Solo (2004 Series) #3

February 22, 2005

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: The Problem in Knossos and other stories

The works of Paul Pope!

Writer: Paul Pope
Art: Paul Pope
Colors: Jose Villarrubia, Dave Stewart & James Jean
Letters: John Workman & Ken Lopez
Editor: Mark Chiarello
Cover Art: Paul Pope
Publisher: DC Comics

As much as I love the basic idea behind this book, this issue and last haven’t really used the format to its fullest potential. Giving an artist 48 ad-free pages to go nuts and tell whatever kind of stories they want is a great idea, and Paul Pope’s artwork, for the most part, is quite good. But the stories don’t really go anywhere.

I do applaud Pope for straddling several different genres in this issue, however. The first story, “The Problem in Knossos,” is a pretty straightforward telling of the Greek myth of the Minotaur, from the circumstances of its conception to its bloody death. Beautiful artwork, but there’s no real new twist to the story to make you understand why he’s telling it again.

“Are You Ready For the World That’s Coming?” is a retelling of the origin of Jack Kirby’s Omac, one of his more out there science fiction comics. We start with a scrawny little guy named Buddy Blank who gets transformed into something fierce. Straightforward. Pope does a good Kirby riff in the artwork, but again, it’s nothing new.

“Life-Sized Monster Ghost” is probably the best story in the book. It’s a quick and seemingly autobiographical tale of a little boy who’s got big dreams about all those cheesy toys that used to be advertised in the back of comic books – which may not live up to expectations.

In “On This Corner,” Pope does the best art, but with the weakest story in the book. It’s the story of a runaway in a Will Eisner-esque setting, but there’s no meat to it. “Teenage Sidekick,” the last story, is similarly pointless. The Joker has captured Robin (Dick Grayson), and Batman has to save him. The story is an excuse to preach about each of the characters – it commits the cardinal sin of telling instead of showing.

This title, naturally, is a showcase for artists and not for writing, but the previous two artists who worked here hooked up with writers to help them out. Pope’s stories just plain missed the mark.

Rating: 6/10

Solo (2004 Series) #2

December 19, 2004

Quick Rating: Fair

Five tales of the bizarre by Richard Corben

Writers: Richard Corben & John Arcudi
Art: Richard Corben
Colors: Richard Corben, Lee Loughridge & Dave Stewart
Letters: Richard Corben & Jack Morelli
Editor: Mark Chiarello
Cover Art: Richard Corben
Publisher: DC Comics

I think DC Comics deserves a lot of credit for trying something like this, an anthology series with a definite hook: give an artist 48 pages to do whatever he wants. Period. By the very nature of the project, though, some issues will be better than others, and this one doesn’t quite click for me. Richard Corben is best known for his artwork in underground comics and dozens of projects full of monsters and magic. He serves up five short tales here, most with “Twilight Zone-Style” twists at the end, and while they’re all okay, none of them are outstanding.

“Belzon’s Treasure” shows a treasure hunter who stumbles upon a legendary crypt in Egypt, only to find a mysterious guardian, and other even more ruthless treasure hunters behind him. It’s a quick little horror tale with a nice ending.

“Cyclops” may be the weakest tale story-wise. We have two mysterious, alien races at war, one of them on the brink of loss and extinction, but the big twist at the end isn’t surprising at all, it’s the sort of thing that has been done time and again. Visually it’s a different story – Corben seems to do this story digitally, giving it a different art style than the rest of the issue without losing any of his trademark body shapes or monster designs. It’s like the difference in seeing a character in a 2-D animated movie then seeing that same character done in CGI.

“Homecoming” is a western – a man young catches up with his father only to find his brother has been killed for a crime he didn’t commit. This is probably the strongest Corben-written story in the book, even though it’s a quickie, and has a great twist. It’s a shame that westerns don’t get too much attention these days.

“The Plague” shows a king barricading himself in his palace as protection from both invaders and from a horrific disease that may or may not exist. This may be the longest story in the book, but really, it’s the least memorable.

The only story written by someone other than Corben is also the only story in the book starring a DC character – John Arcudi provides the story for “A Missing Life,” starring the original Spectre, Jim Corrigan. Corrigan gets a lead from one a ghost that helps him solve a murder – but it’s not a job for Officer Jim Corrigan, it’s a job for the Wrath of God. Corben really delivers a great-looking Spectre, and he does an equally good job on all the phantasms that populate his world.

While not as strong as last issue, I still think Solo is a fine, worthy experiment from DC, and I’m anxious to see who they line up in the future. (Next issue, by the way, will feature the work of Paul Pope.)

Rating: 6/10

Solo (2004 Series) #1

November 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Excellent
Title: Date Knight and other stories

DC’s newest anthology series kicks off with the work of Tim Sale!

Writers: Tim Sale, Darwyn Cooke, Diana Schutz, Jeph Loeb & Brian Azzarello
Art: Tim Sale
Colors: Dave Stewart & Jose Villarrubia
Letters: Richard Starkings
Editor: Mark Chiarello
Cover Art: Tim Sale
Publisher: DC Comics

In a market where anthology titles traditionally don’t sell that well, DC Comics is taking a clever, unique approach to the form. In this new ongoing series, they’re going to offer up 48 pages a month to a different artist and allow him or her free reign to tell some of their own stories, using any DC characters they want or to branch out and tell other stories. Tim Sale, best known for his partnerships with Jeph Loeb on books like Batman: The Long Halloween and Superman For All Seasons, gets first crack.

The book opens with “Date Knight,” written by Darwyn Cooke. In it, Catwoman lays a very unique trap for the Batman, one that even the world’s greatest detective didn’t see coming. The story is a lighthearted chase sequence, a nice little twist on the normal rooftop battles you see in the bat-books.

“Christina” follows, the first of two quick, personal stories Sale writes himself in this book. It’s a creepy little tale of a man and woman on a beach, and the horrible mission the man must undertake.

“Young Love,” written by Diana Schutz, is perhaps the most unique story in this volume, focusing on the Pre-Crisis version of Supergirl and telling the lost tale of her romance with Dick Malverne. It’s done up like an old-fashioned romance comic, right down to a dot-deco color scheme, but the story has something of a modern tinge to it. It’s bittersweet and beautiful.

Sale teams up with Loeb for “Prom Night,” a story that could very easily be called Superman For All Seasons: The Lost Chapter. It’s just what it sounds like, the story of Clark Kent preparing for his senior prom with Lana Lang. Like the Supergirl story, this tale is warm and tender with a sort of heartache lacing the panels, because although the characters don’t know it, the readers know that Superman will soon come between the two young lovers forever.

Brian Azzarello contributes “Low Card in the Hole,” a quick film noir-ish story about a hardboiled gumshoe forced to face one of his own greatest sins. I was not a fan of Azzarello’s run on Batman. I’m not a fan of 100 Bullets. His Superman leaves much to be desired. But this story is great.

The issue ends with “I Concentrate on You,” the second offering written by Sale himself. It’s a soft, quiet piece, largely wordless, that ends with a lovely dedication that really puts things into context.

From month-to-month, the quality of this series is going to depend on the strength of the artist invited to take the helm for that issue and the reader’s own level of appreciation for him or her. This first issue, however, is absolutely wonderful, and anyone who enjoys the work of Tim Sale would do themselves a terrible disservice if they don’t pick it up.

Rating: 10/10