In the world of monthly comics, there are a handful of creators who really should reign supreme. At the top of the list? Stan Sakai and his long-running title Usagi Yojimbo. Usagi Yojimbo chronicles the adventures of Usagi, a ronin (masterless samurai) who wanders Japan [...]]]> By Stan Sakai
24 pages, black and white
Published by Dark Horse

In the world of monthly comics, there are a handful of creators who really should reign supreme. At the top of the list? Stan Sakai and his long-running title Usagi Yojimbo. Usagi Yojimbo chronicles the adventures of Usagi, a ronin (masterless samurai) who wanders Japan during the early 17th century. In the latest Usagi Yojimbo, we’ve got everything you can want in an issue; action, intrigue, bad guys, and soy sauce recipes. No, really.

One of the things that is so great about Usagi Yojimbo is how well Sakai is able to mix adventure with a bit of a Japanese history lesson (don’t worry, there’s no quiz and it’s interesting to boot). In "Shoyu" Part 1, Usagi gets caught up in the middle of a dispute between the owners of two soy sauce manufacturers in a small town, as a young spoiled heir tries to sabotage the property of the long-established rival. After saving Mitsui’s warehouse, Usagi is taken on a tour of the facilities, and we learn how soy sauce is made. What could have been boring is instead somewhat fascinating; it feels very conversational instead of being lectured at, and it also helps explain why the young Hata’s soy sauce business is faltering. It’s not simply a matter of, "His isn’t good enough" but rather, "He refused to listen to good advice and made poor decisions."

It’s that lack of respect that is an ongoing theme in Usagi Yojimbo, which has always placed a high value on listening to those with wisdom and applying it appropriately. It’s not simply a matter of, "Old is best" but rather, "Use all your resources and then make decisions wisely." But then again, that’s to some extent Usagi Yojimbo in a nutshell. Sure, the protagonist is a rabbit, but at the same time it also looks backward and learns from both great samurai literature as well as the comic book greats. Sakai’s stories mix just the right amounts of influence from its predecessors while still not being afraid to move forward and come up with brand-new, original ideas.

As always, Usagi Yojimbo #143 looks great, too. The backgrounds are always full of detail, with varied building styles creating the town, different designs on people’s clothing, and even making sure to draw all the vats of fermenting soy beans in the processing plant. Usagi himself is quite expressive too; I love how Sakai can shift him from inquisitive to alarmed in the blink of an eye. Usagi’s energy—from flinging a rock on top of a torii arch to helping put out a fire—is always fluid and lively. Sakai handles a lot those details well, like how the rock bouncing across the torii is broken up with panel borders so that we get that extra passage of time as we see it skip and move.

Usagi Yojimbo is consistently one of the great monthly comics being published, and if you aren’t reading it yet, you owe it to yourself to try. Sakai’s always good about making sure each new story is a good introduction, and this one is no exception. Or if you’d rather just buy a collected edition? I can guarantee you’ll find it just as easy to step into. Usagi Yojimbo is always welcoming new readers, and as one of the top monthly books being published, I suspect you’ll like it once you try it.

Purchase Links: Amazon.com | Powell’s Books

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a Lobster Johnson comic. The pulp-inspired character first appeared as a ghost in Hellboy and B.P.R.D. comics, before getting stories of his own set back in the 1930s. With 2012 gearing up [...]]]> Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Art by Tonci Zonjic
32 pages, color
Published by Dark Horse Comics

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a Lobster Johnson comic. The pulp-inspired character first appeared as a ghost in Hellboy and B.P.R.D. comics, before getting stories of his own set back in the 1930s. With 2012 gearing up to be a big year for Mike Mignola’s various properties, it feels as good a time as any to see the return of Lobster Johnson. This time, though, the comic has the perfect addition of Tonci Zonjic on art.

Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand introduces a band of ghostly Indians into the world of the main character, scalping their victims left and right. Or are they ghostly Indians at all? While Lobster Johnson is there to fight them, it’s reporter Cindy Tynan who takes the center stage in this first issue, interviewing the locals about what’s going on and trying to figure out who and what are behind the killings.

With Lobster Johnson himself initially introduced as a ghost in the pages of Hellboy, it’s fun to see a ghost story in Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand where not all is what it initially seems. Lobster Johnson himself is more of a background character here too, and I found that decision from Mignola and John Arcudi works well. Lobster Johnson himself isn’t as interesting as Mignola’s other creations (Hellboy, Abe Sapien, the B.P.R.D., Witchfinder) aside from his borrowed shtick of stamping a lobster claw on people’s foreheads, so seeing Cindy Tynan take the lead makes this more interesting. We’re still in early stages of the story, so the bulk of the comic is her interviewing people, but watching her slowly unravel the goings-on is entertaining reading.

The big star here, though, is Zonjic’s art. His recent work on Who is Jake Ellis? and Heralds were both outstanding, and this comic is no exception. I adore his clean, open art; it reminds me a lot of the lake Edvin Biukovic, able to take minimal details and use its iconic nature to draw the reader in. A moment as simple as Lobster Johnson leaping through a window looks impressive; the gleam of his goggles as he launches himself toward the reader, a tumble across a horse with just the right amount of glass shards still in the air, and finally rolling back to his feet just in time to land two shots. It’s smooth and energetic, and it can’t help but excite. Zonjic is a superstar in the making, and once again he gives his all to the comic he’s working on.

Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #1 is a solid start to a mini-series. I feel like Mignola and Arcudi are doing the right thing by shifting the focus off of Lobster Johnson himself (while still making him an integral part of the comic), and letting a slightly more robust character take the lead. Perhaps more importantly, though, a new comic drawn by Zonjic is always reason to celebrate. The script is good, but it’s the art that has me already drooling for the next issue.

Purchase Links: Amazon.com | Powell’s Books

Here’s a New Year’s Resolution for all you comic readers out there: support titles that reflect what you want the industry [...]]]> By Mike Mignola, Andi Watson, Neal Adams, Howard Chaykin, M.J. Butler & Mark Wheatley, Stan Sakai, Tony Puryear, Brandon Graham, Filipe Melo & Juan Cavia, Carla Speed McNeil
80 pages, color
Published by Dark Horse Comics

Here’s a New Year’s Resolution for all you comic readers out there: support titles that reflect what you want the industry to look like.

One of the most common wishes I’ve heard about the North American comics industry is for there to be more anthology titles out there. A regularly published, ongoing series that runs a number of one-offs and serials that gives you a lot of bang for your buck. (Japan’s ongoing anthologies like Shonen Jump are often held up by way of comparison.) To that, I’d like to hold up Dark Horse Presents, the revitalization of Dark Horse Comics’ premiere title. Every month it’s offering up 80 pages of creator-owned comics, and while not every story in it is perfect (it’s hard to find an anthology where that is the case), there’s enough bang for your buck that this is a series that more people should be reading.

The new Dark Horse Presents uses the return of Mike Mignola to writing and drawing Hellboy as its lead piece this month, and rightfully so. It’s been a while since Mignola drew a Hellboy story, and this eight-pager is a great way for not only Mignola to dip his toe back in before (eventually) going to a new Hellboy mini-series. "Hellboy Versus the Aztec Mummy" is a flashback to 1956, when (as established in an earlier story) Hellboy went to Mexico and had five months missing from his memory when the dust finally settled. Mignola’s art is gorgeous as always, with panels devoted to background details like church iconography, or broken statues. And when Hellboy grabs the snake that’s slithering away and its true face is revealed? Well, let’s just say there’s a reason why as much as I’ve loved Duncan Fegredo’s work on the various Hellboy series over the past few years (and it really has been fantastic), I’ve missed Mignola’s art a great deal.

Of course, that’s not the only strong contribution to Dark Horse Presents #7. Andi Watson has been writing and drawing new "Skeleton Key" stories, and this latest one about a museum devoted to lost property is my favorite yet. Watson uses white backgrounds as a deliberate tool here, the void having an eerie nature, helping establish the dangerous emptiness of the museum quickly. And when Tamsin and Kitsune find other travelers, the detail on them is fantastic; from tourists to explorers, after all, everyone gets lost sooner or later. Also on the theme of things being lost is Brandon Graham’s "The Speaker," where a lost voice that escaped through the phone lines returns home upon discovering that his host has died. It’s a wonderfully imaginative piece, letting us learn about the deceased man through his ideas, his doubts, and his secrets. The ideas behind "The Speaker" are clever enough, but Graham’s execution of the ideas seal the deal; I love how he brings things like the man’s shadow or his cool ideas to life on the page. Even tiny details like a happy song spilling out of its word balloon bring great joy, and it’s a great DHP debut for Graham.

Carla Speed McNeil offers up another chapter of "Finder: Third World" this issue as Jaeger continues to work for a delivery service, only find that just because’s found the fastest way across the city-state of Anvard doesn’t mean that someone else hasn’t found a more unique mode of transportation. Jaeger’s staggered look as the driver shows him up is just marvelous—a perfect expression of shock and awe—and this rare usage of computer graphics works startlingly well for a series that has never relied upon them. Like Graham and Watson, McNeil turns in a lot of great little background details here; the "putt putt putt" and "brmm" as the car lurches forward, or the way that the building curves up and away from us as we see it tower over the chauffeur’s vehicle. And the mess of pipes in the background as Jaeger jumps off the roof? It’s work that most people will just skim over, even as it registers in your subconscious and helps define Anvard just a bit more.

Two new series debut this month in Dark Horse Presents. Tony Purhear’s "Concrete Park" is one of them, and while I’m not familiar with Purhear, it’s his art that instantly grabbed my attention. His thick, heavy inks are striking, forming his characters with a great deal of confidence and force. Through his art, you instantly get a feel for this near-future Los Angeles; the swagger of his characters and their surroundings just burst off of the page. The story itself feels a little minimal, barely finishing the introduction the characters before it’s over; this is a chapter that I suspect will work better in a collected edition than on its own. There’s enough here that I want to see more; partially just for Purhear’s attractive art, but also to see what will happen once the plot fully kicks in.

The other is "Skultar" by M.J. Butler and Mark Wheatley, a strange twist on the fantasy epic. There’s something funny about Butler’s script, with Zakurai the sage using a book of prophecies about Skultar to help the barbarian down to the finest detail. ("Thrust to your right! Duck! Above you!") As the prophecy suddenly goes horribly wrong, though, it turns into black comedy, and it shifts from merely amusing into, "I have no idea where this is going next" territory, and that’s a good thing. It doesn’t hurt that Wheatley’s art looks great, looking like a combination of painting and computer coloring over his sharp lines. This is a promising new series that I want to see a lot more of.

