Well, it had better.

FULL MOON FEVER
Written by Joe Casey and Caleb Gerard and Drawn by Damian Couceiro
Published by AiT/Planetlar

FULL MOON FEVER is the latest in AiT’s pure high-concept graphic novels. Much like the recent SMOKE AND GUNS, it throws out an idea that isn’t so much a question of whether or not it should be a movie, but how long it will take to get it to the big screen.

The concept of FEVER falls into the category that I like to call “asshole ideas.” This is not a derogatory term; instead, like 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, the story is so cleverly obvious and ripe for use that you and everyone else who calls themselves a writer should feel like an asshole for not coming up with it first. In the case of 30 DAYS, it was vampires heading for a place where the sun never rises. In FEVER, it’s werewolves romping around on the moon.

The moon. Where it’s always full. Beautiful.

We begin the book by meeting Zeke Kirby, a guy stuck with a truly shitty job: cleaning toilets on the moon base. He and his intrepid crew of disposable, edible jerks are making their standard crap removal run when trouble rears its head: no one on the base is answering as they arrive. After finding their way in, they wind up in the standard ALIENS scenario of crewmember after crewmember joining the ranks of the snacked upon. It isn’t exactly new, but the formula has been around this long because it works. You want and expect people to die gruesome deaths, one by one, whittling away at the cast. You’d be disappointed if they didn’t.

My one complaint is that, with the formula, you do usually have an interesting and well-drawn protagonist to root for to live. However, Zeke never really comes alive, and doesn’t quite generate a rooting interest in the reader.

Much like the formula horror film, the visuals are at the heart of whether or not the tale succeeds, and Couceiro does some wonderful work here; his moon is a dark, shady, scary place, and the wolves and their carnage are rendered impeccably. There’s no backing away from the gore content, and that’s solid stuff.

FULL MOON FEVER plays fair with the reader and doesn’t try to pretend it’s anything other than a high concept paper movie. Don’t expect epiphanies, deep thought, or revelations about the human condition. Do expect people to be violently killed, some chase scenes, and some stuff to get blown up. And a sequel. You should definitely expect a sequel.

SIBAM?

As I mentioned above, this would seem to be one of those concepts that is only a matter of time. Regardless of its moon setting, the majority of the story is based on sets, and the budget would not be overly ludicrous. As for Zeke, I imagine that someone like James Denton will be looking for ways to broaden his profile alongside his work on DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, and headlining a tentpole-style film like this would be a smart way to go. Plus, he’d be a draw for the female audience. Sounds kinda smart, doesn’t it?

TREE OF LOVE
Written and Drawn by Patrick Atangan
Published by NBM

This is the third book in Atangan’s “Songs Of Our Ancestors” series (YELLOW JAR, SILK TAPESTRY), and easily the best one yet. This time out, he takes on the elder days of India, and taps a deep emotional vein in the reader. TREE is the story of a young prince who falls in love with a common flower girl and the hurdles both his mother and the flower girl put in his way as he attempts to court her.

There is so much here that makes this book sing. First, the story is beautiful, a testament to love, perseverance, and the undying ideal of how to demonstrate your character to someone you care about. But backing it up is Atangan’s mind-blowing artwork. He adapts classical Indian art styles into his page designs, creating each page as if it were a painting you’d find on the wall of an Indian museum. There’s a level of detail in the work that enhances the emotional content of the story that I can barely describe to you. It’s just wonderful.

I recently had a discussion with some online friends about the most underrated and under appreciated talent working in comics right now, and my vote went straight to Atangan. His body of work right now is something to approach with awe and respect. Treat yourself to reading this series of books.

NORTH COUNTRY
Written and Drawn by Shane White
Published by NBM

This is the first graphic novel from White, and it shows there’s a ton of future potential for him. NORTH COUNTRY is an autobiographical tale about White’s coming of age in a family wracked by violence and abuse, both physical and emotional. It’s honest, blunt, and paints a string portrait of his family and what happened to them as they battled their demons and the scourge of poverty in lower-middle class America.

Making it even more interesting is White’s versatile approach to his art. He employs several styles, shifting gears between eras and his own imaginary internal world, and it’s effective, especially because he works solidly within a nine-panel grid throughout the book. It brings a discipline to the proceedings that would have been easy to let slide into self-indulgence. I respected that about his choice here. For a new creator, White shows a solid awareness of his own flaws.

