Miles’ Book
Manhunter #31
Written by Marc Andreyko
Art by Michael Gaydos
DC Comics, 2008
By the time I arrived there after work, my comic store had sold out of Punisher, which was supposed to be my book of the week. Manhunter is not a book I would normally buy; however, it has artwork by Michael Gaydos, who is one of my favourite illustrators, so that was good enough reason for me to purchase it on this occasion. (Note that he is not the cover artist.)
To give a bit of background, Manhunter is a series that constantly flirts with cancellation. It bats its eyes at DC’s executives with its small sales figures and says, “Hey there, big guy, wanna piss off my hardcore fans and cancel me? Just cancel me, baby.” So DC does so, only to relaunch it a few months later. This issue is Manhunter’s first return to her own series. What I don’t understand is why they didn’t reset the issue number to 1. Number ones sell well, screaming, “I’m new, so you don’t need to know anything about me—you’re getting in on the ground floor.”
But then again, this issue has only a passing interest in the ground floor. There’s a two-page wrap-up that tells you much more than you need to know to enjoy this issue. In fact, knowing most of these details will just bog you down later when you think, “Why was Wonder Woman on page two, again?”
As I mentioned, I signed up because Michael Gaydos was on board. His work on Alias was fantastic. It’s one of my favourite series and a big reason for that was his art and how much he brought to Jessica Jones’ character. Unlike with most artists, I will give series he’s worked on a shot simply because I love to look at his craft. But to be fair in my fanboydom, Gaydos’ strength is not in action sequences, and this issue has two. He’s not terrible at action sequences, but at the same time those he creates tend towards being stilted.
Aside from the art, this issue was mediocre. In 22 pages of story there was only one that I found really interesting, and that was because it had The Joker on it. Other than that, I just don’t get a lot out of Kate, also known as Manhunter, because her character doesn’t make sense. There is a scene where she’s getting her son ready to be picked up by her grandmother, but instead, her deadbeat granddad shows up to collect her son. Her grandfather starts to question her about her superhero life, saying that it will harden her. She jumps in with, “This from the man who abandoned Sandra Knight when she was his pregnant girlfriend? Who gave up on finding his missing sons? Are you kidding me?” Kate clearly doesn’t trust this man. About 7 panels later, however, she lets her son go off with him. I don’t understand why she would do that. Who the hell would do that? Maybe the next issue would tell me. But, sadly, the art isn’t that good.
Isaac’s Book
Noble Causes #34
Written by Jay Faerber
Art by Yildiray Cinar
Image Comics, 2008
While working at a comics store, I read through the first four or five collections of Noble Causes. If I read that much of it, I must like it right?
Well, sort of.
It’s like a comic book version of a soap opera. And if you’ve ever watched any soaps you know how they can suck you in, be a bit addicting. Thinking about it, it’s like taking the general conceptions people have of Marvel (over DC) and following them to their extreme conclusion.
The fact is that if you don’t like any of the characters, you’re not going to like the book – you won’t have anyone to root for. Often that one character I can still root for is Frost, a hard case who plays by his own rules and has a heart of gold. Yes, a pretty formulaic character, but allowing one character to follow such a set pattern he becomes a “control character,” so we can measure how good or bad the others he interacts with are.
But in a “Previously in Noble Causes” section it’s revealed that Frost has just been attacked by a member of the family, leaving him in critical condition and unable to respond to the false accusation of attempted rape. That means I’ve got to ride this issue out with the rest of the cast, most of whom I actively dislike, while I’m indifferent to the rest.
It was just bad luck then that I have to review issue 34 instead of 33.
I was impressed by the self promotion that Jay Faerber used in this comic: ads for his other works and trades, a kind of letter to the audience, and one other thing I’ll get to in a minute. I know “self promotion” sounds gauche, but it’s an important skill, like selling yourself with a resume and interview.
And that one other thing? It’s an article titled “Under the Influence” spotlighting Faerber’s influences as a writer. It gives some very interesting insight into what makes this guy tick, which makes for a good dialogue between the writer and the reader. It’s like talking with a pal about stuff you always loved as a kid, and that’s always fun.
This particular article spotlights Captain America Vol. 3 #2, by Mark Waid and Ron Garney, with a dramatic climax that (so I’ve heard) has Cap having to choose between his shield and saving some guy. Obviously he saves the guy… and yes, obviously Captain America will eventually get his shield back, sooner or later, but the energy and respect Faerber has for this comic is infectious.
I wasn’t crazy about this particular issue’s story, but the whole comic “experience” was a lot of fun.