Stan Sakai serves up a new Usagi Yojimbo one-shot here, and it’s always such a pleasure to not only get more Sakai comics, but in color thanks to the under-used Tom Luth. It’s a short and to the point story involving ghost samurais haunting a battle site, but Sakai’s deft touch makes it both emotional and interesting; as always, it’s not so much the idea here but rather the execution. Sakai’s a treasure of modern comics and this is a firm reminder why. Filipe Melo and Juan Cavila offer up another chapter of "The Adventures of Dog Mendonca and Pizzaboy" as well, with its fourth-wall breaking manner that over time has come to grow on me. It’s a little strange in places, but there’s something about its unreliable narrator that is making me laugh more with each new installment. If nothing else, the revised version of how they destroy the Loch Ness Monster is worth the price of admission.

Of all the serials in Dark Horse Presents, it’s only "Blood" by Neal Adams and "Marked Man" by Howard Chaykin that fail to hold my interest. "Blood" is just a mess, both in story and art; this is something that feels like it’s strictly for Adams completists. "Marked Man" in comparison isn’t that bad; the art is pleasant, but the story just doesn’t engage me. With the story this far in (there’s only one chapter to go), though, it’s not a big worry.

Overall? There’s a lot of great material in Dark Horse Presents #7. I feel like I’m getting a great deal with each new issue, uniting me with creators that I already love as well as introducing me to new ones. And if that’s not enough, we’ve still got more great creators on deck; more Beasts of Burden from Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson, a new Andrew Vachss and Geof Darrow collaboration, preludes to upcoming series like Brian Wood and Kristian Donaldson’s The Massive and Caitlin Kiernan and Steve Lieber’s Alabaster… You get the idea. (There’s even a spine on the issue so you can stick them on your bookshelf if you so wish.) You want a strong anthology of comic shorts and serials every month? The time is now, and Dark Horse Presents is the answer.

New comics from Mark Crilley are always a reason to celebrate, as anyone who’s read Akiko or Miki Falls well knows. So ever since we got some teaser stories in MySpace Dark Horse Presents, I was looking forward to his new series Brody’s Ghost. And [...]]]> By Mark Crilley
96 pages, black and white
Published by Dark Horse

New comics from Mark Crilley are always a reason to celebrate, as anyone who’s read Akiko or Miki Falls well knows. So ever since we got some teaser stories in MySpace Dark Horse Presents, I was looking forward to his new series Brody’s Ghost. And right off the bat, I found that this series was a little different from Crilley’s previous works; not just in terms of having a male protagonist, but its overall feel and its pacing. It’s an interesting shift for Crilley, and after two volumes I feel safe to say that it works well for him.

On the surface, Brody’s Ghost has an easy enough premise; slacker Brody discovers the hard way that he can see ghosts and has psychic powers, and is pulled into helping the deceased Talia try and find a serial killer so that she can go to Heaven. But with a third of the story now complete, Crilley’s revealed enough additional information to show that this is hardly a one-note story. As strange as it sounds, part of the thing I like about Brody’s Ghost is the 96-page format. It’s a great size for a serial comic; it gives Crilley room to tell an extended chunk of story that isn’t crammed into a 32-page comic that demands much more frequent cliffhangers and resolutions, but at the same time is able to show up on a more regular basis than if Crilley had to produce 250-page volumes before publishing.

Crilley’s used the first two volumes of Brody’s Ghost to make each a definitive segment of Brody’s life. The first volume is Brody’s awakening into there being more to the world around him. It’s a story of initial discovery, both for his psychic gift as well as the presence of ghosts. Crilley supplements a lot of this opening chapter with details on Brody’s life in general. He’s not at the bottom of the heap, but he’s not exactly on the top of the world either. Aimless is probably the fairest descriptor to use, as Brody meanders through life and scrapes together enough to maintain his current existence, but nothing more. It’s not necessarily that Brody’s content with where he is, but rather Crilley paints the picture of someone unmotivated. And so, with that in mind, Crilley knocks Brody down hard, so that we can see him pull himself back up.

That’s where the second (and current) volume of Brody’s Ghost moves, the rebuilding of Brody into the hero of our piece. It’s a familiar rung in a hero’s journey, as Brody not only learns how to use his inborn talent but also trains and pushes himself into becoming something greater than he previously was. With the 96-page count, Crilley is able to present an extended training sequence here, and while at first I found myself wondering just how long it would go, before long I began to appreciate the attention Crilley was paying to this part of the story. It makes his confrontations at the end of the book—both physical and emotional—much more believable, because you can see the effort he’s put into getting there. With each trial and decision he’s made, he’s reshaped himself into someone better, and it’s a satisfying journey to watch. When Brody finally talks to Nicole at the end of Volume 2, it’s a much different person than the one who tried to talk to her in the first volume. You get the impression that Brody is now someone who could actually take on the dreaded Penny Killer, and that his transformation isn’t temporary.

