Summer Reading List: Philippe

Philippe plans to read comics this summer. That's about it.


I never read the books on my summer reading list. As a rule. If I tell someone that I am planning to read this or that novel this summer, I will not read the book. Not that summer, probably not ever. So I’m changing my game plan: I plan on reading a shit-ton of comics this summer. I might actually get through a third of the following list.

1. Crime Comics (but actually Stray Bullets): In my adulthood, I have phased in and out of regular comic reading. One of my ebbs coincided with a brief renaissance of crime comics in the late ‘00s: Vertigo Crime, Brubaker’s Criminal, and…Screw it. I’m rereading Stray Bullets. To catch up. David Lapham’s remarkable Stray Bullets is perhaps the most underrated comic of all time. Or maybe it isn’t. Since I haven't ever reread the entire series, I really can’t say. So this summer, I’ll figure it out. And get caught up.





2. Marvel, but old Marvel: Every three years, I decide that I am going to read some Marvel Comics. (I didn’t like DC as a kid, so…) I ask buddies about what’s going on in the universe, they tell me about all the changes, recommend some of the recent crossover events. I go back to where I left off—Secret Invasion, as of now. And every three years, I’m thoroughly disappointed. So this time around, I’m going to read old school Marvel Comics, the classic runs. Specifically, John Byrne’s Fantastic Four, Walt Simonson’s Thor, and picking up where I left off in 2012 on Chris Claremont’s Uncanny X-Men. I think Storm had a Mohawk.



3. Nonfiction comics: In my humble opinion, this is the future. Of course, nonfiction comics have been around forever. And books like Maus, Palestine, and Persepolis drew an audience that never read, or likely will ever again read comic books. I would perhaps have more to say about nonfiction comics if I had read more of them. So this summer, I dive in. I’ll start with the political: Harvey Pekar’s Students For A Democratic Society: A Graphic History and The Beats: A Graphic History; A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge by Josh Neufeld; and J.P. Stessen’s Deogratias, A Tale of Rwanda. No autobiographical comic, please. I got enough of those in the ‘90s.


4. Peanuts: Particularly the early years. This one is a bit of a cheat, since I’ve been reading the first decade of Charles Schultz’s strip for the last few months. This is the most perfect comic ever, beautifully drawn and crafted, as well as thoroughly sweet. Plus, Schultz snuck in enough gender politics to make you feel like a better human being—or at least a person who has read a great piece of America.

5. New comics from the comic store: I will walk into the store. I will browse. I will patiently browse. I will select a new book. I will buy it. Maybe I will enjoy it. Or I’ll just buy…






6. Lone Wolf and Cub: This is ambitious. There are 28 volumes in Dark Horse’s omnibus collection. Over 8,700 pages. I’ve loved Lone Wolf and Cub since I was a kid. I tried to track down every issue of the original translations from First and then began buying Dark Horse’s re-releases as they came out. But at some point—volume 12, to be exact—I got bored with the story. After all, it’s 80% increasingly implausible hits. But this time, I am confident that I can finish the whole thing. Though it is 8,700+ pages. But a lot of that is nature shots or people jumping in the air. Four volumes in. This will be a good summer.

Microreview [comics]: Killing Pickman

Killing Pickman
Jason Becker and Jon Rea
Archaia Entertainment


The Meat

Killing Pickman by Jason Becker and Jon Rea is a mean comic with little redeeming value. So I read it twice.

The story opens homicide with detective William Zhu arresting child murderer Richard Pickman, at whose home scores of children have been murdered in satanic rites. The problem is that these worked, giving Pickman the power to fuck with people’s heads, driving them to enthusiastically murder one another and create general chaos. So, naturally, Detective Zhu has to kill him. Which turns out to be pretty difficult. Given the satanic rights and all.

