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The Forecast for December 29th 2004
Welcome to The Forecast. Every Monday, Ninth Art's core team of comment writers, the Ninth Eight, will be your guides to the best, worst, weirdest and most noteworthy books on the shelves of your local comic shop. BOOK OF THE WEEK: GOD THE DYSLEXIC DOG Some titles are too irresistible to ignore, so when I saw GOD THE DYSLEXIC DOG on the shelf, I had to explore further. But one good pun does not a worthwhile comic make, and it's not enough to merely pique the browser's interest. There has to be something inside the comic to catch the reader's eye too. In this regard, GOD THE DYSLEXIC DOG (Bliss On Tap Publishing) delivers in spades. To put it simply, it's breathtakingly beautiful; a fine-lined, lavishly intricate black-and-white psychedelic that evokes some of the most extraordinary sci-fi and fantasy comics of the 1970s. That's because the pencils come courtesy of Alex Niño, a Filipino artist who produced exactly those kinds of stories for DC and Marvel back in the day. Judging from his work on GOD (working from breakdowns by Philip Phillipson), he hasn't lost any of his skill or delicate touch, and it's a crime that he's been off the radar for so long. I couldn't honestly tell you what GOD THE DYSLEXIC DOG is about, mind you. It isn't a comedy book, as the title might suggest. Rather, the story by father and son Philip and Brian Phillipson is one of gods, universes and a coming apocalypse, featuring a devilish Bacchus, and Dr Ivan Pavlov re-imagined as a schlocky mad scientist. It's high-falutin', Simonson-esque absurdism of the first order, like Neil Gaiman strained through Robert E Howard. But here's the thing; though the book is hard-going on the first read, Niño's art is so striking that it'll be a pleasure to re-read over and over again. I can't remember the last time I've so enjoyed poring over every panel and page of a comic. You can find out more at the official website. Good dog. [Andrew Wheeler] OFF TO JOIN THE LEGION I go through phases in my comic reading, and right now if I see another grim and gritty "superhero verite" comic I think I'll slit my wrists. I want wit, whimsy, ridiculous supervillains and cosmic battles! I want silly names and sillier origin stories! And, as if on cue to fix my craving for pure pop fantasia, here comes the revamped LEGION (DC), by Mark Waid and Barry Kitson. Now, as I've learned in chatting to my friends about this book, the comic world is divided into two camps. Those who love LEGION like a brother, and those who have sailed quite blissfully through their lives without being touched by this book. I'm in the latter camp, obviously. But how can you not love this concept? It's a galactic utopia, where a bunch of super-powered teens from a huge spectrum of different homeworlds get together and form a club to re-enact and do homage to the golden age of Earth's superheroes, complete with dumb names and dumber powers ("Triplicate Girl", "Invisible Lad"). Yep, it's supernerds. With spaceships. If that wasn't enough, we have Kitson on art chores, and his clean, strong line and great grasp of expressions should make the book a delight to look at. Kitson also does lovely backgrounds, which are crucial in a book set in a futuristic environment. I'm a bit of a Waid fan anyway, and I think he'll be great on the book - the nasty edge to his writing will keep this book from disappearing up its own rear. The characters should be well developed, and their relationships taut and dramatic. I'm fully expecting THE OC meets WRATH OF KHAN. [Alex de Campi] WHATEVER Here we go again. After the excess of the 2099 revival earlier this year, Marvel takes another vicious stab at regurgitating an old brand 'for one week only', this time revisiting the What If name, in which we're asked to accept that the Marvel universe is fractionally less imaginary than realities where Sasquatch skinned Rocket Raccoon and wore him as a hat, or the inhabitants of the Microverse stamped across Sue Storm's brain. New Marvel under Bill Jemas was certainly grotesquely self-indulgent, but at least it was usually good fun - it was a party for anyone who loved superhero comics, and the whole neighbourhood was invited. Today's Marvel, Retro Marvel, feels more like a party held by the obnoxious people next door. All you get is noise, and maybe someone throwing up on your doorstep. So we get Joe Quesada's gaggle of current favourites churning out stories asking how the Marvel universe might have changed if certain people had lived (Spider-Man's uncle, Daredevil's girlfriend), or if villains had gained super strength (General Ross as the Hulk, Dr Doom as the Thing), or if miserable loners had joined superteams (Jessica Jones on the Avengers, Magneto on the X-Men). It's such a pointless exercise that one barely wonders that the creative teams couldn't muster four original ideas between them. Gimmicky novelties at best. [Andrew Wheeler] THE SHIPPING LIST FOR DECEMBER 29th 2004: Shipping details come courtesy of Diamond. Visit the Diamond website for the latest information, as the list is subject to change. DARK HORSE AUG040039D FIERCE #4 (Of 4) $3.95
DC COMICS OCT040275 ADAM STRANGE #4 (Of 8) $2.95
IMAGE OCT041556 HUMANKIND #4 (Of 5) $2.99
MARVEL OCT041766 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #515 $2.25
OTHER PUBLISHERS OCT048048 AFTERMATH BLADE OF KUMORI #2 2ND PRTG $2.95
The Ninth Eight are Matthew Craig, John Fellows, Kieron Gillen, Alistair Kennedy, Zack Smith, Andrew Wheeler, Ben Wooller and Bulent Yusuf. Ninth Art endorses the principle of Ideological Freeware. The author permits distribution of this article by private individuals, on condition that the author and source of the article are clearly shown, no charge is made, and the whole article is reproduced intact, including this notice. Back. |