used) were created and bred for war. With the war over, though, the Elephantmen are having trouble assimilating into society. “Hip” Flask, our hero, is an Elephantman and a P.I. But as this issue opens only one of these is true – Flask wakes up as a human, memories of his other life fading, and he gets drawn into a case full of all the sex and murder you could want.

I hate to say, I really liked this issue. It’s a bizarre but well-crafted blend of science fiction and pulp detective fiction in a very unique setting and with gorgeous artwork. Even though this amounts to an “alternate reality” story, it gives me enough of the world of the regular comic that I feel like it’s a place I wouldn’t mind visiting. The time may have come to try seeking out these trade paperbacks, because this is pretty damn cool.

Rating: 8/10

Amazing Spider-Girl #7

April 9, 2007

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Revenge!
Rating: A

With one of the Ladyhawks in a wheelchair, her sister wants revenge… will Spider-Girl stop her, or help her?

Script & Plot: Tom DeFalco
Plot & Pencils: Ron Frenz
Inks: Sal Buscema
Colors: Gotham
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Molly Lazer
Cover Art: Ron Frenz
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Now that May has come clean with her parents about her excursions as Spider-Girl, she’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. Will they ground her? Will they forbid her from going out in costume? Does anyone actually think they’ll stop her, in the long-term?

That’s the big problem with this issue, really. DeFalco seems to be trying to milk a lot of drama out of the question of whether or not May is going to be allowed to go back to being Spider-Girl full time. The only thing is, as future issues have been solicited and the book hasn’t been renamed The Amazing May Parker, we know she’s eventually going to get to that point. It’s kind of like stirring up questions over whether a character is going to die when you know full well he won’t. That sort of thing only works if the story itself is a knockout, and this one is just okay.

The A-plot of this issue is much stronger, fortunately. One of the twin sisters who shares the identity of Ladyhawk has been in a wheelchair since her battle with the Hobgoblin some months ago. Now her sister is on a tear, bent on revenge, and Spider-Girl has to seek her out. She wants to help, but Ladyhawk’s rage may push her too far. The result of this whole plotline, ultimately, is to teach May a little something about what it’s like to be related to a superhero. It’s a good story, but the last page again falls a little flat, since there really can’t be any doubt what the ultimate result is going to be.

Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema have been working on this title for so long it’s hard to figure out what’s left to say about it. They’re as good as ever – either you like their artwork or you don’t.

This title has been a little lackluster since the relaunch. DeFalco, to his credit, is trying to build up the family drama inherent in the concept, but the road he’s taken to a given destination isn’t quite exciting enough. Hopefully he’s got some new twists coming up.

Rating: 7/10

American Virgin #1

March 6, 2006

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Head Part One

Adam Chamberlin believes in God’s plan… too bad he’s the only one.

Writer: Steven T. Seagle
Art: Becky Cloonan
Colors: Brian Miller
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Shelly Bond
Cover Art: Frank Quietly
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo

Vertigo’s latest series is low on the horror and bizarre fantasy that for so long defined the imprint. It doesn’t even seem to have the aspects of terrorism and espionage that have defined some of the more recent entries. In fact, the only thing that seems to earmark this title for Vertigo is its frank discussion of sex.

Adam Chamberlin is a Christian youth minister with a message of maintaining abstinence until marriage. He makes the college circuit and charges up his crowds, and he’s at the top of his game when this issue starts. By the end of this first issue, however, he’s been assaulted, tempted and shattered when he sees that something he believed was God’s plan go up in smoke.

To Steven Seagle’s credit, he doesn’t go the easy route of ridiculing Adam or his beliefs. To the contrary, Adam comes across as a very sincere young man with very strong beliefs, and although we see him assaulted with temptation like anyone else, his determination to resist it is genuine. Even the horrifying ending doesn’t come across as a “ha-ha, you were wrong” sort of moment, but rather as an, “oh no, what will happen to him next” bit?

Adam, of course, does not exist in a vacuum, and Seagle has surrounded him with lowlifes and hypocrites, although he manages to do so without getting too much into commentary on them. This is Adam’s story, the rest of the characters are window dressing.

This is a stronger first issue than I expected, although regular Vertigo readers will not find much familiar territory in this storyline. What’s more, I’m somewhat at a loss to comprehend how long Seagle can maintain such a premise in an ongoing series. (Let’s face it, there will come a point where Adam either has sex – at which point the title will effectively be over – or we’ll wind up just seeing him resist temptation again and again, which could get boring.) Still, this is an interesting enough starting point.

Rating: 6/10