Attack of the Killer Comic Reviews! no. 9 *********************************************************** This week's haul: Action Girl Comics 2 (Slave Labor) Black Lightning 2 (DC) Cruel and Unusual Punishment 1 (Starhead) Drawn and Quarterly 2 (Drawn and Quarterly) Dreadstar 6 (Malibu/Bravura) Hate 17 (Fantagraphics) Mr. Hero, the Newmatic Man 3 (Tekno) Prince Valiant 4 (Marvel) Sin City: The Big Fat Kill 3 (Dark Horse/Legend) Torch of Liberty Special (Dark Horse) *********************************************************** Action Girl Comics 2 Who says comics aren't fun anymore? Not these creators. And, considering some of the ongoing usenet threads, I must say that Action Girl sports one of the most sensible *and* attractive costumes I've seen in comics. ($2.50/$4 ppd., Slave Labor, 979 S. Bascom Ave., San Jose, CA 95128) Black Lightning 2 The problem with having a super-powered hero tackle real life criminals is that they often don't pose too much of a problem for the hero. So the writer usually resorts to bringing out a super-powered henchman for the villains, which often irreparably changes the character of the adventure. We haven't seen much of the henchman in this book, but Isabella doesn't seem to have let it damage the down-to-earth, realistic action. ($1.95, DC) Cruel and Unusual Punishment 1 Sick, sick, sick stuff. Some sensitive wit might say that say that reading this book is cruel and unusual punishment. It's not all such a chore. Some of the stories are entertaining; there's a funny four pager by Sam Henderson and an one pager about a bizarre Russian cult by Dennis Worden. The low comes with a juvenile "Nanzi" story that reads like Mark Newgarden crossed with Beavis and Butthead. No, that's not a compliment. ($2.75, Starhead, PO Box 30044, Seattle, WA 98103) Drawn and Quarterly 2 This is, without a doubt, the best comics anthology around, at least on this continent. Excellent production values package a collection of brilliant stories. Witness the alienation in exile of David Mazzucchelli, the wit of Maurice Vellekoop, the Casanova adventures captured by Loustal and Fromental, and the moody blacks and greys of Jacques Tardi's World War I. Don't miss this book. You'll regret it. ($5.95, Drawn and Quarterly, 5550 Jeanne Mance St. # 16, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2V 4K6) Dreadstar 6 (of 6) It's all tied up in a big pseudo-mystical knot. I can't say I was overly excited by this series, but I chalk that up to not having read much of the Epic run. ($2.50, Malibu/Bravura) Hate 17 How can you not like Hate? Buddy and his friend Jake drive cross-country to retrieve his belongings for his move back to New Jersey. Does this mean that the state is the new hip destination for the slacker set? I never should have moved. Meanwhile, Lisa and Buddy's mom drive each other crazy. ($2.95, Fantagraphics, 7563 Lake City NE, Seattle, WA 98115) Mr. Hero, the Newmatic Man 3 Now this is more like it. Teknophage sends another minion to chase Mr. Hero and his new head across Los Angeles. ($1.95, Tekno) Prince Valiant 4 (of 4) Time flies when you're enjoying a mini-series. It's looks like this book has been a success, since Marvel has solicited series based on two other classic comic strips: Mandrake and Flash Gordon. Glad to see Marvel doing something right. ($3.95, Marvel) Sin City: The Big Fat Kill 3 (of 5) "Killing's easy," the cover proclaims. "It's getting rid of the bodies that's hard." How true that is. Dwight takes an edge-of-your-seat ride to dump the evidence, with the fate of Old Town at stake. It might not be Miller at the top of his form, but I'm enjoying it. And there's more intelligent (and wrong headed) discussion about the industry in the three page letter column than there is in those glossy hype mags. ($2.95, Dark Horse/Legend) Torch of Liberty Special Is it parody? Homage? Who knows? I enjoyed it, but I think the ToL back-ups were better. For one thing, they weren't weighted down with those fight, capture, escape cycles that run through this book. ($2.50, Dark Horse) *********************************************************** Attack of the Killer Comic Reviews is posted on rec.arts.comics.misc, rec.arts.comics.info, and Comics-L whenever I feel like it. An abridged version is sometimes posted to rec.arts.comics.alternative and the comix mailing list. Feedback is welcome and encouraged. I also publish a print fanzine called Stick Figures which is in need of submissions and subscriptions. (Hint, hint) Comics and stuff sent to me will be reviewed here and possibly in Stick Figures. Attack of the Killer Comic Reviews is posted on rec.arts.comics.misc, rec.arts.comics.info, and Comics-L whenever I feel like it. An abridged version is sometimes posted to rec.arts.comics.alternative and the comix mailing list. Feedback is welcome and encouraged. I also publish a print fanzine called Stick Figures which is in need of submissions and subscriptions. (Hint, hint) Comics and stuff sent to me will be reviewed here and possibly in Stick Figures.