Orc Stain Volume 1

Written, drawn, lettered and coloured by James Stokoe

Published by Image Comics

Finding myself with strong urges to blast away the lingering odour of superheroes, I had to choose the most pungent book in my collection, a book so malodorous it leaves a mark, the riotous, violent radness that is Orc Stain.

For millennia the orcs have swarmed all over the globe but their failure to unite under a single leader has saved the world from domination. Now from deep in the south come rumblings of a mighty chieftain know as the Orctzar and the stain of orcdom begins to spread northward.

We can’t go far in this world with out talking about the gronch, luckily for us Mr Stokoe has provided us with a handy infographic.

That’s right, this is a whole culture based on using dicks as currency. If that is not to your liking then this is not the book for you, and the love nymphs haven’t even shown up yet. Definitely not for kids, this is an absurdly fun and adventurous ride for the grown ups.

Despite their unashamed savagery and penchant for genitalia slicing, these Orcs are not without a code of sorts, if a brutal one. It’s the Poxa Gronca, ‘an eye for an eye, a gronch for a gronch’ and the enactment of this vendetta helps drive our story through the Northlands.

For in the North is where we meet out nameless hero, nameless due to the fact that only the nastiest of Orcs are named after their deaths. Fortunately for us his lack of an eyeball lends itself to a handle. One-Eye is a thief who uses his hammer to help him crack locks but also to crack skulls. Much like a Kung-Fu pressure point fighter he uses his hammer to Dim Mak anything be it orc, beast or structure.

Sadly for One-Eye, the Orctzar is searching for all orcs who are missing an eye, as one of them will help him unlock the God Organ and through that to conquer the world. To do this he sends out his tribe of dark orc assassins called the Shakatuu. Immediately they are my favourites, these Orcs with massive beards that cover their entire bodies, and their leader, a short, stump of a beard called Boss Beard Sersa. I would be first in line to sign up for a world where your fighting prowess is measured by your ability to grow a beard.

Hard to believe I have rambled this long without bringing up the art, because it is the first thing that strikes you, and then never lets up. The art is epic. From massive battles, strange swamps and huge veiny creatures this is a very unique looking book. Everything is organic, feathery and scaly. The high level of detail in the art is shown off in many of the huge panels and splash pages which is a little confusing to start. But once Stokoe gets round to using panels and framing his story through them things get much clearer. And sometimes part of the fun of reading comics can be poring over a page and working out step-by-step what is actually going down.

While there are huge battle scenes this is not your typical fantasy world. It’s both far more raw and more cute than that stereotype. Lizards are used as guns, mortar shells are like clams but when the gore hits there are fluids gushing everywhere. The moments of grotesque ‘horror’ are balanced by hilarity.

The crafty dialogue of the Orcs reminds me of a bunch of barely grown schoolboys, the slang is loose and hip-hoppy and I love how the Shaakatu are shown as speaking with kanji like symbols. It can be very wordy, some of these characters like to chat, but when the story moves to an action scene the dialogue drops away and we get dynamic motion and weird sound effects.

Should I buy it? If you are not afraid of Orcs, gronches or beards this book is a must buy. Orc Stain is fun-filled comic books, packed with ideas and adventure and it never once fails to be interesting. James Stokoe has that same love for the comics that his homeboy Brandon Graham does and it leaps off every page. He is just wrapping up a Godzilla book for IDW that I am fascinated to read when it is collected.

Next time: Image keep coming up with the goods. Next will be Glory by Joe Keatinge and Ross Campbell. An alternate universe Wonder Woman done right, with a lead character that actually does look like she can bench press a tank.

Batwoman: Elegy

Written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by J.H. Williams III

Published by DC Comics

Long before DC rebooted their Universe and it became the new 52, they spent a year producing a weekly comic that was surprisingly good, if somewhat rushed and messy. Out of the midst of this, a new character called Batwoman was launched deep into the heart of Gotham city. On announcing she was to be the first high-profile lesbian superhero, the chances of a train wreck were high. Surprisingly DC showed restraint, waited a couple of years to get the right artistic team together and then pulled off one of the best initial runs in recent history.

Kate Kane is the daughter of a Marine Colonel who was drummed out of Westpoint for a breach of the American Military’s ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell‘ policy. Thankfully that absurdity has passed into history and luckily the character has not. (While on the topic, I cannot pass by the opportunity to shout out my Homeland and the way they choose to lead the Pacific in legalizing gay marriage recently.)

