PVP (2003 Series) #9

October 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Good

Skull winds up in a science lab – can Brent and Cole spring him?

Writer: Scott Kurtz
Art: Scott Kurtz
Letters: Scott Kurtz
Cover Art: Scott Kurtz
Publisher: Image Comics

When Skull the troll comes down with a tummyache (he ate a whole box of urinal cakes), Brent Sienna takes him in for some medical attention. Mistaking Skull for a gorilla, though, the doctor sends him to a research laboratory and Brent to prison.

This latest collection of Scott Kurtz’s wickedly funny online comic strip isn’t quiet as sharp as the usual fare. PVP really has two kinds of stories they tell: satires of society and pop culture or silly situation comedies. This is one of the latter, and while it’s still funny, it’s not quite as funny as the more satirical stuff.

As always, the book includes two more stories, and these are both stronger than the cover. In the second segment, slackers Robbie and Jase are horrified to learn that Francis has never seen the movie “Animal House,” and decide to indoctrinate him in the ways of the frat boy. They have several attacks in mind, from stupid attempts at hazing to a panty raid gone horribly, horrible wrong. The result is considerably funny than the first storyline. Kurtz finishes off the book with a few quickies about a sleeping Skull imagining himself as various superheroes. Funny for a comic fan – probably not so much if you’re not.

As usual, the artwork on this issue is pretty good. The characters may not be the most detailed in all of comic books, but the designs are clever and amusing. It’s particularly fun to see Skull and the crew dressed like Green Lantern, Superman or the Fantastic Four.

While it may not be the sharpest issue of PVP to date, it’s still an amusing one, and fans will walk away with a smile on their faces.

Rating: 7/10

PVP (2003 Series) #13

January 7, 2005

Quick Rating: Very Good

It’s Christmas at PVP!

Writer: Scott Kurtz
Art: Scott Kurtz
Cover Art: Scott Kurtz
Publisher: Image Comics

Well, it’s Christmas at PVP – a few weeks late, perhaps, but still entertaining. When perennial Grinch Brent Sienna lays out his list of anti-Holiday rules, Cole retaliates by offering an extra Christmas bonus to anyone who can make the resident sourpuss feel the Christmas spirit. What follows, of course, are the hysterical attempts at everyone in the office to get him in the mood. Scott Kurtz goes for the sentimental ending to this storyline, but he does it in a very satisfying way that keeps everyone in character and doesn’t get too syrupy.

Next up is the story in which Brent decides to treat his girlfriend, Jade, to a romantic candlelit dinner… with disastrous results. Let’s just say insurance companies were called. Kurtz takes this story into an amusing statement on their relationship, with clever commentary on male/female relations in general.

We get a few more bits to play with in here – the introduction of Skull’s cat (who has become a much more important character in the daily strip) makes for a good series of gags, and he also includes the character’s plea to the Academy, lobbying for Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King to win Best Picture. (“Don’t make me roll initiative” may be one of the funniest lines I’ve ever read.)

As we’ve had for the past several issues, we also get two pages of Aaron Williams’s Full Frontal Nerdity. These strips mostly seem to focus on Shawn, the gamer who only interacts with the group through his webcam. It’s interesting that he’s probably the most fully-developed character in the strip – at least in the ones that have appeared in PVP.

This last little Christmas treat was better late than never. PVP continues to be one of my favorite titles, and I hope that Kurtz manages to keep up his declared monthly pace from now on.

Rating: 8/10

Image Holiday Special 2005

December 7, 2006

Quick Rating: Good

A sampling of Image’s top creators with tales for the holidays.

