THCB Swap Meet

Once a year, perhaps more if we’re sassy, the Hammond Comics Blog staffers assign each other a book to read and review. Something out of our comfort zone, something we think the other writer will enjoy, something to broaden horizons . . . Mixed results usually occur with perhaps a modicum of cursing, but it’s become tradition here at the HCB and something I look forward to, as I hope you will. Postscript: I still owe Cody a review of some Deadpool miniseries from last year; my LCS sold out and didn’t reorder. Post-postscript: I still think you should have reviewed Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld. You know who you are . . . Venom: The Madness #1-3Writer: Ann Nocenti Pencils: Kelley Jones Inks: John Beatty Colorist: Tim Smith Review: Art Bee

We at The Hammond Comics Blog like to dig in our boxes and throw stuff at each other occasionally. I bet you are giggling, thinking I just made a silly pun. Freaks! Last time Madman sent me a deplorable waste of ink and paper called Death Moth. This time around it was 1993s Venom: The Madness miniseries. When I opened the cover of the first issue, I was sent into a nostalgic state seeing an ad for the Sega Genesis WWF Royal Rumble video game. The first thing that stood out in this series was the words at the start of each book, “Stan Lee presents”. If the current creators would go back to the days of Stan Lee and mirror his work, they would be doing a lot better than they are now, but that is a whole different topic. This miniseries was quite the read. Our crazy, skewed, neighborhood Venom is driven a little more nuts when a sentient mercurial virus enters his body and joins the community of Eddie Brock and the symbiote. Open the door for madness and find Dusk. Yes, that’s right; we are talking about a trip that will make your eyes roll. Sprinkle in a corrupt corporation, Eddie Brock’s girlfriend, and Juggernaut, and you have a story that will cause you to bang your head against the wall with enjoyment. Even though I enjoyed this classic title, I felt the artwork was a bit on the lower end of the spectrum. Many panels featured Venom’s form drastically drawn out of proportion, even for Venom. The worst work I saw was in Venom’s head. It looked almost as if the artist was having trouble with the shape of the head in relation to the jaw and teeth. At the same time, the artist was doing a great job with the additional mutations caused by the virus. Another problem was the shading, and the actual problem is I can’t make up my mind whether I like it or not. It is quite a different style than I am used to seeing. Seeing how corporations and politics were viewed in the early 90s made this throwback worth reading. Comic books are not only just a great American art form, but they are time capsules into history. Silver and Golden age comics will give you a glimpse into the attitudes and trends prevalent during their time. So dig into your comic boxes and relive the past some or go to your LCBS to thumb through the quarter and dollar boxes. Just because a comic is old and not worth much money does not mean it’s worthless. Divine Right: The Adventures of Max Faraday 1-7Story & pictures: Jim Lee Inks: Scott Williams Colors: Tad Ehrlich Review: Cody "Madman" Miller

So Mr. Bee is the guy responsible for me reading and reviewing this run of back issues. At first glance of the covers I thought instantly that I was going to hate every issue. Not because the cover art is terrible or anything but, because, well, it’s 90’s Image thru and thru. In my early days I never acquired a taste for Image. I mean sure, what teenager didn’t think Spawn was cool, but that was as far as I went down the rabbit hole. To me every 90’s Image book looks the same with the exception to Spawn. If the artwork doesn’t do it for me I usually tend not to care about the book, no matter how well written it is. So, when I noticed Jim Lee’s name in the credits as writer and artist, I admit my interest did pique a bit. I wouldn’t say I’m a huge Jim Lee fan by any means, but I know enough to know Mr. Lee is legit and deserves the benefit of the doubt. After the first issue I was drowning in cliché and no doubt offered a few “choice” words in Mr. Bee’s general direction . . . and trudged through the mire into issue #2. The art is what I expected. Mr. Lee’s style hasn’t changed much from then until now. Most comic book geeks could probably pick Lee’s artwork out of a line up, so no surprise there. Issue #2 is where things turned around for me, though, and by issue #3 I was hooked and couldn’t read the last four issues Mr. Bee had given me fast enough. The story really pulled me in and was very well done. I found out there are 11 issues in this series (according to Mr. Wiki) and issue #7 cuts off at a pretty important spot in the story. I’ve no idea how the series ends and to be blatantly honest it’s killing me. Believe me; I was shocked more than anyone about this recent turn of events. I started thinking crazy thoughts like; “What if I misjudged 90’s Image?”, or “Maybe I should go pick up a run of Youngblood or WildC.A.T.s”. I don’t think I actually care enough to do so, but I did think it for a fleeting moment. Anywho, the story is about Max Faraday, this computer nerd/slacker that, through a strange set of events, is imbued with the Creation Code; the God like ability to create things with his mind. Of course, the ever present battle between good and evil for the Holy super power ensues all the while there’s a strange on-line romance between Max and his mystery dream girl. I actually dug the on-line romance bit as it really helped to separate and develop the story line. So if you’ve not read Divine Right and you’re into the Heaven vs. Hell type of thing. Then check this title out, I promise it’s a pleasant surprise even if you hate early Image doodles and pointy breasts. Satellite Sam 1-15Writer: Matt Fraction Artist: Howard Chaykin Review: William R. Davis, Jr.