There was plenty of opportunity here to exploit having such a high-profile heroine leap into the conservative world of Batman comics. Luckily Rucka and Williams have created a brilliantly written character with genuine motivations that drive and inspire her. While her sexuality does come into play, it is handled in such an organic, realistic way that it almost seems too good to be in a comic book.

Rucka handles everything with a deft touch, the characters feel real, he has Kate and her Dad use army lingo that rings true and through their brusque discipline they show real love and affection for each other. There are never enough, well written, strong, female characters in comics and to have one who can sustain her own monthly series is a welcome change. Batwoman also feels like a real woman inside the suit, not just a Batman clone with boobs and heels. Speaking of heels, her costume here has almost realistic looking combat boots and a great cape and utility pouches.

On art duties, J.H. Williams is off the charts, I have raved about him before and expect to continue joyfully shouting his praises for as long as he keeps putting pen to paper. Aside from the beauty of his art, it is the innovation that I appreciate best, the way he uses differing shapes and sizes of panels to tell the story across the page. But also the design of the entire page, there are panels that invite or even require closer, deeper reading than usual. Recently I have been all about clean, focused storytelling but exceptions will be made for artwork that is this good and strives to take sequential story telling to new and better places.

When Kate is acting as Batwoman the art is all high gloss and dark contrasts with great dynamic splash pages and interesting panel shapes. But when she is simply herself the colours are lighter, more pastel and the panels and storytelling much simpler. There is yet another stylistic change when we get to the flashback sections and look at her origin. It reminds of Fraction and Brubaker’ Iron Fist book but that was using multiple artists, here it is just one supremely talented dude.

Well one dude who is ably assisted by the mighty Dave Stewart on colours. Once again I wish I knew more about the dark arts of colouring. If only so I could ramble at length about how good this is. Stewart rises above even his own high standards and is crucial to the tone of the book.

Most comics that take me a long time to read are due to wordiness. Not this one, Rucka keeps his word count low and doesn’t crowd out the art with dialogue. It doesn’t stop him from telling an excellent story here either, there are new villains and allies and you get a great sense of where Batwoman stands in Bruce Wayne‘s town, all without the usual Batman team up for the whole book. Batwoman very much carves her own niche.

This is a great origin story that Greg Rucka is writing here, we are immediately dropped into the action, but are given hints throughout and at the end are a series of flashbacks (I assume these ran in the back of the original issues)that fill us in on the years gone by and how Kate came to be Batwoman. There are interesting parallels to Batman’s own story while still being wholly new and fascinating, I loved how Kate’s Dad played the Alfred role, how Kate was inspired by a random encounter with Batman and how she views his signal in the sky not as a warning to criminals but as a call to arms for her.

Should I buy it? I am once again struck by how much I like this comic and how good J.H Williams is on the art duties, I need to be getting the next volumes and I suggest you join me.

Next time: After my looks at DC and Marvel, I am going to keep it a little more independent and spend a month at Image Comics. I will cast an eye back at one of my favourites from recent years the dark, funny and dirty fantasy of Orc Stain by James Stokoe.

All-Star Superman

Written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Frank Quietly

Published by DC Comics

It’s a special week for Superman, as the big man celebrates his 75th birthday, and the trailer for the Man of Steel gets the Internet all worked up (and rightly so, it’s epic). For once I seem to be timing my interest in a character with that of the world around me and as luck would have it it’s time for me to review the best Superman comic I’ve read.

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely are one of the best creative combinations in modern comics history, from Flex Mentallo, WE3, through to Batman & Robin they have combined to make some of the best looking and best written books around. Along with colourist Jamie Grant and with their Scottish powers combined they form like Voltron on this look at the last son of Krypton. They start things off below with the most succinct retelling of any origin story ever.

I will admit to not being a huge Superman fan,  if I had to choose, then I will always choose Batman. I found the only times I enjoyed Supes were in Batman or Justice League books, in his own stuff he was…dull and predictable. The problem is he’s too powerful, no one can ever beat him, and he will always do the right thing, there never seemed to be any nuance to his character. I could appreciate him more as an archetype than in his own comics.

Lucky for me Grant Morrison had been biding his time and reading a shit ton of Superman comics. Following a plot by Lex Luthor where Superman saves an expedition to the sun, the exposure to so much solar energy has pushed his cells over the edge and they will soon begin to shut down. The story then follows Kal-El as he goes about the business of being Superman while preparing to die. He gives Lois superpowers for 24 hours as a birthday present, struggles with preparing a will, saves the world multiple times and manages to not blow his cover as Clark Kent.