The supporting cast and setting of Brody’s Ghost fleshes out the story, and it’s an interesting set of choices. I’m so used to Crilley’s comics starring strong female characters that it feels a bit odd for Talia to be more of a secondary presence. She’s still the one who drives the book forward (without her, none of this would happen), and for the first two volumes she’s the motivation for Brody to get strong enough to track down the Penny Killer. She’s still a bit of an enigma, though; we don’t know why she needs to perform a large act of good to be let into Heaven, for instance, and aside from being insistent she’s not as fleshed out as she could be (no pun intended). Right now I feel like Talia is more a function of the plot than a main character, perhaps in part because the first two volumes dealt primarily with Brody’s transformation. Now that the hunt for the Penny Killer is on, though, I’m hoping we’ll get more of Talia in the remaining four volumes. Then again, Talia’s definitely a larger presence of the book than Kagemura, who as Brody’s trainer, comes across even more so a part of the plot. He’s there to help the transition of Brody, but for now that appears to be his sole purpose. Kagemura’s Japanese heritage both sets him apart and pushes him into a box here; he stands out, but the Japanese spiritual guide is a character archetype we’ve seen in numerous other works. At the same time, I did find myself towards the end of the second volume wishing to have my own Kagemura to help me pare down to the essentials in life, so there’s something to be said for Kagemura.

It’s the futuristic, slightly-run-down city of Brody’s Ghost that in some ways feels like the strongest secondary character in the series. Crilley draws a gorgeous city spread in each volume, giving you the sense of a place that’s existed for ages, but has probably seen better days. Crilley doesn’t fall into the trap of making a city look identical throughout its streets; the area where Nicole works looks much more picked up and well-off than the alleyway where Brody is attacked by the L47 gang, for instance, or the older and neglected neighborhood of the Shinshoji Temple. Every time you think you’ve seen the city as a whole, we get another angle of its presence, from the suspended freeways jammed full of commuter traffic, to the boarded up office building taken over by the L47s.

And of course, the people in the book look great. The scene where Brody first meets Talia, for example, is great not only because of how it’s written but how Crilley stages it. From the intense stare doled out by Talia, to Brody’s utterly petrified and wigged-out expression, you get an instant sense of how both characters feel in that moment. Crilley in general is good about telling his story in part through the art; watching Brody’s transformation also shift him from slovenly to put-together is a good visual hallmark of his progress, and the ever shifting face of Talia says more than any words could. Brody’s Ghost is also the most action-oriented comic I think I’ve read by Crilley, and he tackles it with aplomb. I like how he shifts his normally clean, carefully crafted figures into a rougher and jagged style when Brody’s being buzzed by the L47 gang’s motorcycles, for instance; it makes a static image actually feel fast and in motion, as well as a little dangerous.

Brody’s Ghost is a fun book so far; with a planned six volumes, we’re far enough into the story now to get a strong sense of where it’s going, and at the same time I appreciate that each book has ended with a strong lead-in to the next installment. And of course, with each volume already having a spine, a nice cover stock, and crisp paper, there’s no need to "wait for the trade" here; it already looks good on your bookshelf. Crilley fans, I suspect, don’t need any nudge into picking up Brody’s Ghost. For everyone else, though? This is a great way to spend an afternoon, and I’m eager to see what the next step in Brody’s journey as a hero will be. Good stuff.

Purchase Links (Vol. 1): Amazon.com | Powell’s Books
Purchase Links (Vol. 2): Amazon.com | Powell’s Books

One of the many things I’ve always appreciated about Mike Mignola’s Hellboy is that he’s not afraid to shift its tone from one story to the next. So right now, the "main" arc running in Hellboy: The Storm (and the upcoming Hellboy: The [...]]]> Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Kevin Nowlan
32 pages, color
Published by Dark Horse

One of the many things I’ve always appreciated about Mike Mignola’s Hellboy is that he’s not afraid to shift its tone from one story to the next. So right now, the "main" arc running in Hellboy: The Storm (and the upcoming Hellboy: The Fury) is a dark and serious story, with great portent for what’s still to happen to the world. But then, in-between those two mini-series, we get something like Hellboy: Buster Oakley Gets His Wish, which is one of the stranger and funnier Hellboy stories to date.

It’s a little hard to talk about the plot of Hellboy: Buster Oakley Gets His Wish without giving away half of the fun, because Mignola’s story is built in no small part on a series of non-sequiturs and bizarre moments that follow, one after another. It starts simply enough—a young man in Kansas begins a satanic ritual with his friends—that is immediately followed by Hellboy investigating a herd of cows that are all (quite neatly) missing half of their bodies. And then, just when you think you know where the story is going, Mignola begins a series of swerves and surprises.

Does Hellboy: Buster Oakley Gets His Wish make sense? Not particularly. Does it need to? Absolutely not. If anything, it deliberately peppers itself fully of "what the hell?" moments, as if Mignola is just trying to come up with funny things for Kevin Nowlan to draw. This is a classic example of a "turn off your brain and just enjoy" kind of comic; it’s goofy and silly and meant to make you chuckle at each turn of events. After the darker atmosphere of Hellboy: The Storm it’s nice to just relax and enjoy a low-stakes paranormal event.

Of course, half of the fun probably comes from the fact that it’s Nowlan drawing the comic. Every time there’s a new Nowlan comic it’s a reason to celebrate, with his expressive and slightly strange looking characters and creations. When we first see Buster Oakley and his friends, every single one of them looks like a distinct individual, slightly off-beat (not a one of them falls into the "fashion model" route that so many "normal people" in comics do), and instantly appealing. Then again, this is the same artist who on the next page takes the time to make each of the framed photographs of the farmer’s cows look different and unique from one another. Nowlan thinks everything through carefully, from the design of the farmer’s house (which I now covet), to the tear running down the farmer’s face, to the sudden surprise appearance of… well, that would be telling.