I want to apologize in advance to my brother-in-arms, Will Dubbeld for my take on Satellite Sam 1-15, but I just couldn’t get behind this one. Captain Picard’s Dixon Hill gave me serious reservations about the noir genre. Never have I ever wanted to punch a television more as a child. This though, is not that. Books like Brubaker’s Fatale are notable exceptions and proof that quality work can transcend one’s dislike of a genre in comics. But Satellite Sam was not a book that I hated because of theme or setting. Fraction and Chaykin attempted an ironic take on a period piece that unfortunately materialized as a sophomoric and misogynistic quasi-homage to the golden age of television. Thin on actual story with art that looked like it was drawn by Lichtenstein’s retarded cousin, there were two aspects of this Fraction/Chaykin run that I just could not get behind: the art was jarringly muddled with a final reveal that looked like latter day Leisure Suit Larry, and every female character was embarrassingly profane to the point that it felt like an early Image Liefeld book co-written by Spinal Tap. Satellite Sam must hold the Guinness Book World Record for panels containing women on their knees giving blowjobs, because there was one in almost every issue. This is not an over-exaggeration either. See for yourself, the proof is in the pages. I can appreciate the fact that 1950s America was a man’s world and the writer was trying to convey gender inequality, but where stories like Mad Men succeed, Satellite Sam completely shits the bed. Every female character was void of substance and could have been easily replaced by an inflatable cum receptacle. After finishing this fifteen issue run I firmly believe that Matt Fraction has some subconscious problem with women that manifested itself in this title. Exorcising demons through creative projects can be compelling if done correctly, but I found this book to be nothing more than the vomiting up of adolescent angst, and an offensively cringe-worthy one at that. When both of your main female characters are: either choking on a ball gag while being used as a foot stool, or bible-beating recovering alcoholics obsessed with sex, it is time to re-think why you wrote them that way in the first place. This was an interesting experiment for me personally, because normally I never would have made it through all 15 issues. Often times after writing a negative review I find myself wondering if I should’ve stuck with a book for one more arc. I can put those reservations to bed. There are plenty of critically acclaimed titles that I do not enjoy, and I guess it is time to add another one to the list. Satellite Sam is my least favorite Matt Fraction title, and one of the few times that I actually lost respect for a writer as a human being after reading their work. Many fans and critics alike find Howard Chaykin’s style to be innovative, but I find it distracting. Once again, I am not one of those people who drank the Kool-Aid. I hated this book more than I have hated anything I have read in a long time. Are you trolling me, Dubbeld? You’ll pay big. Journey Into Mystery #622-645By Kieron Gillen and an all-star cast too numerous to mention. Review: Will Dubbeld

When Journey Into Mystery relaunched a while back featuring Kid Loki, my response was, ‘Nah, I’m good thankyouverymuch”. When Mr. Davis tossed this epic run my way for consideration my response was, “*sigh, Goddammit . . .” Well, in the parlance of our time, nom nom crow . . . I ended up loving this damn comic. The book was birthed in that sweet spot between Marvel mega-events (in this case Siege and Fear Itself) and tells the tale of Kid Loki and his too-numerous-to-mention Machiavellian adventures. Early issues were burdened by an overarching, “Remember, True Believers: Fear Itself is coming in June!” feeling, but by the time Journey Into Mystery was being released concurrently with the event, the behind the scenes goings on around Fear Itself were more interesting than the actual Fear Itself book. The trend continues post-Fear Itself, when Thor is dead and forgotten, and replaced by Tanarus the less popular thunder god who -spoiler alert- turned out to be Ulik the Troll embroiled in some convoluted revenge plot. I'm not really sure; I dropped Thor around that point, but seeing these events unfold from Loki’s perspective made me want to pick up where I left off. Unfortunately we're treated to a few multipart crossovers with the New Mutants and Thor comics, which is some maddening shit DC always pulls in an attempt to sell product. A couple of the story arcs were incomplete as a result, but thank god for recap pages filling me in . . . Crossovers aside this book pulled some of my favorite bits of Marvel lore and Thor comics in particular. It heavily features Volstagg (the best of the Warriors Three) and of particular delight was a Christmas issue where Volstagg is Santa Claus. We’re also treated to a few appearances from Daimon Hellstrom (The Son of Satan!) doing his traveling exorcist routine, John Constantine riff, though we get a splendid arc tussling with Nightmare and callback to the Dr. Druid miniseries so it’s all good. The last few arcs feature smoke-belching mechanical siege engine-cities controlled by the 'tyrant gods of modernity' that ravage Otherworld (giving us a Capt. Britain appearance and an Arthurian adventure) and an epic conflict with Vanaheim and Surtur that sees Volstagg crowned king of Asgard, so you know that's some legit storytelling. Throughout the series we’re also treated to Tyr, gratuitous use of undead cannibal valkyries, Hela, and just a touch of Thor to keep us honest. Prevalent as well is an extremely well-scribed antagonistic relationship betwixt Loki and Leah, a handmaiden of Hela with a holy-crap twist I didn't see coming a mile off. All the while the reader is given breather issues in-between all the heavy plots. Mephisto walks into a bar, Volstagg telling a story to his kids, etc, all relevant to the arc, but giving the reader time to catch his wind. This is a great storytelling mechanism oft neglected by writers who usually follow a 6-part story by launching the reader headlong into a 12-part crossover. Bravo, Kieron! All through the series I got the impression that Gillen was doing his best to channel Neil Gaiman’s Sandman in epic bardic fashion, that mélange of subtle wordsmithing dovetailing humor and gravitas the way that Alan Moore wishes he still could, Grant Morrison shakes his fist at wishing he could at all, and the way Warren Ellis could were he not such a cynic. "Harpoons that hunt incorporeal dream-whales and a net woven from Hel itself" among other bits of ethereal prose and symbolism screamed early Gaiman, and there is even part of the run that frankly is taken from the American Gods playbook, but I can’t even be mad. The story is just that good. One arc does use the time-travel deus ex machina moment that made me groan because it’s almost the laziest of storytelling tools for writing yourself out of a jam, but that’s one of the only dim points in the book. One of the characters is quoted as saying this is ". . . the greatest (tale) that Loki has ever wrought." It’s certainly the greatest tale I've ever read with Loki outside of Norse mythology.