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By Marc Mason

September 14, 2004

THE FORGOTTEN: SHATTERED LIVES
Written by Jareth Grealish and Evan Young and Drawn by Various
Published by Fintan Studios

I’m a little late to this one. Given to me at San Diego this past July, the indicia on this book says it was published a year prior to that. Better late than never, right? I know, know… not always. But in the case of this book… yeah. Because this is pretty damned good.

FORGOTTEN is a two-pronged mystery tale. On one side we have Clarence Flynn, a man in his 50s who possesses some extremely interesting powers. He can not only vanish in a puff of smoke and re-solidify behind someone to kick their asses, he can also cloud peoples’ minds and wipe his presence from their memory. Clarence is hot on the trail of trying to clear a murder suspect, the young son of a man he used to know. It’s an obvious frame, and Clarence wants to make sure the right guy goes to jail.

On the flip side, we have graduate student Sara Dawning. Searching for a term paper topic, she has decided to try and find out whatever happened to the superhero aptly named “Mr. Mystery” who vanished more than twenty years ago. No one knows who he was or where he went, and Sara believes that finding him would be a huge boon to her paper and her long term academic prospects.

I doubt I have to tell you how those two tales lightly intersect.

What makes this really work is that Grealish and Young, while pursuing the varied mysteries each character is facing, never let the story slip into a predictable groove. There are obvious moments throughout the story that they never use for crutches to add drama to the tale. Indeed, the writers seem to relish avoiding big speeches and “moments” for darker and more realistic turns, and eventually, the reader begins to understand that the mysteries are rather unimportant. You like the characters so much that you’re rooting for them to succeed (even though to do so, they would be working at cross purposes). That, my friends, is what separates the good stuff from the crap.

Artistically, the book hangs together pretty well. Three different guys pencil the four chapters, but they’re close enough in style that it isn’t too jarring. Really, I could go deeper into depth on the plot here, but I have no desire to spoil it for anyone. Few things are as fun for a reviewer as picking up a book off the pile from a company and talent base that you have no familiarity with and having it turn out to be something special. This was one of those books. Grade: A

SIBAM?

THE FORGOTTEN was just about made for the big screen. Here’s the brilliance of it: it’s a “superhero” mystery, but the hero’s powers are extremely low tech. He wears no costume. So the budget just went down by $20 million. That puts the focus back on casting, keeping the characters strong and memorable, and staging the action in realistic fashion. Cast someone like Jason Statham in Clarence’s role, and the prospects for overseas gross kick in even higher as well.

IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR… MORE, MORE, MORE!

PARADIGM SHIFT vol. 1: EQUILIBRIUM
Written and Drawn by Dirk Tiede
Published by Dynamanga

I could have just as easily put this book in the top slot above. PARADIGM is a wonderfully written and drawn police thriller that takes a sharp supernatural twist towards the end of the tale. I can’t tell you for sure that the twist plays out perfectly, as this is only volume one in the series, but what I can tell you is that Tiede’s pair of cops, Mike and Kate, are an extremely entertaining pair of Chicago ass kickers. EQUILIBRIUM follows the pair as they deal with getting caught in a gang shootout and then get saddled with what looks to be a mauling by a werewolf. Tiede’s manga style looks and feels more authentic than ninety percent of his other American counterparts, and the book looks great. Finishing the volume, I was pissed that I didn’t have part two in my hand to move on to. And oh, yeah… PARADIGM would make for a fantastic movie as well. Somebody call this guy up and buy it! Grade: A-

TALES OF THE TERMINAL DINER
Written and Drawn by Various
Published by Sonic Comics

I was extremely disappointed by TERMINAL DINER. Reading the description on the back, I thought I was in for good, creepy fun. “Sam Levesque ran away… found Rupa Ring… Ring grants wishes, rewards the good, punishes the wicked, links the wearer to the mysterious Genie X…” I read that sort of thing, and you have me at “hello,” you know? But the majority of the book really lacks the punch that back cover promises to provide. Many of the early stories in the anthology fall flat, telling tales that don’t feel special or that seem like they would only work in the diner. It isn’t until later in the book, when a sweet tale involving a very kind and wonderful woman receiving a very special award upon her death that the book really feels alive. There are a couple of other tales, including a terrific one dealing with revenge upon a murderer that really work, but the majority of the work falls somewhere in the middle. I like the concept, and I think Sonic should try again. This time with more emotional heft, if you please. Grade: C-

CAVEMAN ROBOT
Written and Drawn by Various
Published by Tetragrammatron Press

This is a much more successful anthology. Limiting the number of creators and stories within the pages, CAVEMAN ROBOT has a stronger sense of self and direction as it moves through the collection. Only one story falls flat on its ass, the rest doing good-to-decent jobs of telling strong stories. The Robot battles various evils, from escaped circus animals to a scheming simian named Ape Lincoln (an amusing tale). But the best story is one set in the future, when a wandering ship finds a stranded vessel containing Caveman Robot and dozens of children. There’s a wonderful sadness and warmth to that segment that helps the book rise above itself and make a statement about what could easily be seen as an extremely silly character. There’s also some cute supplementary material as well, making this a worthy package. Grade: B

ETERNALLY YOURS
Written and Drawn by Janet Hetherington
Published by Best Destiny