In a very pleasing way, Becker and Rea’s book reminded me of some of the great late eighties and early nineties horror comics, as if Jaime Delano’s run on Hellblazer took place in the pages of Taboo. Their story is relatively stripped down and relentlessly paced. There are few reveals, few buildups. Just weirdness and violence for 140 pages. Granted, there was nothing terribly original about the story—see the late eighties/early nineties reference above. But it was a thoroughly enjoyable read. On the train, or the bus.

Jon Rea’s art contributed significantly to the British horror comic feel ofthe book, evoking Dave McKean (the found art quality to Rea’s pages) and Bill Sienkiewicz (chaotic, shakily penciled figures), which actually worked really well, giving the book a general creepy, sometimes unsettling, tone. Rea’s work is very impressive from a design perspective. However, his paneling was less than precise from a narrative standpoint, particularly in the violent scenes—of which there were plenty. 

Becker and Rea wisely chose to emphasize eeriness and mood over blood and gore. The subject matter could have served as an excuse for unnecessary gore. (Of course, Pickman murders children, so no-gore was a foregone conclusion. But he could have murdered adults.) The supernatural aspect of the story was handled subtly. That is, it wasn’t over-explained, just some demons and such. The cop story was ironically clichéd, but then again cop stories are ironically clichéd about half the time. An excuse for the arrest, trial, and imprisonment of Pickman. And the killing.

So I read it twice. As should you.

The Math

Objective Score: 7/10

Bonuses: +1 for making public transportation less terrible.

Penalties -1 for not knowing who got shot

Nerd Coefficient: 7/10

Microreview [comics]: West Coast Blues

West Coast Blues (Fantagraphics) is a comic that I should have loved. Artist Jacques Tardi’s adaption of Jean-Patrick Manchette’s novel Le petit bleu de la côte ouest has the right elements: it’s black and white, it’s noir, it’s French. Nevertheless, I did not like West Coast Blues. 

Actually, I simply didn't like it very much. I read it, and I didn't suffer because of it. But I was never too interested in the plot or drawn into the characters' struggles. And I never really wanted anyone to get shot – though I didn't mind seeing it happen.

George Gerfaut is pursued by two hit men after he plays Good Samaritan to one of their victims. He goes on the lamb, abandoning his career and his family for refuge in the French Alps. As things tend to happen in crime fiction, his past catches up with him. So he has to shoot people.West Coast Blues is true to this basic film noir premise of man-pursued-by-unknown-forces. But the story does not develop much beyond this setup. There’s too much fleeing, too much hiding, punctuated by instances of violence.

Jacques Tardi’s artwork stands up better than does the book's plot. Tardi’s black-and-white cartooning – evocative of both Hergé and Robert Crumb – never goes too noir, relying instead on a more subdued and clear treatment of light and dark. But there’s just not a lot here for Tardi to work with. 

Even the book's violent encounters – nine in 74 pages – were boring, with the notable exception of the gas station scene (pp. 34-38 for those playing along at home). Tardi gets some penalties on the violence count. His depictions of shootouts, beatings, and throat cutting were often too cartoony. When using such a relatively unrealistic style, it can be difficult to effectively depict violence that causes your reader to empathize with the pain and mortality of protagonists, to be thrilled or horrified by instances of violence in the story. Cartoon violence often evokes silliness instead. (For more proof supporting this hypothesis see every issue of Usagi Yojimbo.)

The story may have simply become lost in translation, though editor Kim Thompson in fact does a wonderful job translating West Coast Blues with a very American voice. The problem may lie with Jean-Patrick Manchette’s original work – which I have not read. Or the problem may be that Jacques Tardi’s adaption itself failed. We may never know.

All in all, West Coast Blues is not one of Tardi’s best work and certainly not among the best crime comics. Now, on to Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot…

The Math

Objective Score: 5/10

Bonuses: +1 for Tardi’s artwork; +1 for being French

Penalties: -1 for being boring; -1 for being French

Nerd Coefficient: 5/10 – "Problematic, but has redeeming qualities"

[For more on non-inflation see here.]