Ultimately, the only real problems in the book revolve around two areas: White’s sister, whom he virtually ignores in the story, which is either a subtle attempt at showing how myopic his worldview was as a child (which works) or is a simple error of omission for the influence she would have had on his life. I wish I had a better idea of which one it is. The other problem lies in his presentation of his adult self. White plays himself as an aloof, dispassionate traveler, telling the story of a much more alive person. And while we see what hurt him as a child, the child’s energy and verve never seem to die. I wanted to see a bit more of his transition to the man who stands apart at this point, I think. But those are minor complaints, in the end, because this is quite good. Should be fascinating to see what White does next.

BLACK FOREST 2
Written by Todd Livingston and Robert Tinnell and Drawn by Neil Vokes
Published by Image Comics

It can be a tricky business reviewing the sequel to a book you didn’t much care for. You have to push away your thoughts and prejudices built in from the first go around, and see how the new work stands on its own. This was something I faced when sitting down with this book.

The first BLACK FOREST graphic novel played as a comics mishmash of monsters akin to the film VAN HELSING, and not to much success. It felt unfocused and overly “kewl” happy as it hit the highlights from just about every horror genre. However, shrinking down the story length and page count brings a much stronger focus to this effort, and FOREST 2 plays a bit better to the casual reader.

Having escaped a terrible fate in book one, pilot Jack Shannon (still drawn to look too young) and wizardly Archie Caldwell are back in the clutches of the bad guys as we open, except this time, the bad guy is aiming to turn men into monsters and needs some of the scientific notes the men rescued in volume one. Simple enough. Of course, you then have to throw in the first round of manimals the baddie has created and you get your requisite dose of action.

The book still falters, though, when it focuses on Jack. Archie is a nicely defined character, and I enjoyed how well he was written. But Jack, along with being drawn too young, is played as smart and competent except when the plot requires him to do something completely stupid to get the rest of the story moving along. It feels forced when it happens, and that’s somewhat disappointing. Still, this is a much better effort than volume one, and the last page reveal about the potential outcome of a future volume sets things up nicely. Worth keeping an eye on.

HUMOR CAN BE FUNNY
Written and Drawn by Sam Henderson
Published by Alternative Comics

This collection brings Henderson’s earliest work back into print, and that’s a nice thing indeed. There’s a ton of terrifically funny material in here, from strong single panel gags to multiple page setups with amusing punchlines, allowing Henderson to show of some versatility, and even though these pieces were published over a five to six year period, it stands out to you that his art style is very consistent, showing the work of an artist who was very fully-formed at the beginning of his career.

Henderson’s true strength lies in his skill as a writer, however. He demonstrates the ability to shift from high-end clever humor to lowbrow mastery with speed and ease. Even more so, the best material in the book doesn’t reside within the confines of a drawn panel; instead, the many series of text pages detailing what is “always funny” seal the deal to make this a book to recommend you own (“a ‘hip hop’ Abe Lincoln is always funny”; “a genius named El Retardo is always funny”). Plus, Henderson supplies a little bit of DVD-style commentary at the back of the book about the origins of many of the strips and gags. It’s like a nice bow on top of a lovely package.

TED NOODLEMAN: BICYCLE DELIVERY BOY
Written by Jim Keplinger and Drawn by Ryan Ottley
Published by Alias Comics

Longtime readers of The Shoot will remember the glorious days gone past when many of Ted’s adventures in this book made their debut right here at the site. I must admit, at the time they were seeing print here, I wasn’t much drawn to them as a must read; they were tough to dive into on a week-by-week basis. However, collected here, along with the many other printed appearances TED made in places like DIGITAL WEBBING PRESENTS, they read quite well and make for an amusing way to kill some time on a lazy afternoon.

Ted himself is a wonderfully insane character; employed as a bike messenger, and looking like the spiritual cousin to the Elephant Man, he lives deep inside a fantasy world in his own head. He sees secretaries as damsels who need saving; his bicycle might be a horse; his entire life might be playing before him as part of a network soap opera. It just depends just how long a walk off the short pier his brain has taken.

Wisely, Kep and Ottley kept Ted’s adventures short, knowing that there was only so long you could drag out the concept before it got tiring, and after building up a solid body of work with the character, they have released this omnibus edition and moved on to other things. Too many creators don’t have the courage to realize when they’ve said all they have to say and shouldn’t continue to beat a dead horse. This book feels just right, and a good decision was made to let TED live forever in this format. Good job, boys.

CLICK HERE FOR PART TWO OF THIS WEEK'S DOUBLE-SIZED SIBAM!

Review materials may be sent to: Marc Mason, P.O. Box 26732, Tempe, AZ 85285. You can also find me at Happy Nonsense and The Comics Waiting Room

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