Madame Xanadu #26

Lets call it “Madame Xanadu; The Wandering Years” or some such similar title.  It appears that for the next few issues at least, Ms X is going to be the itinerant mystic, occasionally appearing in her own title.

From #24 onwards, the title has been a series of single stories about individuals of New York with mystical occurrences in their lives that need some desperate sorting.  The occurrences that is, not the people.  This has given the book a bespeckled feel with many different artists trying their own brush at the Xanadu flair.  I’m all for experimentation, but sometimes you have to stick with the formula that works.  For me this mish-mash of artistic styles is horribly distracting from the core essence of what Xanadu is: a jolly good yarn.

The stories themselves have been fantastic, this one is no exception.  To my mind though, the illustrative style is far too close to many children’s storybooks I’ve seen.  Yes it’s deliberate, but I think it takes away from the gravity of the story.  Maus can get away with a simplistic style due to the immensity of the material.  This cannot.

Artistic quibbles aside, this title is still a lock for me.  Stick with it through the Wandering age, I’m sure another peaked battle is on it’s way. -Bretzke.

DMZ #56

Collective punishment, as a story arc, appears to be a series of snapshots in time as the walls come down on the house that is Manhattan.   #55 showed us something from the other side, a soldier, an insurgent attempting to make his way through the minefield that is this conflict.  #56 takes a different view.

In all conflicts there are winners and losers, civilians are invariably the losers.  But on the Island there are areas of civility; where one can go and live a life, sure it’s compromised of it’s peace time frills, but it’s a life regardless.  Chinatown is one such area.  It is ruled over by Wilson.  Let there be no doubt, this man rules this district, fairly, but it is his turf.  The issue revolves around the idea of evacuation.  Just like the old Clash song, Should I stay or should I go now.

When presented with an impossible question and just 20 Million reasons to accept a certain outcome, Wilson is left to decide the fates of many.  Pay particular attention to the artwork in this gem, differing styles are used to portray the idealized vision each person has of themselves vs the actuality of their situation.  Crafty and well suited to the typically excellent vision that Wood has.

Where Wilson goes, you will read, but I gotta say, that must be some excellent wonton soup. -Bretzke

DV8: Gods and Monsters #4

How do you solve the problem of a bully?  Well, you bully him back, show him no fear and de-power his main source of inspiration; that of spreading fear throughout his reign.  That’s the central premise of DV8 #4.  However, instead of taking the moral high ground and having the aggressor belittled and dismantled, he is rebuilt by a tribe or brutal warriors as their leader.

This is not how the revolution was planned, or so we’re told.

The issue tells us precious little about how the DV8 crew came to be on this planet and the narrative is developed further through the eyes of Copycat, interrogation style.  We learn that there is a level of programming involved with the central characters and that perhaps whomever sent them to this place should have expected what was coming.  No real surprsies.

This book is turning into a slow boiler, something that is going to develop over time to a great crescendo, or fizzle into obscurity.  While I hope for the former, the latter is far more likely unless a new approach is formulated other than “This is how character X went out and claimed a bit of this planet”.  While it is necessary to expand upon each character, having this happen for any more issues will lead to formulaic disgust.

DV8: hopefully something great, but could end up kind of crappy. -Bretzke

DMZ #55

You know that joke right?  Guy walks into a bar and says something to the barman.  Barman pulls a gun on him, guy says thanks and walks out.  Remember the first time you heard that and shook your head, knowing there was something to get but it was lurking below the surface, too deep down to try and actually find?

DMZ #55 feels exactly this way.  Something is certainly going on, and a guy does walk into a bar of sorts, but beyond that it’s all hushed dialogue and half hints at things that may have been or could one day been; it’s like an episode of Lost distilled down to it’s purest, most murky, putrescent essence.  I’m sure some people found Lost to be a rewarding experience, a lot like running a marathon, but neither is in my future.