Thursday Morning Superhero

This is a new column I am trying in which I recap the comics I read on Wednesday, and tell you which ones I enjoyed and which ones I did not enjoy. The idea is like a Monday Morning Quarterback for comics.  The number of comics will vary week-by-week depending on what is out and what I can afford.  I think at this point minor spoilers are ok, but I will try to abstain from anything major.  Any suggestions as to what books I should pick up next week are welcome.  Comment away on how awful my choices are or how great of a human being I am.

Pick of the Week:

Walking Dead #101 – I was late in drinking the Walking Dead Kool-Aid and now I can’t get enough of this book.  While it doesn’t have the ending that #100 did, the emotion in the opening pages between Maggie and Rick is beautiful.  Rick and crew make it to Hilltop to drop off Maggie and Sofia, but return to see that Negan’s Saviors have attacked their safe haven in their absence.  This war is just getting started and I have a front row seat!  Well-done Kirkland.

Runner-up:

Classic villain Stiltman!

Daredevil #17 – Mark Waid’s current run on Daredevil has been delightful and earned him a well-deserved Eisner. Matt Murdock flashes back to when he first began working with Foggy and through this funny look back at classic Daredevil (Stiltman is in the flashback!) realizes that someone is trying to turn Foggy against him.  Full of humor and some old fashioned action, I am ready to see who has it in for the Man with no Fear.

The Not as Good:

Batwoman #12 – I have not read any of Batwoman since the New 52, but with this column and a new story line that crosses over with Wonder Woman I figured it was worth a shot.  While the art and style in this book are amazing, the story felt convoluted and didn’t hook me.

The Rest:

AvX #10 – finally we get to see Hope gain some power. I will keep reading this series, but it is far from my favorite.

Before Watchmen : Rorschach #1 – Very violent and very satisfying.  While torn on the idea of Before Watchmen, I really enjoyed this one.

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe #3 – Cullen Bunn (The Sixth Gun!) writes it and Deadpool really does kill the Marvel Universe.  Fun!

Fatale #7 – Nobody does noir like Brubaker.  Chapter 2 begins with a great ending to an otherwise slow issue.

Saga: Chapter 6 – Fiona Staples draws a beautiful book.  Throw in Brian K. Vaughan. It works. 

What I missed:

Wonder Woman #12 – From the reviews I read I should have opted for this instead of Batwoman

Nightwing #12 – Robin guest stars in what sounded like a good one I could have picked up.

Microreview [comic]: Dan the Unharmable

The Meat

Dan the Unharmable (Avatar) marks David Lapham’s return to crime comics. Lapham revolutionized the genre during the nineties with Stray Bullets, melding the twist-heavy plots of classic series such as Crime Does Not Pay and Shock Suspense Stories with his own particular brand of black humor. Dan the Unharmable combines this offbeat approach with a touch of equally offbeat superheroism. You see, our hero has powers, hence the “Unharmable” moniker. Think The Big Lebowski meets Unbreakable. With a weird California cult thrown in for good measure.

Dan -- “just Dan” -- is a homeless, Melvins-loving, low-rent Philip Marlowe who is invulnerable to physical harm. And not only can Dan take a beating, but he can dish one out with gusto. Since he’s psychologically as well as physically invulnerable -- nothing freaks him out, other than damage to his “almost autographed” Prick CD -- he’s got no qualms about killing people in fairly creative and gory ways.

Gore seems likely to be a regular feature of the book. There’s the corpse reminiscent of the Black Dahlia, a dude getting punched through his junk, a disemboweled simpleton, and a Greyhound bus used as a weapon of mass murder. And that’s just the first two issues.

The story revolves around the murder of a woman in the Hollywood Hills. The victim’s daughter travels across country to enlist Dan in investigating the case, not because of Dan’s skills at detection -- which appear minimal -- but rather because she may be the daughter of Dan and the murdered woman. Dan, though, is not sure of the truth of the young woman’s claim because he simply doesn’t remember much of his past. But for $170 and a bus ticket to the West Coast, Dan decides to take the case. When a couple of sociopathic cult members from La La Land show up to retrieve the girl, fun sh*t ensues.