Since Nowlan is a one-man show (pencils, inks, colors, letters) every bit of the visual appearance of the comic is tightly integrated. From the "wwwwwoooshhhhh" of an escaping vehicle moving along its trajectory, to the slightly off-kilter "tap tap tap" words rising up and away from Hellboy’s fist investigating the halved cow, it’s all thought out and just as much a part of the art. Even something as simple as Buster Oakley’s prayer/spell being written in a slightly smaller font as it’s repeated during a later sequence in the book is perfect, that reminder that it’s something that was spoken in the past but now resurfacing, rather than something that’s actively being said in the moment.

Hellboy: Buster Oakley Gets His Wish is one of the goofier comics I’ve read in a while, and I love it. Whenever Mignola and Nowlan want to work together on another comic, I am fairly certain I won’t be the only one lining up to buy a copy. This comic was a hoot, from start to finish, and it’s nice to see that Mignola hasn’t forgotten how to write funny as well as serious. More, please.

Oh Finder, how I’ve missed you. It’s been a few years, but Carla Speed McNeil’s Eisner Award-winning series is back, with a brand-new graphic novel as well as a brand-new publisher (Dark Horse Comics). This is actually the second indy comic darling that they’ve [...]]]> By Carla Speed McNeil
216 pages, black and white
Published by Dark Horse

Oh Finder, how I’ve missed you. It’s been a few years, but Carla Speed McNeil’s Eisner Award-winning series is back, with a brand-new graphic novel as well as a brand-new publisher (Dark Horse Comics). This is actually the second indy comic darling that they’ve picked up in the last year or two, the other being Larry Marder’s Beanworld. Like Beanworld, Dark Horse is both reprinting the previous run of Finder (in two big collections) as well as bringing us new books. And in typical Finder tradition, McNeil has avoided an easy path when it comes to Finder: Voice.

Finder: Voice takes place in McNeil’s city-state of Anvard, a curious mix of past traditions and future technology. It’s a little hard at times to fully explain Anvard, with its multiple clans, regions of partial or total darkness, and the ever-growing feeling that this is a city full of people desperately trying to ignore the decay that is accelerating in the background. And while Finder: Voice wasn’t intended to be a brand-new opening to the series (it was serialized for some time online on McNeil’s website before Dark Horse announced acquiring the series), I found myself surprised at how much McNeil does in the way of introducing both old and new readers to her setting. Finder: Voice follows former supporting character Rachel Grosvenor as she fights for full membership to the Llaverac clan. Success means a place for her and, indirectly, her siblings within Anvard’s society. Failure means a subservient and grim future at best. But quickly, McNeil uproots Rachel’s life, taking a path promising to be in the upper tiers of Anvard society and shoving her into a desperate quest in its bottom dregs.

Those who are familiar with Finder in general will note that its main character, Jaeger, is missing in the above description. He’s a critical figure within Finder: Voice, as Rachel tries to locate Jaeger so that he can use his Finder skills to retrieve a crucially important artifact for Rachel. But here, the quest isn’t Jaeger’s to find a ring, but rather Rachel’s to do the impossible: find a Finder who doesn’t wish to be found. What would be relatively simple for Jaeger, navigating the outskirts of society and moving among those who were discarded and ignored, is a dangerous and near-impossible task for Rachel. That’s part of what makes Finder: Voice so enjoyable; while her attempt to gain clan membership is supposed to be her rite of passage into adulthood, it’s her search for Jaeger that is her true journey into becoming an adult in her own right. Rachel starts as a pawn and victim, but eventually claws her way up and through, finding her own voice in a world where to be a member of a clan is to fit in with everyone else, and to be outside the clan is to be a non-entity.

One of the things that works better than I thought it would with Finder: Voice as an introduction to the series in general is that by having Rachel as the central protagonist, characters that we might have met before (such as Chief Coward, or Brom) are new to her. She’s not relying on Jaeger’s previous encounters, and as a result new readers are as much in the dark as Rachel. McNeil still does her best to explain these new situations and concepts to readers new and old, of course. Having the Llaverac clan competition open Finder: Voice works well for that early exposition, explaining not only clan structure but also the physical characteristics of the Llaveracs, or how each clan operates differently than the ones around it. Beyond that, though, it’s an immersive process. From Rachel using her fingers as a "phone" to Marcie’s casual commenting on being in a "night neighborhood," the higher technology is intriguing and fascinating, and what is shown as second nature to the inhabitants of Anvard is new and fun to readers.

Part of what makes Finder in general such an immersive experience is McNeil’s art, which is packed full of detail and expression. Strictly in terms of portraits, the art is a winner; Rachel hits all points throughout this book, from bravely looking forward to terrified glances over her shoulder. Moments as simple as a smiling man forever following Rachel carry a great deal of menace under McNeil’s pen; even the minor characters get a great amount of detail here. And the backgrounds are great, from pop-up ads infesting television screens, to dancing musical notes outside clubs and inside Ascian dwellings. It’s the echoes that move throughout the book that I found myself entranced with the most, an image of a ghostly memory of Jaeger hugging Rachel at her low point is powerful early on, but seeing it repeated near the end where it’s Rachel hugging herself while wearing Jaeger’s discarded jacket that you begin to realize that even in the art, the story is coming full circle and that Rachel is ready to stand on her own.