Writers: Erik Larsen, Scott Kurtz, Eric Stephenson, Mark Smith, Chris Giarrusso, B. Clayton Moore, Jim Valentino, Benito Cereno, Brian Haberlin, Joe Casey, Jay Faerber, Glen Brunswick, Chris Eliopoulos, Robert Kirkman
Art: Erik Larsen, Scott Kurtz, Tim Seeley, Sunder Raj, Steve Seeley, Dan Hipp, Chris Giarrusso, Shawn Crystal, Greg Thompson, Jason Latour, Jim Valentino, John Wycough, Nate Bellegarde, Brian Haberlin, Gabe Bridwell, Cully Hamner, Tom Scioli, Richard Starkings, Jose Ladronn, Chris Eliopoulos, Charlie Adlard
Colors: Bob Pedroza, Jacob Blaake, Nick Filardi, Gabe Bridwell, Brett Evans
Letters: Jim Keplinger, Jimmy Betancourt, Cliff Rathburn, Ray Dillon
Cover Art: Frank Cho
Publisher: Image Comics

I’m a big fan of big, fat Christmas specials, and I love when a comic book company puts together a jam issue of their top creators and characters in such a book. Like any anthology, of course, the final products vary in quality, but overall the 96-page monster Image Holiday Special 2005 was a very satisfying book.

Most of my favorite Image titles were represented well. Scott Kurtz provided a great PVP story about the gang getting invited to the Image Christmas party – and gave us a chance to see the gang in color for once. Chris Giarrusso’s G-Man dug in his heels to combat the menace of the Christmas Tree of Doom (unaware that his foe has a softer side). Jim Valentino gave us a ShadowHawk tale about the young superhero and his father facing their second Christmas without the woman of their lives, the lost wife and mother. Jay Faerber’s Noble Causes provides a very amusing spotlight on the outcast of the book, Frost, who finds time to make a new friend. The Gray Area returns with a story that… well… doesn’t really have anything to do with Christmas, it just happens to take place on Christmas. (I’m not big on such stories – c’mon, if you’re in a Holiday special, give me some cheer.) Chris Eliopoulous’s Buddy Henson gives us a great, funny tale of the boy secret agent, and Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard give us a Walking Dead tale that shows us the first Christmas in a world overrun with zombies.

Other comics are also represented – The Amazing Joy Buzzards, Spawn, Mr. Glum and a Godland story that, frankly, kinda turned me off on the concept of the book.(Santa puffing on a hookah? That just doesn’t work for me.)

Finally, Eric Stephenson, Tim Seeley, Sunder Raj and Steve Seeley sprinkle the book with “Scenes From a Bar on Christmas Eve,” a series of one-pagers that show… well… scenes from a bar. The artwork here specifically is wonderful, and the stories are nice, good little snippets that satisfy quite well.

Your own enjoyment of this issue will vary, of course, depending on how big a fan you are of the creators and comics represented, but overall, I think it’s a pretty good collection. It’s a shame they didn’t do it again this year.

Rating: 7/10

PVP (2003 Series) #21

December 28, 2005

Quick Rating: Great

Let’s go LARPing!

Writer: Scott Kurtz
Art: Scott Kurtz
Cover Art: Scott Kurtz
Publisher: Image Comics

Another bundle of PVP strips this month, and Scott Kurtz takes us straight through the holidays with four stories, all of which are a lot of fun. First up, Cole recruits the PVP gang – along with Fanboy – to join in a Live Action RolePlaying (LARP) game. Each of them selecting characters based on their outstanding attributes (“Ninja!”), they head out for an afternoon of fun… until a few other role-playing groups stumble into the park. This is a good old-fashioned PVP story – a geek situation mixed with a sitcom set up with a fantastic, hysterical punchline. When I hit the strip that set up the conclusion of the story, even having read this before on PVPOnline.com, I still nearly bust a gut laughing.

Afterwards, Kurtz gives us three short stories that gets us through the end-of-the-year Holiday Trifecta. In a Halloween tale, Cole not only gets bitten by a werewolf, but winds up infecting almost the entire staff – except for a jealous Francis, who actually wants to get bitten. Next are a few short pages where Skull holds a drawing to see which of his co-workers gets to take him home for Thanksgiving. (Here’s a hint – all of the pieces of paper in the hat say Brent Sienna.)

And finally we have last year’s Christmas storyline, when Brent and Cole challenge each other to see who has the most holiday spirit, leading straight up into the world’s worst Christmas pageant. Fortunately for us, it’s also one of the funniest. This issue also gives us my all-time favorite PVP quote – a despondent Brent, trying to escape the Christmas music, declaring, “You Kringled my iPod.”