This is a pleasing collection. Hetherington collected her best material from the issues of ETERNAL ROMANCE which she self-published in the late 90s. Taking the supernatural (her lead character is a hottie vampire named Destine) and melding it with a 50s romance comic sensibility creates a winning and hilarious genre all its own. One tale finds Destine with three dates scheduled for the same evening: a vampire, a wolf man, and a Frankenstein type monster. Hetherington slyly plays with the conventions established by those monsters’ lengthy film histories to create a story that renders a smile and an appreciation for her pursuit of the joke. There are other tales in the book that don’t involved Destine, but they do stick to the supernatural theme, and drawn in Hetherington’s clean and appealing style, they succeed more than they miss. I have a deep and abiding love for old romance comics, and I enjoyed this a whole lot as well. Grade: B+ CITIES OF THE FANTASTIC: THE INVISIBLE FRONTIER vol.2
Written by Benoit Peeters and Francois Schuiten and Drawn by Schuiten
Published by NBM Publishing

INVISBLE FRONTIER is stunningly crafted and drawn work. An allegory for part of the splitting of the former Yugoslavia wrapped in a young man’s quest for sex and something greater than himself, this book is perhaps the first and only time cartography will be the central driving force in a graphic novel, and it is likely another tale attempting to use it for its allegorical basis would never succeed on this level.

The lead character, de Cremer, is a conflicted and strange young man, and his taste and desire for the sex of his love Shkodra is balanced delicately between his desire for knowledge and his lust. Shkodra has a strange marking on her lower back that would seem to represent a map of the classic frontier borders of their nation, and in a time when older knowledge is not prized and occasionally eradicated, that makes her a danger to the powers that be. Of course, this could also just be delusion on de Cremer’s part, his lust run amok, peeling away his good sense. Schuiten’s mind-blowing artwork occasionally draws Shkodra’s nude form into the landscape itself, and the reader is left to wonder if what we’re truly seeing is the world as it exists within de Cremer’s head. This is a fantastic work by two great creators. Grade: A+

BRICKTOP A1 SPECIAL
Written and Drawn by Glenn Fabry with Chris Smith
Published by Atomeka Press

I am a huge fan of British comedy. Love it. I watch way too much BBC America, ‘m sure. Half the time, I’m laughing, and I can’t understand a word of what’s been said. It’s just funny. Funny can be very universal. So with that said, I can tell you that I laughed my ass off at BRICKTOP, though there isn’t a chance in Hell that I could describe it to you. Bricktop herself is a young rabble-rouser who finds herself squared off against street vomiters, animal experimenters, women on motorcycles dressed in pig helmets and religious fanatics. I’m probably leaving someone out. Beyond that, the plot is completely incomprehensible, and frankly, I was sort of glad it was. Any attempt to make this strange shit make sense would have fallen ass over teakettle. What I can tell you is that it’s beautifully drawn, generously twisted, and legitimately quite funny. Sometimes, “funny” is a lot like “obscene”: I know it when I see it. BRICKTOP is funny. Grade: A-

THE JOHNSON SKETCHBOOK
Drawn by Dave Johnson
Published by Atomeka Press

Dave Johnson draws real purrrrrrrrrrrty. His covers on 100 BULLETS will stand as some of the greatest work ever in the annals of comics. I honestly believe that. But this sketchbook is a bit of a hit and miss affair. Over 48 pages, we see Johnson stretch out and draw in a variety of styles, from pure realism to a semi-animated form. It’s a sort of tour-de-force presentation that allows him to express himself in a wide variety of fashions. Girls, monsters, heroes, guns, planes… it’s all here. And yet, at times, that becomes a huge problem. At one point we get twelve pages of nothing but ships. Yes, they’re well drawn ships, but I kinda had to stifle a yawn. That’s a quarter of the book. Cut that by nine pages and give the reader more one panel gags and other stuff, and this feels like a much more rounded package. Grade: B

ULTRA #2
Written and Drawn by The Luna Brothers
Published by Image Comics

I didn’t see issue one of this series, but now I’m on the lookout. This is an amusingly witty story about one city’s superheroines and how they deal with the every day realities of their lives. The titular heroine has to deal not only with a bad guy who can actually hurt her, which is rare, but she enjoys a “meet cute” at her favorite diner that leaves her with the possibility of having a love life for the first time in quite a while. If only her cleaning lady hadn’t thrown away the guy’s number… ULTRA is packed with amusing dialogue and has a lovely artistic style that reminds be quite a bit of Josh Middleton’s best work. This has “hit” written all over it. Grade: B+

WALKING DEAD #10
Written by Robert Kirkman and Drawn by Charlie Adlard
Published by Image Comics

This latest issue in Kirkman’s outstanding zombie saga finds the ragged band of survivors holed up on a family farm in the middle of nowhere trying to save Rick’s son from the gunshot wound he received at the end of the last issue. There’s a plethora of character development going on this time around, as the plot proceeds slowly while Carl (the boy) is being tended to. However, the plot kicks in again with a jolt in the last scene, announcing a development that will surely set the pace of the story ablaze as it races towards this arc’s conclusion in two issues. Adlard continues to turn in excellent work that makes me not miss Tony Moore in the slightest, and Kirkman’s scripting is as strong as ever. WALKING DEAD is one of the ten best monthly titles being published today, and if you’re not reading it, you’re missing out on something special. Grade: A-

Ten up, ten down. See you all in seven!

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

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