Saturday, March 26, 2011

Graphic novel reviews M

Maestro: Symphony in a Gamma Key - Peter David

Manga Man - Barry Lyga [Houton Mifflin]
Ryoko, a character from Japanese anime, comes through a strange rift to the "real" world, where he tries to fit in at school, where he is bullied but also meets a girl.  Will he win her heart before he is forced back through the rift, and will the kaiju (monsters) get through as well?  Illustrated with fun black and white art that takes full advantage of the story's interesting conceit (for example, when he is surprised, Ryoko emanates lines which then fall to the floor and must be cleaned up), as well as a clever twist in the plot.  Fun. Library.  [4]

The Manhattan Projects - Jonathan Hickman

  1. Vol. One - Dr. Oppenheimer is recruited by the US military to work in a secret department involving all sorts of high-tech marvels.  He works with Fermi, an alien; Dr. Daghlian, a walking radioactive skeleton; Einstein, who has secrets of his own; the cyborg Von Braun; and others.  Oh, and Oppenheimer isn't who they think he is.  Together they try to stop alien invasions, maintain American supremacy, and explore new universes.  It is as insane and over-the-top as it sounds, and quite enthralling.  The excellent art evokes Frank Quitely.  [4.5]
  2. Vol. Two - The mad scientists go behind their governments' backs to join forces against aliens and to push the boundaries of science.  Naturally, the more-or-less Illuminati that really run things — the orgy-going Truman, a magic Egyptian entity, a banking cartel luchador, the religious plutocrat — try to stop this, with spectacularly gory results.  And then there's more of Oppenheimer's mindscape, which is even weirder.  [4]
  3. Vol. Three - In this volume, the tables turn, as General Westmoreland takes down the scientists and arrests them.  Oppenheimer, however, is still free to work on his insane projects; meanwhile Laika the dog travels through space and encounters a very alien looking ship.  The last section of the book is more about the war inside Oppenheimer's mind, and it's gory and not really very interesting.  I'm much more interested in what happens to the group of scientists.  [3.5]

March - John Lewis [Top Shelf]

  1. The true story of John Lewis, former freedom marcher, head of SNCC, and Congressman.   Switching back and forth between past and present, it tells the civil rights story with calm wisdom, letting the facts speak for themselves create the drama.  Black and white, sketchy illustrations fit the tone.  [4.5]


Marvel Zombies
This shit is hilarious.  [4.5]

Marvel Zombies: Supreme - Frank Marraffino
A mad scientist uses Jack of Hearts' "zero energy" to animate dead clones of the Squadron Supreme, with disastrous results.  Tongue in cheek and gory.  [3.5]

Marvels
A wonderful tribute to the old-school Marvel heroes, with a modern sensibility and gorgeous painting by Alex Ross.  [5]

 
The Mighty Crusaders - Ian Flynn
A new new team of Crusaders is assembled after the first team's children finally defeated the Brain Emperor, at some cost.  This one is led by the new Shield, a young woman brought up in colonial times.  On one of their first outings, they are set upon by some old enemies, the Eliminators.  And then, a sort of Thor pastiche.  As before, the more cartoony art belies the seriousness of the fighting.  The heroes age, get sick, and can be killed.  It's great stuff for someone who wants to see some consequences in their heroics.  This volume serves as introduction, but besides some battle scenes there's not very much development or a sense of real accomplishment; it left me looking for the second volume.  [4]

Miles Morales - Saladin Ahmed

  1. Straight Of Out Brooklyn - High schooler Miles Morales balances a vice-principal out of Ferris Bueller, Tombstone's gang wars, his parents and his retired supervillain uncle, and girls (both civilian and costumed).  Pitch-perfect street Spider-Man in the old Marvel style of "heroes with problems," and the name being a nod to the old Peter Parker title which focused on the man's daily life as much as the spandex stuff.  [4]
  2. Bring On the Bad Guys - Miles faces more girl problems (the costumed Starling, his school girlfriend, and his old colleague Bombshell) but also a grim story arc in which he is abducted and tortured for evil science reasons.  A mutated Green Goblin and a size-changing bad guy working for Kingpin have secrets of their own.  This volume has the same terrific dialogue and a good balance of work and life in Miles' world.  [4]

Miracleman - Alan Moore (credited as The Original Writer)


Moomin: The Complete Tove JANSSON COMIC STRIP VOL. 2 - Tove Jansson [Drawn & Quarterly]

  • Large hardcover volume containing four story arcs of the whimsical, silly comic strip about the easy-going Moomin family and the odd characters who disrupt their lives.  Lacking the word play and detailed art of Pogo, and the humor of Popeye.  Gentle kid stuff.  [3]  Library.

Moon Knight - Jeff Lemire

  1. Lunatic - Marc Spector wakes up in an archaic mental hospital with cruel orderlies and ECT therapy, told that he has never been Moon Knight and that he's imagined it all.  But it seems to be a trick by Seth, as Marc spots many people from his past in the asylum.  He engineers an escape, but outside the walls of the asylum is more madness and more questions.  It's a fun ride, building on the established mental problems of Spector to point to a new direction for the character.  But it's hard to judge as a stand-alone because it suddenly ends with more questions and nothing resolved.  [3.5]

Moon Knight - Warren Ellis

  1. From the Dead - Ellis recasts Moon Knight as more of a Batman figure, with an AI-driven white limo and a white crescent-shaped drone.  The madness, the personalities, and the Konshu are still there, but more in the background.  This Moon Knight just goes out and wrecks bad guys.  This collection is made up of (mostly) stand-alone stories: Marc goes through a series of levels full of armed men to rescue a girl; Marc takes down a crazy SHIELD agent gone rogue; Marc solves the problem of a dream experiment gone wrong.  The one-shot adventures go down easy, and the art is simply gorgeous.  [4]
The Multiversity - Grant Morrison
The usual Morrison cosmic-scale insanity, combined with the usual Morrison meta-commentary on the reality of fiction.  Mysterious evil gods threaten the multiverse, and various heroes are gathered to fight the menace.  Pastiches of the Marvel universe included.  The Captain Carrot fight scenes are excellent (although having Morrison mumbo-jumbo comping out of Captain Carrot's mouth, as well as Savage Dragon stand-in Din-cop, is a bit much), and the Marvel family fighting multiple Sivanas is really excellent.  I also liked the mopey #EarthMe Super Sons bit, where crime is eradicated and super heroes are bored.  Still, it all gets to be a bit too much lunacy, and he really lays on the "I'm an ink hero, and on a page, but real, because I'm talking to you" bit thick. Finally, it all seems to end on a cliffhanger.  Nothing is resolved, except I guess there's a big group of reality-spanning heroes now.  [3.5]


My New York Marathon - Sebastien Samson
A French artist and teacher decides on a whim to join his wife and her runner friends in the New York Marathon.  Despite some seriously half-hearted training, he runs the entire distance.   With sketch-like B&W illustrations, this memoir is a love letter to both stubborn self-reliance and everything that America used to stand for.  [4]