Hysterical.

This issue really is PVP at its best. A great lead story with funny, funny jokes leading up to a wonderful climax, then a bunch of short stories, each with a lot of yucks in their own right. Plus, each issue is really well self-contained I love this comic, and this issue is a perfect example of why.

Rating: 9/10

PVP #8

August 6, 2004

Quick Rating: Great
Title: The Death of Brent Sienna

Brent sets out to debunk a television psychic, but an accident leaves him reaching out for help anywhere he can get it.

Writer: Scott Kurtz
Art: Scott Kurtz
Cover Art: Scott Kurtz
Publisher: Image Comics

Scott Kurtz’s now-monthly foray into the world of gaming this month turns its attention to an unlikely but amusing target – television psychics. When Skull wins tickets to see John Edward, Brent Sienna comes along to debunk the psychic. An accident in the bathroom sends him to an out-of-body experience, and it seems like his only hope will be Edward himself… if only he were real.

Kurtz is merciless to mentalists in this issue, something that’s amusing to skeptics but probably will put off people who believe in their powers. He doesn’t stop with just a comedy send-up of their “powers,” however, he even includes a discussion of exactly how they fake their abilities with audience members.

If that’s not your cup of tea, of course, there are a few more stories in this issue. Skull winds up going out on his first date, with Brent and Jade tagging along to help him out. The results are absolutely hysterical – this is, in fact, one of my favorite PVP storylines of all time, because frankly, the big lug sort of reminds me of myself when I get around a pretty girl. (“You already said you would go. No takebacks. No takebacks.”)

Kurtz finishes it off with a few various strips and a two-page feature by Nodwick creator Aaron Williams, Full Frontal Nerdity. This series of strips revolves around a group of gamers trying to get a tabletop roleplaying game set up. It’s fairly amusing, especially to people (like myself) who have taken part in such games, but there’s not really much to distinguish it from similar strips like Dork Tower or Knights of the Dinner Table.

This is a fine issue, overall, worth getting for Skull’s date alone,, if nothing else. The Edward storyline is a real gem too, but it’ll probably cheese off a few people who watch shows like his with the idea that it’s legitimate. If you fall into that category, read this with a grain of salt.

Rating: 9/10

PVP (2003 Series) #28

October 7, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good

Is Jade pregnant? Plus: Return of the Wolfmen!

Writer: Scott Kurtz
Art: Scott Kurtz
Cover Art: Scott Kurtz
Publisher: Image Comics

This month’s PVP gives us two of last year’s best storylines from the comic strip, including a Halloween story just in time.

First up is one of the few “very special episode” storylines that really worked. When Brent overhears Jade saying she thinks she may be pregnant, he goes into panic mode. As frightened as he grows by the prospect of being a father, though, he soon learns that the real question is why he’s scared. This is, admittedly, an autobiographical storyline for Kurtz, sparked by his own thoughts about the idea of becoming a father.

There are funny moments in here (Skull’s interruption into the argument about keeping Brent in “the loop” is one of the funniest strips ever), but for the most part this is a much more emotional story than the gag-a-day form we usually have in this comic strip. And it really, really works.

This is followed with a sequel to the previous Halloween story, in which Cole became a werewolf. When Francis discovers that Cole wasn’t really cured of his lycanthropy, he again launches into a scheme to get himself bitten and turn into a werewolf himself. This is just a fun story that plays on the basic geek nature of our heroes – the thoughts of how cool it would be to become a werewolf outweigh any other concerns.

Kurtz’s artwork is as good as ever, but I’ve got to give special credit for the nice effect he does on the cover, with “Baby Brent.” It’s really eye-popping, really effective… definitely the sort of book that will leap off the racks at you.

Rather than the usual back-ups in this issue, Kurtz gives us a “preview” of his Captain Amazing paperback, which is made slightly less effective by the fact that the book actually came out several weeks ago. Schedules, my friends, schedules.

Still, this is a fun package and gives us just the right amount of Halloween flavor to keep me happy, coupled with one of the best “character” stories from PVP in a long time.