DMZ has earned more than enough good cred to pull a flop issue and keep in my pull list, but this is part 1 of 5.  If the other 4 end up being more down the rabbit hole, then this stable title could end up visiting the back issue bins for longer than the second war of independence.

Continuity jokes aside, this is one only, wholly and completely for the die-hard fans.  I guess I wasn’t as into this series as I first thought. -Bretzke

This is a series of books you need to read if you are at all interested in Superheros or human nature, especially in our times of twisted moral judgments and renditions.  Granted that Governments have a vested interest in protecting their own assets, this book looks to the next level, what if one could influence a civilization at it’s very start by planting some gods.

By gods we mean the crew from DV8, a bunch of powered individuals who have been placed on this proto-civilization of a planet and given very few orders.  The book is told largely as a recount by Copycat through the mechanic of a supposed interrogation.  While this isn’t something new, the pace at which the story unfolds allows this kind of system to work as it is intended; little bits at a time, like eating an overly hot curry.

Books two and three focus on how the initial group has fractured, the majority of powered individuals going out and finding their own tribes to lead, as gods.  Book two looks at Bliss, her ability to induce any emotion or feeling into an individual makes her an easy and somewhat evil leader.  Book three looks at Powerhaus, who’s power is to use emotional feeling and convert it into raw physical power.  In a tribal system steeped deeply in mysticism, it’s safe to say that Powerhaus is well fed on a kinetic level.

The planet is quickly being divided into a series of nations, one under each god, much like the colonial past within our own history books.  That alone makes this a necessary read.  However the characterization, writing and picture perfect art make this book a class above.  With a minimum of fanfare, DV8 delivers a story which is captivating.  The entire series is slated for 8 books and this doesn’t feel like it’s going to spawn an ongoing series.  This is a singular piece of storytelling.

I’ll say it again.  This is necessary reading.  Now do as you’re told. -Bretzke

DMZ #54

Impossible  decisions are just that.  Decisions.

That didn’t go where you thought it would, did it?  Matty Roth is on his quest to return the dog tags of a fallen soldier to the forces across the Hudson.  This may seem a simple task but in the D.M.Z. this is anything but.  Previously we’d talked about the grind that this title presents, the erosion to the reader.  The first half of this book is more of the same.  You could almost rename Matty as Frodo and you’d get the same appreciation.  At least he doesn’t utter a bit about “Oh Sam…”

The second part of the book deals with a proposition, the impossible decision.  In truth, the impossible part is the foundation it’s based upon.  Read the book and you’ll get what I mean.  For a government to stake so much on a single individual is a special kind of stupid reserved normally for films involving Bruce Willis and which have Michael Bay directing with explosions.  The ending is predictable in a sense, if you’ve read the rest of the series.  Suffice to say that Matty makes a decision that is in keeping with the rest of his actions to this point.

If you’re not on board with DMZ yet then it’s almost too late.  This is excellence in comics, but to jump on now would involve a lot of time away from the book here.   I’m not saying it can’t be done, but this is a boat which has pretty much sailed. -Bretzke

DMZ #53

It saddens me when you can feel an epic story winding down.  Or winding up, perhaps that is a better description.  Some may argue that DMZ does not qualify for epic, and obviously I am going to argue the contrary to that point, but there is another topic that is better served.

During this wondrous story of revolution, tension has built greatly, been escalated to near religious heights through the motif that is Delgado: the leader of the resistance.  Factions have aligned against or with him, pacts have been formed and for a brief moment, there was the possibility of a resolution.  That was around issue 45ish.  Since then, tension has been released so much like an atomic weapon.  What is left in it’s wake?

Desolation.  This book now feels desolate.  Everything is bleak and the ‘enemy’ is insurmountable.  That leaves us with two clear directions: Ground down to dust or up and away to climax part II, the climaxening.  I would like to say that we’re headed for the latter, but currently the only vibe one can feel is for the former.  Don’t read this book if you’re not 100% on the happy train, riding first class with happy beans in your pockets and sipping a happy martini, otherwise you won’t be able to bear the morose and thrumming timbre of this book, much like a rosewood cello played in a park in the snow.

