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Travis (https://www.youtube.com/user/oddfellowsthoughts and https://twitter.com/the_gaunt_man) joins me to discuss all the comic book news from the last two months that caught our attention. Also, San Diego Comic Con news! And the Eisner Awards!
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Here’s a comic chosen at random from my collection.
The Children’s Crusade #1 by Neil Gaiman (writer), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Mike Barreiro (inks), Daniel Vozzo (colors), John Costanza (letters), Julie Rottenberg (asst. editor), Stuart Moore (editor), Lou Stathis and Tom Peyer (consulting editors), and John T. Totleben (cover)
There is so much going on with this comic. This issue and the next are bookends for a larger crossover “event” via many Vertigo annuals in 1993-1994: Black Orchid Annual #1, Animal Man Annual #1, Swamp Thing Annual #7, Doom Patrol Annual #2, and Arcana Annual #1 (the precursor to the Books of Magic series). In the town of Flaxdown, all of the children (nearly 40) disappeared. The sister of one of the missing, who was not in Flaxdown that day, hired the Dead Boy Detective agency to find her lost brother, Oliver. This sets Charles and Edwin on a journey of some discoveries. Interspersed throughout the book are other tales of children who disappeared throughout the ages, the first story being about the Children’s Crusade of 1212. The second tale is that of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. After that part of the story, Charles has a dream, or vision, that identifies various children across the DC universe (and thus pointing us to the aforementioned annuals). Then we are told the tale of some of the children who survived their ordeal during the Children’s Crusade, specifically, how they made it to the Free Country (in a very disturbing, gruesome way). Charles and Edwin learn that Oliver is in the Free Country, but not knowing much else, they set out to find the children from Charles’s vision.
The Bachalo/Barreiro/Vozzo art conveys the story very nicely, especially employing shadow and the use of black backgrounds effectively. There are many panels that nearly fill up a page, but there is so much necessary narration going on, you almost don’t notice the lovely renderings of the past cultures that are depicted. One aspect that I particularly liked was how the Dead Boys are shown to have empty pupils throughout the story. I don’t recall if that technique was used in their previous appearance, or after this one, but it is effective.
And you get all that in 58 pages for $3.95!
Here’s a comic chosen at random from my collection.
New Deadwardians #6 by Dan Abnett (w), I.N.J. Culbard (a & cover), Patricia Mulvihill (c), & Travis Lanham (l)
I love it when a comic surprises me. Such was the case with this 8-issue limited series. When I first read the solicitation, my first thought was Ugh. Another zombie book? Followed very closely by Double ugh! With vampires?! Boy, was I wrong. Misters Abnett and Culbard crafted a unique look at the zompire subgenre. The Edwardian setting is brilliant, and the art is so strikingly different from anything that I had seen at that time (and still see).
As far as the story, Chief Inspector George Suttle, a young vampire out to solve the murder of another young vampire (if memory serves), continues his investigation, and ends up trying to question a suspect when he is outmaneuvered and is about to fall prey to some bigoted humans who don’t care that he’s a copper. There are a couple memorable scenes, one in the beginning of the book (that I refuse to spoil) involving a breakfast conversation and zombies at a fence, and another involving a very perceptive and sassy prostitute (do I have your attention yet?)–do yourself a favor and go buy the trade.
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