Rating: 8/10

PVP (2003 Series) #12

December 10, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good

It’s Halloween (and Thanksgiving) at PVP!

Writer: Scott Kurtz
Art: Scott Kurtz
Cover Art: Scott Kurtz
Publisher: Image Comics

PVP recovers nicely from last issue’s rather… creepy… climax, and it’s making up for lost time, trying to catch up. So yeah, it’s the Halloween issue late, but it comes only a few weeks after last issue, which was right on the heels of the one before it. Scott Kurtz is clearly serious about bringing this book on a monthly schedule.

PVP Magazine’s Jade Fontaine throws a Halloween party every year, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend, Brent Sienna. This year’s party has a few uninvited guests, though – aliens out to study human life. Instead of humans, though, they get Brent.

Kurtz follows up this story with a few Thanksgiving quickies, then a second (and even funnier) story about Brent feeding Jade a smoothie spiked with an aphrodisiac, with predictably funny results. Kurtz always packs a ton of comedy into these comics, and as always, he skewers a ton of sources. From pop culture (from Hellboy to ALF to I Dream of Jeannie to Anime), to trends sucker in the gullible. He’s got his favorite targets, and he has no problem with pounding ‘em.

Aaron Williams returns with a few more pages of Full Frontal Nerdity. This strip is starting to grow on me – at first it didn’t really seem distinct from any of a dozen other gamer comic strips, but the characters are amusing and the gimmick of having one character only exist through his webcam has really helped make the strip original. I’d like to see longer stories in this series – the four strips here are amusing, but one can’t help but feel there are more jokes that didn’t fit in.

I have to say, I felt terrible about panning PVP last issue, it’s normally one of my favorite comics. This month it’s back. This is the PVP I know and love. Now if only Kurtz can somehow squeeze out the Christmas issue in the next couple of weeks.

Rating: 8/10

PVP #7

June 18, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good

When Francis gets fresh with Jade, will she leave PVP forever?

Writer: Scott Kurtz
Art: Scott Kurtz
Cover Art: Mike Wieringo, Jaime Mendoza & Brett Evans
Publisher: Image Comics

This issue of PVP takes three storylines from the daily comic strip, and as always, Scott Kurtz tinkers with and adds to the strips to make sure that fans aren’t just getting the material twice. By adding a few scenes and removing some dated references, he’s created a comic that will work for daily readers for the strip and newcomers alike.

In the first story, when Francis convinces himself he’s gone forward in time to get to the release date of a hot new video game, he finally succeeds in offending Jade so much that she quits the magazine entirely and goes into competition. Kurtz has plenty of targets in this story – rampant fanboyism, game companies that can’t seem to make a shipping date and, in heavy doses, both feminism and machismo. Men and women are clearly equal in his eyes, and both ripe for lampooning – but if you can’t laugh at yourself, don’t even bother.

The second storyline takes Cole Richards to the premiere of the Star Wars Galaxies video game – a fully interactive roleplaying game that allows him to plug into the science fiction world he’s loved his whole life. The problem is, once inside, he doesn’t want to come out, so PC-hater Brent Sienna has to jack in to go after him. This story is memorable mostly for some great one-liners (“They should just call it ‘The Matrix Ver. 1.0’”), but also for something that’s always fun in this series – the chance to see the PVP gang drawn as other characters.

Finally, we get a few short pages where Cole has to confront his arch-nemesis, Max Powers, to save some classic video games his wife put up on eBay. It’s only a few pages long, but it sings to anyone whose wife, girlfriend, mother or otherwise ever got rid of something important to them. (Anyone ever have their mom throw out their comics? Ouch, man…)

Another solid issue with a lot of variety that adds to the online comic and gives it to you in a more permanent form. This is one of the funniest comic books out there today, and may be the best of the “geek lit” that’s all over the racks today.

Rating: 8/10

PVP (2003 Series) #6

April 11, 2004

Quick Rating: Great

Skull wants to be a comic book artist, but he’s not very good. No problem – he’ll just do alternative comics!