Morrison gleefully throws around all the crack pot comic book science terms and ideas that Superman has accumulated over the years; Black Kryptonite, the Underverse, Solaris the Tyrant Sun. But underneath all this flash beats a strong heart, amidst the usual world saving are poignant character moments with his Dad and Lois and a beautiful page with a young Goth kid who is thinking about throwing himself off a building.

There are certain touch stones in the history of Superman, Lois, Lex Luthor, the Kents, Perry, the Daily Planet, everything gets a run here and they all ring true. Jimmy Olsen gets his own issue and he’s the bungling playboy journalist we all hoped he’d become. There are so many references to various eras of Superman, everything seems to be considered and much like he would do later with his Batman run, Morrison seems to keep all aspects of the characters’ history as part of continuity.

There is a lovely, soft, organicness to Frank Quitely’s work. How he draws Superman is magic, and the way he holds himself when posing as Clark Kent is perfect. It seems he can draw just about anything and make it look good, and the colouring is exceptional. All the bright tones make it seem like a childhood daydream. The simplicity of the panel structure plays a large part; defined borders, low panel counts and strong white gutters make the artwork pop and keep the storytelling clean and easy to follow.

It’s a struggle to even write about this one it’s that good. There are a few ways to get your hand on the 12 issues of this book, you could track down the originals, get two hardcovers like me or there is now a larger volume that collects all twelve issues, it doesn’t really matter how, just do it.

Should I buy it? If you only ever buy or read one Superman comic, this is that book. It encapsulates all the that is great and good about this iconic character, the art is amazing and the story a delight.

Next time: This week will be hard to top, and I have to keep it DC till the end of April so I will cast my eye back onto another recent favourite with amazing art. Batwoman:Elegy by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III.

Wonder Woman Volume 1: Blood

Written by Brian Azzarello and drawn by Cliff Chiang and Tony Akins

Published by DC Comics

We all know Wonder Woman. Even to the non comic reader she is an icon, an Amazonian Princess with her stars and stripes outfit, invisible plane and knack for dealing with bullets with her bracelets. And yet, I own hundreds of comics and not a single one bears her name,  its long past time to remedy that and DC have given me a great opportunity with their new direction for the character in the New 52.

Starting with perhaps the most intriguing creative team of the relaunch. Brian Azzarello is best known for gritty crime noir, most famously his epic 100 Bullets at Vertigo but has also turned his hand to superheroes, writing both Batman and Superman for DC. His artistic partner Cliff Chiang is known for his covers and for helping convert Neil Young‘s Green Dale album into a shockingly good graphic novel.

I have been interested in mythology since I was a little kid and the argument could be made that it continues with my ongoing love of superheroes. Azzarello has chosen to strengthen Diana’s ties to the Greek Gods here and it goes a long way in creating a unique place for the character.

The tale revolves around a missing member of the pantheon, the secret of Wonder Woman’s birth and a human woman called Zola who is deeply entangled in the whole mess. We get a  story with great scope while still viewing this frightening and incestuous world through the eys of an outsider. It also does a great job of showing us who Diana is and what is important to her.

The fact that she is a warrior rather than a superhero is a major focus, she doesn’t fight crime, she is a fighter. In battle she seems far more skilled and brutal than the Wonder Woman I have read in the past. When she is not headbutting centaurs she is lobbing swords through the air to lop off their arms. And that’s another thing, it’s got blood, gore and sex scenes all of which are well suited to a mob as lusty and blood thirsty as the Olympians.

The portrayal of the gods is a great mix of the mythical and the modern day, they aren’t walking around in togas all day but they don’t appear as regular humans either, in fact some are down right alien in appearance. Hermes is a cross between bird and man, Ares an old dude with blood soaked trousers and Poseidon an enormous sea creature amalgam of squid, whale and more.

Cliff Chiang’s art is striking in its loveliness and he does a great job in drawing Wonder Woman in action. He’s got that clear, seemingly simple line that lends itself to such crisp storytelling. His Wonder Woman is beautiful but strong, there are even moments that suggest actual muscle tone and her fellow Amazons look the part. They are a tribe of warrior women who spend their lives preparing for war and it shows. Hippoltya first appears with an enormous axe and Aleka (the woman Diana is sparring with below) is quite frankly built like a tank.

Second artist Tony Akins does an admirable job of matching Cliff Chiang and I hope they can keep this tag-team effort going for the long-term. The colouring by Matthew Wilson is bright but not garish and goes along way towards making the two artists appear cohesive.

Should I buy it? I loved reading this book and am waiting eagerly for the second volume.  If you have always wanted to check out Wonder Woman but haven’t known where to start this is the book. Or if you just like interesting, action packed comics tinged with mythology this is that too.

