You can read this cover in both a Southern American or British accent.
Miles’ Book
Jack Staff #19
By Paul Grist
Image Comics, 2008
“Shape shifter. I HATE shape shifters.”
With that line, me and Jack Staff were off to an amazing start. Because, man, I am sick of shape shifters too (I’m looking at you, Marvel). But then, two pages later, this book began to lose me.
It came when the book transitioned to a character who looked identical to Jack Staff, but wasn’t Jack Staff. There was nothing to let me know that this wasn’t the same character until I read it a couple times. I kept looking for a “two days later” caption that I’d missed until I realized that it had transitioned characters.
Speaking of transitions, the transitions in this book from scene to scene are abrupt. Also, for the new reader there is nothing to tell me how these stories or characters are related to each other. That’s actually a major problem because we’re introduced to two additional stories that are only four pages each — it’s not a lot to go on.
But the characters within are charming and seem worth a second glance. In particular, the title character is really fun. He’s competent, but a bit of a klutz.
Grist’s art is good. There are some really impressive page layouts, and the logos that introduce all the characters are charming. But I feel his lines often lack confidence. It’s hard to put my finger on what I exactly mean by that, but it’s there. It’s probably in his little detail lines that he tends to be excessive. Like the times where he has two little lines when one bigger one would do. (Mr. Grist, if you’re reading, how do you feel about what I just said?)
The book comes complete with a back up story and a hefty letters section. But there’s one major problem with the letters page — there’s no formatting between letters or answers, so you have to read all of it or none of it. Is it really so hard to bold? I mean, it’s only two key strokes.
Anyway, there are a lot of things that I really like about this comic — specifically its use of whimsy — but it’s not a great issue for the uninitiated.
Who says zombies are over? They're just beginning.
Isaac’s Book
The Walking Dead #54
Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard
Image Comics, 2008
Though it’s been recommended to me for awhile, I hadn’t yet read any of The Walking Dead before now. The second I was assigned the thing, I checked to see if there were any copies of the first trade collection available at the library — no such luck I’m afraid. So I’m walking into this review blind.
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that I had no clue at all about what was going on at the beginning, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it did start to make sense, and that’s always the best when you come into a comic blindly. It is a little different from the normal story assimilation process in that these are pretty much all normal human characters, no distinctive spider masks or bat ears to help you along with how the characters are supposed to be different. This makes you have to listen to the dialogue that much more to get the sense of who these people are, how they’re different from each other, and what their goals are. It’s more like the disorientation you get when you start a novel, it takes ten pages or so, but eventually you do get to know who you’re reading about — even though there’s so much history in the characters’ lives that is only hinted at, if it’s even gone into at all. Tristram Shandy is an obvious exception. Not really.
Kirkman’s strength is in his dialogue; it’s how people really talk, and even if there aren’t as many stuttering exclamations of surprise (if you believe that is essential to sounding like a real person, even in times of crisis), you get your money’s worth with dialogue essential to the story that moves everything forward. And there is a lot of dialogue in this story, so I’m sorry if you don’t like to read. That happens sometimes, you know?
The art is really good, I’d almost say it’s like if Phil Hester were a bit more photorealistic. In fact, I will give it the best compliment imaginable for a book about zombies — I will attribute last night’s bad dreams to it.
The letter section is incredibly long, and that’s fantastic. There’s a pretty good cross section of opinions about the book in these letters, mostly from people stating how much they love and then hate the writer. It’s a pretty funny section; neither the letter writers or Kirkman are taking things too seriously, it’s like everyone is just hanging out and having a good time. I’ve definitely got to check out the rest of this series.