Another aspect about Finder I’ve always enjoyed is that in the collected editions and graphic novels, McNeil has included a series of footnotes that act like a director’s commentary about the completed work. Over the years they’ve progressed from explaining what might not have come across as well as McNeil had wished, into an in-depth discussion of the world of Finder and additional anthropological tidbits about its setting. They’re not necessary to enjoy the story, but read as a postscript to the book, it’s an interesting detour into McNeil’s creation process and how it plays out.

Watching Rachel grow into someone in control of her surroundings (or at least as much as one can be in Anvard) is a real pleasure. The Rachel we meet in the opening pages of Finder: Voice is quite different from the one in its conclusion. She doesn’t make all the right decisions along the way, but her ability to learn from her mistakes and get to the end point she needs is part of what makes her an appealing main character. As someone who’s loved reading about Jaeger over the years, seeing Rachel take the central spotlight is ultimately thrilling. Based on glimpses on McNeil’s website, we’ll be seeing a lot more of Rachel in the stories to come. I’d say she’s proven herself worthy of the role of protagonist, here. Finder: Voice is a great way to start to learn about the strange world of Finder for yourself.

Purchase Links: Amazon.com | Powell’s Books

One of the things I’ve grown to like about Mike Mignola’s Hellboy family of comics is that every now and then, a strange little story pops up in place of a longer mini-series or huge saga. That’s the case with [...]]]> Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Art by Peter Snejbjerg
32 pages, color
Published by Dark Horse

One of the things I’ve grown to like about Mike Mignola’s Hellboy family of comics is that every now and then, a strange little story pops up in place of a longer mini-series or huge saga. That’s the case with Abe Sapien: The Abyssal Plain, which is over and done in just two issues. When it’s all said and done, I have to give Mignola and John Arcudi credit: it’s not only just the right length, but it manages to feel both light and serious at the same time.

Abe Sapien: The Abyssal Plain is the sort of story that you could see someone trying to cram into an anthology, compressing everything down to just 15 or so pages. In a strict plotting sense, I think that’d be possible, but in doing so it would lose out on half of the strength of this story. Part of of what attracted me to this story, where Abe Sapien tries to recover a relic from a downed World War II submarine, is the attention that Arcudi and Mignola paid to dead guard Iosif. Through flashbacks to the 1940s, we get to see why Iosif ended up on the submarine, guarding a supernatural helmet. His name might not be on the cover, but it’s really all about Iosif. From his befuddled encounter with the creepy young Varvara, to his writing a letter to his wife as he waits to die, he’s a charmer from start to finish. Even with the book opening with Iosif’s death, it’s hard to not find yourself hoping that somehow, against all odds, he’ll escape his fate.

As for Abe Sapien himself, Arcudi and Mignola give him a nice relaxed attitude throughout the book. In many ways, he’s just there to guide us through Abe Sapien: The Abyssal Plain, serving as an impromptu narrator as well as voice of reason. He’s got very little to do with the basic plot of the comic itself, but this backseat role plays out more strongly than you might otherwise expect.

The big attraction for me, though, was seeing that Peter Snejbjerg was drawing the book. Snejbjerg’s art took a huge leap forward last year with The Mighty, and Snejbjerg continues that here. His lines are crisp and clean, and his characters are drawn in an uncluttered, attractive manner. I love that Snejbjerg is able to make characters beautiful without looking like models; there’s something incredibly wholesome about his figures. Snejbjerg is still able to draw a gross looking zombie, though, with the same care he applied to Iosif’s tank top going equally towards intestines and kidneys.

Abe Sapien: The Abyssal Plain is a fun little diversion, and a reminder that a horror comic doesn’t also have to be disgusting or full of splatter. In some ways, it’s actually a little sweet. You may come on board for the promise of some beautiful Snejbjerg art, but the entire comic is entertaining in its own right.

Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites is a book that might trick you at a glance. You might see an image or two and think, "Oooh, Jill Thompson is painting dogs and cats! I’ll get this book for my favorite pet-loving friend!" It’s an [...]]]> Written by Evan Dorkin
Art by Jill Thompson
184 pages, color
Published by Dark Horse

Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites is a book that might trick you at a glance. You might see an image or two and think, "Oooh, Jill Thompson is painting dogs and cats! I’ll get this book for my favorite pet-loving friend!" It’s an honest mistake to make. But if you take a look a little closer at Beasts of Burden, you’ll quickly realize that while Thompson is indeed painting some adorable animals, the scripts by Evan Dorkin are ones that start a little sad and dark and depressing, and then rapidly grow horrific. I say this as a complement, mind you. But Beasts of Burden is not for the faint-hearted.

Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites starts off with the four short stories that appeared in the Dark Horse Book of… anthology series. It’s in these four stories, published over the course of four years, that you see Dorkin and Thompson fully flesh out the world of Beasts of Burden bit by bit. The first story, "Stray," is arguably the story with the least number of horror elements involved, as well as the least grim. It’s still not all sunshine and roses, though, with a group of dogs (and Orphan the cat) having to perform a seance to figure out why Jack’s new doghouse is haunted by the ghost of another dog. It’s a sad story, one that will tug at the heartstrings of anyone who has (or had) a beloved pet of their own. "Stray" stands on its own as a piece that gives brief character sketches of the animals, but jumps right into the heart of the matter of the story.

That’s something that changes over the course of the remaining three short stories. We start learning the personalities of each of the animals, and their world begins to grow. Witches, cults, demons, zombies, you name it, we start seeing it in Beasts of Burden. It’s impressive because Dorkin expands their world in small careful steps (no doubt in part due to the stories being published annually and with additional pages each time), so it never feels like too much too quickly, and each new piece added into the overall structure fits well. By the time we get to the last of the four short stories, "A Dog and His Boy" (which unlike the rest of the book, is co-written by Sarah Dyer) the piece is a whopping twenty pages long (almost as long as the issues of Beasts of Burden that follow) and Dorkin has room so that he can spend a lot of the focus on a single dog, even while giving the other animals something to do. "A Dog and His Boy" lays the final piece of groundwork for Beasts of Burden, and it’s hard at this point to not see the huge differences between their world and ours.

The rest of Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites reprints the recent four-issue mini-series, and things kick into high gear at that point. As strange as it may sound, it reminds me in many ways of the Hellboy and B.P.R.D. series of mini-series also from Dark Horse. Not everything is neatly resolved at the end of the mini-series, and you get the feeling that it’s leading up into something even greater down the road. It’s also at this point where, perhaps because Dorkin knew that he would have additional issues following instead of the possibility of another story a year later if an anthology series continued, he’s not afraid to start making big sweeping events happen in his story. The animals get a larger role in their community, but also we start to see the effects that these nasty creatures are having on the other animals in the area. Not everyone makes it out alive in an issue, and it’s positively grim.

Thompson’s artwork follows a similar path to that of Dorkin’s writing throughout Beasts of Burden. Her paintings in the initial storyline use a strongly limited palette (lots of blues and grays), and looking at those pages now I’m still please and impressed with what she did there. As soon as you get to the second story, though, Thompson’s painting with a slightly smoother, more colorful finished look. The first page practically leaps out at the reader with fall foliage bursting with color, and the animals themselves look more defined and crisp. Even the lettering slowly changes over time, with Jason Arthur taking over for Thompson and providing a slightly more glossy look to the words. Even as Thompson continues to add new species of dog (as well as other animals) into her paintings, she also steps up her game when it comes to the grim. From dark red smears of blood across the page during a zombie attack, to the saddest, most depressing scene you’ll ever see (it’s the underwater final page of "Lost" for those who have read it), Thompson will scare and disturb you.

Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites is a dark book, but don’t mistake that for bad, because it’s anything but. Dorkin and Thompson should be deservedly proud of Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites; it’s gorgeously drawn, and grippingly written. Dark Horse is clearly pleased with it too, with the (surprisingly inexpensive) oversized hardcover that includes a sketchbook section at the end as well. At this point the only real question is, when will we see more Beasts of Burden? Fans of dark fantasy and horror absolutely must buy this book.

Purchase Links: Amazon.com | Powell’s Books

If you were reading comics in the early ’90s, you almost certainly knew about the last time Jim Shooter revamped Magnus, Robot Fighter and Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom. The first two titles at the now-defunct Valiant Comics, Shooter [...]]]> Written by Jim Shooter
Art by Dennis Calero and Bill Reinhold
32 pages, color
Published by Dark Horse

If you were reading comics in the early ’90s, you almost certainly knew about the last time Jim Shooter revamped Magnus, Robot Fighter and Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom. The first two titles at the now-defunct Valiant Comics, Shooter had bought publishing rights for the old Gold Key characters from the ’60s and turned them into the cornerstone of the Valiant Comics line. After Shooter left, the characters got revised several times at Valiant and then new-owners Acclaim, but soon after Acclaim’s publishing division folded the rights reverted back to Random House. Dark Horse has now signed up for publishing rights for the characters, and has brought Jim Shooter back to take another crack at the characters. But can lightning really strike twice a second time? So far, I’d have to say no.

The first half of the Free Comic Book Day flip book focuses on Doctor Solar, who like both the original Gold Key character as well as the first Valiant incarnation, gained his reality-shifting powers through an accident at a nuclear power plant. There are some good bits in this story, like Doctor Solar trying to explain to his old boss all of the new sensations he now experiences with his complete control over energy. "Cosmic rays smell like butterscotch. Time feels like… liquid silk. Neutrons are prickly…" he stumbles forward. It’s that sort of small moment that makes me think it could work again, if Shooter tries to explore what a strange person Doctor Solar has become. The majority of the script falls flat, though. Telling "you might be a redneck" jokes makes the book feel weirdly dated (even though it’s supposed to take place in 2010), and his fight with another super-powered being comes across dispassionate and boring, almost like it was there due to obligation rather than because it might be interesting. Dennis Calero’s art is likewise stiff and unenergetic; the fight scene in particular looks staged, and Doctor Solar flies off afterwards with his legs at such a strange angle it’s hard to not stare. I liked some other small touches along the way, like Doctor Solar following a live transmission back to its source in order to find where it’s happening, but on the whole there just isn’t much oomph.