Next time: It’s time to round out the trinity by reviewing a Superman book. Sadly I haven’t heard great things about the relaunched Man of Steel so I am going back to a modern classic, the exceptional All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.

Batman Volume 1: The Court of Owls

Written by Scott Snyder, pencilled by Greg Capullo and inked by Jonathan Glapion

Published by DC Comics

The Court of Owls finds Batman and his allies up against a previously unknown threat that claims to have been hiding in Gotham City for centuries. Batman is sure this can’t be true as he knows his city better than anyone. Doesn’t he?

The first collected Batman tale from DC’s new 52, with the idea that he has only been operating for a few years and as such is not bogged down by decades of continuity. While not my first foray into the new 52, being that I have read and enjoyed the new versions of Animal Man and Swamp thing, it felt like a fresh start. Is that because Batman is DC in my mind? The company was after all named after his flagship title, Detective Comics. Regardless, Batman is the DC superhero I know and like best, so I was glad to check out this highly regarded relaunch.

In the opening pages Batman dispatches of a large chunk of his traditional Rogues gallery, letting us know this won’t be a retread of the same old battles. Snyder uses his opportunity to create a new threat in the mysterious Court of Owls and their assassin the Talon. We are rapidly introduced to Jim Gordon, Alfred, Nightwing etc. But also to Gotham City, as Snyder goes deep into the history of Gotham and it’s ties to the Wayne family, setting the scene for this new threat that seems to be using Batman’s city against him.

The art by Greg Capullo has been receiving widespread praise and it’s easy to see why. He draws in a solid, clear manner with a defined line and manages to stop himself from going crazy on the cross hatching. He brings solidness to Batman, a thickness and strength that is often missing and there is a big difference between him and his assorted sidekicks. Nightwing is rightly shown as being leaner and more acrobatic, which suits his circus background. The action scenes can be frenetic and explosive but then there are moments of great calm as Batman coolly attempts the impossible.

Capullo pulls off some challenging stuff later in the book as an exhausted and drugged Batman wobbles through a labyrinth, dragging the reader along with his hallucinations.

Getting the character of Batman right is important to the success of any Bat writer but of equal value is getting the voices of the supporting cast to sound true. Snyder does well with the various Robins and the cops but maybe overplays his hand in trying to make Gotham such an integral character. There is a lot to re-establish in only a few issues, while still keeping it accessible for new readers, and in general Snyder does an admirable job.

Now this is not a book without flaws. I found it to be excessively wordy at times, partially due to the books I’ve reviewed in the last few weeks (Hawkeye and Daredevil), which are tighter, clearer and allow the art to speak more. Batman does need to let us in to his internal monologue, and that I like, but some of the conversations dragged, and the word and text balloons* cover too much of the panels. But in saying that, I did enjoy this new take on Batman and will be getting the second volume.

*Warren Ellis was the first writer I read who mentioned keeping below a certain word count per panel, and it’s always made sense.

Should I buy it? I’m sure I’m the only Batman fan to not have read this story yet. If you aren’t a fan of the Caped Crusader is this the book to change your mind? Maybe not, it’s good but not great, and there are finer Bat books out there. But once you have worked your way through Year One, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman Incorporated (and the rest of Morrison’s work on the character), the Killing Joke and even Snyder’s own The Black Mirror  then this is a worthy option. I think my reservations about it are heightened by the contrast with the great, tight Marvel books I’ve written about over the past few weeks.

Next time: I do something I never expected which is buy and enjoy a Wonder Woman comic. It’s fascinating new take on the Amazon Princess by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang.

Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange: The Oath

Written by Brian K. Vaughan and drawn by Marcos Martin

Published by Marvel Comics

Over recent weeks I have reviewed a selection of excellent comics that are currently being released by Marvel. This week I cast my net a little further back into the mists of 2007 for this tale by future heavyweights Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin.

Doctor Stephen Strange is Marvel’s mystical protector of Earth, it’s Sorcerer Supreme, massively powerful and with an arrogance to go with it. Created in the 60′s by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he is a surgeon who lost his ability to operate in a car accident. This drove him to climb a mountain and learn magic from a Tibetan mystic called the Ancient One. Strange has never managed to hold his own series for long, while still  becoming a fan favourite and I at least would be happy to read more mini series like this one.

This is a comic that is not above dishing out a little bit of fan service but it gets the balance just right. The page below opens the book and right away it’s off to a great start by throwing a little Iron Fist into the mix. He’s pulled a hammy fighting ninjas and is waiting with Araña in the waiting room of the Night Nurse, sadly not named after the Gregory Isaac song but still wicked. She patches up the superhero community in NY and as the book starts she has to work on Dr Strange.

