Aztek The Ultimate Man
Written by Grant Morrison & Mark Millar
Art by N. Steven Harris, Keith Champagne & Mike Danza
Published by DC Comics, 2008
Originally Serialized by DC Comics, 1996-97
Economically, twenty dollars for a collection of ten comic books is some kind of a deal, but there's almost nothing here that makes this any different from any of the other comics that attempted to create a new super-hero and failed to capture an audience. The art, by penciler N. Steven Harris and inker Keith Champagne isn't very attractive or innovative--if anything, it's an excellent example of a 90's comic book--strange clothing choices on the non-hero characters, a similarity between all the facial features, and a blocky, confusingly rendered depiction of action sequences. It's all completely routine stuff, and it shouldn't be hard to grasp why DC is publishing the series in a collection now--just look at who the writers are. There's only a few moments where the Morrison and Millar touch show through--a moment when the poorly named Aztek avoids fighting Green Lantern and acknowledges the idiocy of those routine excursions whenever heroes meet, the revelation of a secret organization stretching far back into human history (classic Morrison Illumanti wanking) and, in a moment that acknowledges Millar's love for the "realistic" touch, Batman asking Aztek if he can take a look at the technology that makes Aztek's suit work. But this is a collection of ten comic books, and it's barely interesting to read if you're looking for entertainment--looking for moments where these two hugely successful writers to show off isn't worth the time, or money, expended.
Dororo Volume # 1
By Osama Tezuka
Translated by Dawn T. Laabs
Published by Vertical, 2008
Originally Serialized in Shukan Shonen Sunday, 1967-68
The newest in Vertical's line of Tezuka reprints, Dororo is a one of those wandering swordsmen type stories that work so well in both the Japanese and American manga market. Interestingly, this forty year old story doesn't betray it's age in the slightest--there's a simplicity to it that's pretty much timeless. The enjoyment factor is going to be tangled up in your taste for the genre, and your attraction towards Tezuka's work. If you like his style of storytelling--an expanding cast of irregulars, all with their own petulant desires, a tendency towards short tempers wrapped up in the A-plots surrounding a hero with a large amount of problems but little personality--then you'll find plenty to enjoy here. While we prefer the more bizarre imagination found in manga like Drifting Classroom or over-the-top soap operas like Nana, Dororo is such a fine example of shonen manga that it's worth reading just to see Tezuka creating something for the wider population. Basically, this isn't a big deal comic trying to change the world, it's a popcorn read for a rainy day. It's a manga for when you can't find your copy of Ghostbusters, and you've got time to kill. (One other thing-Vertical continues to only be outshined by Drawn & Quarterly's reprints of Yoshihiro Tatsumi's work in the cover design department. Dororo, as object, is a beautiful piece of graphic design.)
Faker
Written by Mike Carey
Art by Jock
Published by Vertigo/DC Comics, 2008
Originally Serialized by Vertigo/DC Comics, 2007-08
Here's the thing--there was a time where the art was the only thing that mattered in these types of comics. When only the true obsessives were paying attention to who wrote the things, because they had to get the next issue of McFarlane or Liefeld, and nobody really gave a shit what it was he was writing. Jock is somebody who would've flourished then--even with the most basic of scripts, you can count on him to do exciting shit. Here, even though he's drawing no spandex characters, even though all of these characters look like they're being pulled from victim status in the latest studio horror flicks like Prom Night or Chainsaw remakes, he's doing exciting stuff. Nowadays though, the kick is to talk about the writer, those guys are the stars. (Yes, that's reductive, and people were yapping about John Byrne and Keith Giffen back when Spawn started up, and yes, nowadays people jack off all over Alex Ross, but hey, this is us, we don't back shit up, we thrive on the reductive.) So Faker gets judged, not on the content of Jock, but on the story that Mike Carey is telling. And what story is that, Mike Carey? Because from this side of the ocean, this story looks like it wanted to be one of those studio horror flicks with a nondescript cast of white twenty-year-olds. Every characters personality is described in the broadest strokes--the tough-as-nails hottie who blackmails professors after she seduces them with threats of rape accusations, the airhead guy who all the girls can't resist, the tough-minded dude who keeps the band together--this isn't writing, it's not a story, it's an introductory paragraph on a screenplay. It's a way to spend some time that isn't church, or Die Hard 4, or reading Superman slash-fiction. It's a comic book, the most basic kind, and the kind that doesn't do, or say, anything new. (Well, it does say that not everything Vertigo publishes can be as good as Preacher or 100 Bullets, but that song is just about playeddafukout.)
-Tucker Stone, 2008
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