There are similar problems with the second story. Here, Shooter strays even less far away from the original source material, as in the year 4000 we have Magnus fighting rebel robots. Shooter lays out the basic origin information for the character, but he doesn’t bring anything new to the table at all. I suppose that Magnus being able to see what the enemy robots can view could be interesting, but it comes across as a lazy way to get Magnus back in on the action rather than actually tracking down the bad guys. Bill Reinhold’s art isn’t bad, although it too lacks a certain level of energy. Still, it at least looks very classic and crisp, but when Magnus jumps out of a flying ship I’m not sure what it says that Leeja’s hair looks more energetic than the plummeting action figure form of Magnus.

So far, I don’t have much hope for Dark Horse’s revivals of Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom or Magnus, Robot Fighter. Shooter’s dusting off the properties doesn’t come across as original or interesting; there isn’t a hook in either one of these stories that make me think that I need to sign up to buy the monthly series that debut in July and August. When a book given away on Free Comic Book Day fails to grab your attention as a reader, that’s not a good sign at all. This is, unfortunately, just dull.

I’ve come to the grim conclusion over the past year that if your website doesn’t have an RSS feed, I am more than likely going to [...]]]> Written by Mark Crilley, Jackie Kessler, Graham Annable, and Ananth Panagariya
Art by Mark Crilley, Paul Lee, Graham Annable, and Yuko Ota
26 pages, color
Published by Dark Horse Comics and MySpace

I’ve come to the grim conclusion over the past year that if your website doesn’t have an RSS feed, I am more than likely going to forget it exists. It’s nothing personal, I just have so many things going on in my life that sooner or later I’ll start forgetting to check for updates. That’s been the case as of late with MySpace Dark Horse Presents, the return of Dark Horse’s original anthology title now running monthly issues on MySpace. When a pair of cartoonists mentioned on their website that their new story had just gone live on MySpace DHP (something I heard through their RSS feed, of course), though, I decided it was time to sit down and catch up.

As it turns out, it’s a good thing I did. I had no idea, for starters, that Mark Crilley was creating a new series (Brody’s Ghost) for Dark Horse. I loved Crilley’s Miki Falls and Akiko, so a new Crilley comic is reason to celebrate. It’s also a change of pace for what I’m used to seeing from Crilley, featuring a male protagonist in a run down city being drawn to bad situations and accompanied by ghosts. While the credits list this as being "part 2" it’s merely the second Brody’s Ghost short story to run online; "The Scene of the Crime" can be read on its own without any past knowledge. In many ways "The Scene of the Crime" is just a story fragment, but this character piece gives the reader an understanding of what Brody’s about and how he operates, and it’s interesting enough that even without knowing it was a new series from Crilley I’d want to read more. It also helps that Crilley’s art looks great; his softer lines that he uses for characters are ever-present, but he also draws the city in such a way that feels grimmer and dirtier than what I’m sometimes used to seeing. Crilley’s an excellent artist and Brody’s Ghost looks to be no exception to that.

Starting this issue is a new serial, a Tales of the Vampires story. It ties directly into Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #21, where Harmony took vampirism public with a reality show and huge media attention. It’s actually a subplot that’s been forgotten in the main Buffy comic these days, and something that has been worthy of more exploration. I’m not familiar with Jackie Kessler, but for an introduction Kessler’s writing comes off well. Kessler shows the downside to vampires being outed, unable to get more than quick drinks off of (admittedly willing) people and forever surrounded by a fascinated public. Kessler’s annoyed protagonist Cyn treads the line between being amusing and dangerous, and I like the idea that Kessler appears to be going for about what happens when you try and defang a predator. Things look ready to explode, and it’s a good lead-in to next month’s chapter. Paul Lee’s an artist who’s familiar with vampires and the Buffy universe in general, and I’m always pleased to see his art. The outfits Cyn and Ash wear to the club are excellent, and the perpetually annoyed expression on Cyn’s face made me laugh on several occasions.

The only story in MySpace Dark Horse Presents #31 that didn’t ring true for me was Graham Annable’s two-page "Love Note." Normally I’m amused by his short pieces in anthologies like Papercutter and The Grickle, but his off-beat and warped sense of humor feels a little too compressed here. His take on an attempt to write a love note going horribly wrong hits its conclusion a little too quickly for my taste; even one more page, I think, would have made a huge difference.

The issue ends on an extremely strong note, though, with Ananth Panagariya and Yuko Ota’s "Callie Eats Feathers." It’s a disturbing story in which the titular character begins to eat feathers while her friend watches in confusion and fear. It’s a moody piece, one that’s hard to describe. Panagariya’s script is moody and clever, one that comes to a conclusion, then lingers just long enough for a final, extra jolt. I’m familiar with these creators through their webcomic Johnny Wander, but this is a new experience that I’m getting through this story. Ota’s art is in the same school of style with slightly blocky, iconic looking character. It’s always been a good look on their webcomic, but here I feel like my eyes are being opened to just how strong an artist Ota is when working on a full story. I absolutely want to see more comics from Panagariya and Ota down the line.

MySpace Dark Horse Presents #31 offers up a nice mix of stories, and it’s a good reminder that I need to try and stop by each month to see just what they’re serving up next. My only really big complaint is that I’m not a fan of their interface; at least on my monitor, having to click on the "next page" button and then scroll back up to the top of the screen gets slightly frustrating. I got more enjoyment out of MySpace Dark Horse Presents #31 than I have many comics I’ve paid for; it is definitely worth your time to check it out for yourself.