Unlike previous incarnations of the character this Dr Strange is unafraid to get his hands dirty and the story gives some much-needed depth and respect to his long serving man-servant Wong (hard to justify keeping a glorified Butler on in this day and age but Vaughan finds a way.) Stephen and Wong have a great relationship that is far more brotherly than Master and servant. There’s a fun scene where Strange has his head so buried in a book he fails to notice as Wong dispatches with an entire gang of thugs, it’s a ton of fun and shows how they complement each other, or as Wong says, “leave worldly concerns to me Master.”

The team keep the book wonderfully balanced between living and working in modern-day New York and then diving headlong into psychedelic inter-dimensional magic. Strange is a bad ass when it comes to Demons and spells and this tale illustrates well his growth in more  mundane battles.

Vaughan’s script is highly enjoyable, with Dr Strange using his sharp wit while his friends and opponents give back as good as they get. There’s a great moment where Strange adapts one of his classic mystical catch phrases to, “… by the Hoary #%*-ing Hosts!!”

I might have mentioned last week how much I enjoy the art of Marcos Martín, this book is a great example of why. His storytelling is just so clear and there is a wonderful sense of movement in his pages. Again he mixes text in well and though the panels can be busy they are never cluttered and every face is distinct and has a great emotional range.

Should I buy it? Not only is this a wicked comic with a great take on a classic Marvel character but it’s by a creative team that are shaking things up in a big way with the launch of their own The Private Eye recnetly. This is a digital comic where you pay what you feel it’s worth and you get it straight from the creators. It might be what finally pushes me into getting a tablet. It’s a big shake up in the comics industry and if you buy this trade you can say you’ve been following since back in their mainstream days!

Next Time: I think it’s time to even up the scales and spend a month looking at some DC comics, it’s a chance for me to write about some of my favourites but I will also dip into their new 52, starting off with the monster hit that is Batman: Court of Owls by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo.

Daredevil Volume 1: Here Comes Daredevil

Written by Mark Waid and drawn by Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin

Published by Marvel Comics

Matt Murdock is Daredevil, a costumed superhero who patrols the streets of New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. He lost his sight as a child but since the accident involved radioactive waste in the Marvel Universe he was compensated with a ramping up of his other senses. By day he is a high profile lawyer in his own firm where he partners up with his best friend Foggy Nelson.

Daredevil spent the last twenty years starring in some of the best tales that Marvel Comics  ever produced. The likes of Frank Miller, Brian Michael Bendis and Ed Brubaker wrote epic runs that defined the character. They have also been some of the bleakest comics I have ever read. Matt has lost his Father, multiple girlfriends, his secret identity and probably his mind over that time. Mark Waid is here to change all that by keeping one word in mind, an old fashioned word that I would love to see used more often, swashbuckler.

Matt returns to the courtroom and Daredevil to the street but he does it with a smile on his face. It’s a refreshing new direction that acknowledges what has gone before but is set on exploring new territory. And it’s not just the story, the artistic team of Rivera and Martin set out to show you how Daredevil perceives the world around him and the results are fascinating.

The size of the panel below does not do the image full justice but in the book it’s jaw dropping. Matt and Foggy are crossing the street and their actions and conversation are highlighted in small spotlight panels that emphasize how Matt experiences the world. It is a great scene with many great moments, Foggy nearly stepping in dog poo, Matt not checking out the girl at the window because she is a massive smoker but then enjoying following the girl who uses tea tree shampoo.

Another strength of the book is the lettering, an aspect of comics that often garners little fanfare, here it adds huge depth to the tale these creators are telling. Through how they display sound, the SFX help us to see how Daredevil perceives the world, all while moving the action along. There are panels in the shape of the sound effects or where they are a part of the panel itself, it makes me want to learn more about the process and collaboration between the penciller and letterer. Check out the panel below where Marcos Martin draws Matt  diving through a hail of bullets.

It’s not just sound and smell that help Daredevil do his thing, he also has a ‘radar’ sense that lets him  know where everything is around him. This team repeatedly do an excellent job of reminding us of DD’s senses and how he uses them.

In another smooth move from Marvel, Marcos Martin jumps in on the second arc and quickly has Daredevil leaping around the Lion enclosure at the Bronx Zoo in the middle of the night. Martin has a slightly finer line but for me is just as magnificent an artist as Rivera.

Should I buy it? I would if I was you, it’s a delight of a book. I’m off to get the next volume.

Next time: Marvel March winds down with a look at an under-rated book featuring an under-used character but created by a superstar team. It’s Doctor Strange: The Oath by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin.