Miles’ Book
Mysterius the Unfathomable #1 (of 6)
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Tom Fowler
Wildstorm, 2009
In all honesty, my book of the week was supposed to be Faces of Evil Deathstroke #1 but I’m tired of reviewing books that look that shitty. Also, there was an in-store signing for this book and I’d rather give my money to an independent creator than the company that killed Batman last week.
This is a solid first issue. The tone is set almost immediately with the introduction of Mysterius himself. Is there any better way to introduce a scoundrel than a full-page splash as he puts his hand down a woman’s blouse in a creepy fashion? Nope, it’s pretty much perfect. Mysterius is a bastard, but a hilarious one at that and steals every scene he’s in.
He’s basically a huge bastard with hints of compassion. Also, some possible racism, which I think might add to the humour and to my interest in the character. (Not that racism is funny. I just think it’s an interesting choice that will probably pay off real well. And even then, I might be totally off the mark.)
I wasn’t surprised when I learned that Tom Fowler had done work for Mad magazine. His art would be a perfect fit for the magazine, and is clearly inspired by it. This is a very good thing. It works well with the writing and immediately sets a tone. His animated style works really well for light comedy as well as a horrific landscape of human bones. He’s a talent, that’s for sure.
My only quibbles about the book are small, but I think worth mentioning. As a first issue, there is little that makes me want to come back next month. The cliffhanger is a little soft, but I do want to see more of Mysterius’ antics. I also think that Parker gives us a little bit too much his first issue. He really tries to cram in a lot of information, but I think had he given the plot a bit more time to grow the exposition would have more impact. It’s like he has a lot of big ideas and he wants you to see them all before the six issues are up, fearing that there won’t be continuation afterwards.
And that’s a shame because there’s a long-form serial here that deserves more than six issues.
Isaac’s Book
Battlefields: The Night Witches #3
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Russ Braun
Dynamite Entertainment, 2009
Though I was concerned about jumping into this story at the third issue, a story without my standard capes and cowls to help me tell the difference between characters, I needn’t have worried. The confusion is reduced by telling a simple story with few characters and beautiful art.
The story mostly follows Captain Nadia Anastasia Popova, a member of the Night Witches — women pilots of World War II — as she deals with the loss of her lover. I say mostly follows, because there’s one other perspective that I certainly didn’t expect: a lone German soldier, who is sick of fighting an endless war and of seeing what that war does to people.
I wish that soldier had his name written somewhere in the book, I’ve scanned through and can’t find it, because I’m most impressed with his portrayal. His reluctance and disgust is evident in every panel he appears in.
Along those same lines, the “acting” of the book, when Captain Popova learns that her lover dies you can almost see a switch flip off inside of her, she avoids the gaze of those around her and you can feel her grasping at the reality of her situation… though hers is a reality of denial that she’s grasping onto.
Is it then her fault that she gets shot down while flying a night mission? Was she too distracted to be flying at that moment? It’s possible, or it was inevitable. But the uncertainty will surely haunt her.
The Captains and that nameless soldier’s stories come together after the crash landing. Wanting to spare her life the German dives at the Captain, shielding her from the search his comrades undertake for her. When Captain Popova gets up she takes her revenge for the death of her lover, and now her gunner, on the German soldier who saved her, before taking his gun and annihilating the rest of the German’s squad.
There’s a caption at the end, the Captain remembering this event, and the surprise at what she herself was once capable of takes us out of the comic book, and I remember that this may be fiction, but it’s far from impossible. It’s amazing what we’re capable of in order to survive.