Writer: Scott Kurtz
Art: Scott Kurtz
Letters: Scott Kurtz
Cover Art: James Kochalka
Publisher: Image Comics

This issue of PVP presents the most controversial, and most entertaining, storyline the to date. Innocent little Skull the Troll wants to be a comic book artist, but his artistic skills match his childlike mindset. Brent Sienna has a solution to the problem, though: “Fold it in half, staple it and call yourself an alternative comic book artist.” Skull makes a splash on the alt comic scene with “Graphamaximo”, and hilarity ensues, building to a head at the Tiny Press Expo.

When Kurtz did this story on his website, there was a livid, angry reaction from the alternative comics community, whereas just about everyone else found it pretty amusing. Frankly, I think the reason the strip provoked such an angry response is because it was right on the money. Kurtz clearly believes that most so-called “alternative” comics are garbage and he doesn’t mind saying it, even if the creators are ready to lynch him for it. It’s a classic case of the emperor having no clothes, and it’s the PVP reader that benefits from it.

Kurtz fills out the issue with some strips about his father and a storyline about Cole Richards going nuts over the release of an Indiana Jones videogame, all fun stuff, but it’s the “Graphamaximo” storyline that sells the book.

As always, Kurtz’s cartoony artwork is cute and funny. Artistically, though, the coup of this issue is getting alternative comic creator James Kochalka to do the cover. It’s a bit of vindication for Kurtz, as though a member of the alt community is telling the rest of them to lighten up and have a sense of humor, something few alternative comics really do. This was a fun storyline and the perfect comic to give to any art snob who takes comic books too seriously. It’ll really cheese them off.

Rating: 9/10

PVP (2003 Series) #5

January 4, 2004

Quick Rating: Great

The PVP gang is brought to the brink of doom when they encounter Max Powers, the world’s most passive-aggressive villain!

Writer/Artist: Scott Kurtz
Cover Art: Scott Kurtz
Publisher: Image Comics

Cole Richards, publisher of PVP Magazine, is distraught when his old college nemesis Max Power comes for a visit. Max was always the sort of guy who was so smarmy and annoying that you wanted to kill him, but so charming that you couldn’t raise a finger without looking like a jerk yourself – and Max hasn’t changed. After first ridiculing and belittling Cole’s dreams of running his own video game magazine, Max moves into the building and starts a competing magazine of his own. That’s the last straw for our heroes, and a battle for the ages ensues! (“Battle for the ages” is defined by the amount of flaming dog poop, bees and superglue employed.)

This is the perfect issue to illustrate why people who love the PVP comic strip should be reading the comic book as well. While the Max Powers story did appear online, it was in a different form – Kurtz has added new strips, redrawn some that were on his website and put the whole thing together under a spiffy cover. For the collector, this is the only way to get PVP in a permanent edition.

For those who don’t read the online strip and want to know what all the fuss is about, this is a good issue to come in. PVP isn’t a continuity-heavy title, new readers can pick up the roles and dynamics of the characters fairly easily, plus the introduction of who has become one of the major nemesis of the online series makes this a good point to jump on.

Kurtz often makes self-deprecating jokes about his own art style, but in fact, PVP couldn’t be drawn any other way — the clean, simple style is perfect for a comic like this. It can’t be too sharp or realistic (as a pin-up by Richard Domingez displays in this issue), or it loses some of what makes it so great. I only wish it were in color.

Plus, PVP is just flat-out funny. It works on many levels – as a parody of video games, movies and comic books, as a self-referential “geek’ comic book like Dork Tower, and as an “office” comedy. Occasionally, with the interaction between Brent Sienna and Jade Fontaine, there’s even a dash of a love story, although not so much in this issue.

In addition to the hysterical Max Powers story, we also have a few bonus strips, including the online comics poking fun at The Matrix (Skull’s Matrix Joke crippled me with laughter – not at the deliberately awful joke, but at his earnest delivery and Brent’s disdain for it), and Liberty Meadows fans will be happy to know that there are a few strips with guest-art by Frank Cho in this issue as well (in Brent’s dream sequence).

This is a funny, funny comic book, and if you aren’t reading it, you’ve got to try it out.

Rating: 8/10