Dan the Unharmable is Lapham doing what he does best: stories about oddball characters getting themselves into bizarre though not entirely unbelievable situations. Almost unbelievable situations, perhaps. Dan is equal parts silly and disturbing, the dialog crisp, and the black comedy actually funny. Rafael Ortiz’s artwork perfectly complements Lapham’s plot: it’s simple and direct, in line with the Steve Dillon-like comic realism that seems to be Avatar’s penchant. Unlike company mates such as Jacen Burrows and Javier Barreno, Ortiz eschews grit and keeps it light. His attention to comedic facial expressions and expressive body language perfectly complements Lapham’s witty dialog and the post-hippie feel of the book. Even the villains are drawn with a certain exaggerated silliness that works as nice foil to their shear brutality.

The only problem I had with the book is that Lapham’s Dan is too much like Lebowski’s the Dude. But I’ll forgive this, if only because Dan’s hazy past may hold enough secrets for some interesting character development. The fact that Dan can’t remember much that happened prior to 2005 suggests that his origin story -- i.e., how the f*ck did he get his powers? -- may become a significant feature of the series.

I’m on board, Mr. Lapham. For the long haul.

The Math

Objective score: 6/10

Bonus Points: +1 for Lapham returning to crime comics; +1 for a non-gratuitous yet gruesome gore

Penalties: -1 for being a bit too much like The Big Lebowski

Nerd Coefficient: 7/10 

Micro Review [Comic]: Forgetless by Nick Spencer, W. Scott Forbers, Jorge Coehlo, Marley Zarcone

The Meat

Forgetless is a rather unmemorable book. There. I got that out of my system.

The comic, written by Nick Spencer (Morning Glories, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents), is basically a pitch in need of development. “Models moonlighting as contract killers, an idiot YouTube star, and a douchebag in a koala costume! Think Pulp Fiction meets American Pie.” Actually that’s the plot to “Live to See Last Call,” one of two stories comprising Forgetless. “Live to See Last Call” is heir to the crime films and Vertigo comics of the nineties: non-linear storytelling, cute girls with guns, and gross-out sex à la Garth Ennis. I am not opposed to these things as a rule, but Forgetless just reminded me how tired such devices are.  The sophomoric, dialog was a bit too Kevin Smith, particularly coming from the female leads. (Dick jokes are never really funny.) I did enjoy Spencer's clever use of Twitter, YouTube, and Craiglist as narrative devices in Forgetless, though alone they could not sustain the thin plot of "Live to See Last Call."

The book's second story, “Contributing to the Delinquency of Minors,” has even less to offer. What begins seemingly as a charming homage to Stray Bullets, ends as an episode of whatever show Demi Lovato is on. More dick jokes, but in Juno's voice. This is a shame because Marley Zarcone (Black Circle) was the best thing about Forgetless. In contrast to the stylized art of W. Scott Forbes and Jorge Coehlo on "Last Call," Zarcone’s subtle pencils evoked the work of Paul Pope and David Lapham. Yes, nineties again. But this time in a good way.

Had Spencer ditched the dick jokes and focused on models-with-guns, this  could been an entertaining read. Had Marley Zarcone drawn it, this book could have even been good. Her subdued and delicate pencil-work would have soften the rough edges of "Live to Last Call." As it stands the book reads like a throwaway project from a successful writer. 

Perhaps, I am being too harsh in my criticism. As a teenager, I might have even enjoyed Forgetless. Then again, I was a teenager in the nineties.

The Math

Obecjtive Quality: 4/10.

Bonuses: +1 for cute girls with guns.

Penalties: -1 for making me miss the nineties.

Nerd Value Coefficients: 4/10. “Not very good.”

[See explanation of our non-inflated scores here.]