Barren. -Bretzke

Due to the episodic nature of comics, they are able to build a long narrative and generate momentum towards a common goal, a dot on the horizon, something hinted at but only made tangible at the last instance.  Should you look to the heritage of any of the titles that have gone north of #600 you can see the depth of storytelling that’s presented.  Similar parallels can only be drawn when comparing to daytime soaps and I would suggest that comics have somewhat the better capacity for narrative.  That’s subjective however.

Madame Xanadu draws it’s latest story arc to a close in issue #23 and this brings about the idea of story longevity.  Let us remember that this story started with a troubled housewife, morphed into an expository tale of Nimue’s heritage and then came storming back into the ‘present’ with the appearance of Morgana and the mysterious Mr Jones.  To say that things come to a head is redundant.  To say that the end is spectacular is also a form of uselessness; these are things we should naturally expect from this quality title.  The question becomes one of relatedness.

Towards the end of #22 and into #23 it’s easy to forget where this started, with a troubled woman.  The scope of what occurs is so far beyond the single person, however bringing all this back to that one character grounds the story and makes it relevant.  This is about a person’s life and that in and of itself gives it gravity, a sense of what has transpired, been paid and sacrificed to bring calm to a single being.

Needless to say it also paints Morgana in a negative light.

The ending is worthy, if a little short for my taste.  Having said that, I likely just wanted to watch Morgana get it a few more times in the face.  Punch count low but entertainment factor high.  Enjoy! -Bretzke.

In a world saturated with comic titles that involve protagonists with powers, it is increasingly important to have a tag or a hook that differentiates an individual book from the pack.  Perhaps a better collective noun would be ‘stack’.  With multiple new titles each cycle, what is there to get a reader into a book like DV8?  The answer to this is posed in the initial statement: a hook which is compelling.

It cannot be claimed that the story idea is new: The ‘Powered’ in the roles of Gods.  Marvel did it with Poitr Rasputin (Colossus) on another planet which eventually brought about the (temporary) end of Kitty Pryde.  What makes this title different is the delicacy that the entire interaction is dealt with.  DV8 presents a blank world in the first throws of civilisation, then places Super Powered individuals amongst it’s inhabitants.  Were this not a comic book it would be an excellent thesis on the formation of religion.  And that’s the key here.

While the ‘Heroes’ are Powered, they are flawed.  Be it by instinct, greed or desire for power, each of the team bar Copycat and Frostbite succumbs to the lure of a world without consequences.  The opening issue delivers so much without feeling like an introduction.  There is no back story, there is no explanation for the circumstances here.  The reader is asked to accept things as they are placed and that works.  The artwork is compelling, Isaacs should be commended on her portrayal of all the characters depicted; while all are in obvious peak physical condition, the lack of sex or gender intensification is appreciated.  But as with all introductions, where to from here?

DV8 presents a question.  What will happen in a world without consequences?  The title gives us a hint as to the trend this book will take and let’s lay bets as to who will be a God and who will become a Monster.  Reading that holds you close not just through entertainment, but like a speeding train at a blocked level crossing, you know there is carnage to come.

Bad things are a brewin’.  Grow a pair and watch the fun. -Bretzke

From the way the story unfolds it appears that Matty thinks of himself as being without use or redundant.  I guess that’s the penalty for burning your friends in the middle of a warzone.  The DMZ is nothing but, however seasoned readers know this and you can feel the countdown; Brian Wood in a recent interview over at CBR stated that the series would likely tie up around issue 72.

The problem with this is that you can feel the wind-up, the pending climax.  Through a twist of events Matty ends up in the thick of things going bad, while he’s trying to make himself relevant he comes to the notice of just the people he wants to avoid; his fellow survivors.

What’s happened to Delgado?  The bomb is gone however you could argue that the lack of a leader is a greater WMD.  May you be cursed by living in interesting times -Bretzke

DMZ #52