The Wicked and the Divine: Fandemonium

Writer: Keiron Gillen
Artist: Jamie McKelvie
Colourist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Flatter: Dee Cuniffe
Publisher: Image Comics

What's it about?
Every 90 years 12 Gods return as young people.  They live for two years.  Then they are dead, until the next cycle.

In this cycle they are pop stars.  Rock gods.  Choose the descriptor that gets you the most excited.  Everyone is a fan.

Stuck Rubber Baby

Writer and Artist: Howard Cruse

Publisher: Vertigo Comics

Stuck Rubber Baby is a fiction that reads like an autobiography. Toland is a young closeted man growing up in the 1960s American South. He makes friends with a group of liberal folk and finds himself socialising in the black and LGBT clubs of his town. He is drawn into the local civil rights movement and is forced to confront the truth of his sexuality, whilst racist and homophobic attacks are regular occurrences.

Not a misery memoir

Today I shall be talking about two books that were the subject of a talk I went to about a month ago. These books are Nicola Streeten's Billy, Me and You; and Una's Becoming/UnBecoming. Both have left a profound impression on me and I want more people to know about them.

A new reader does a video review of Powers and Yakitate

A friend of mine, Jenny, has uploaded a video review of her first time reading a comic - Powers volume 1: Who Killed Retro Girl?  Powers is a crime comic set in a world where everyone has superpowers.

Watch her review here:

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Mike Avon Oeming
Colour art: Pat Garrahy
Separation Assists: Ojo Calhente Studios
Letters: Pat Garrahy and Brian Michael Bendis
Publisher: Image Comics

Powers has been on my list of things to review for a while, but I haven't got round to it.  Thankfully, this is a review by an actual new reader so may well work better  for all of you :D

There's added bonus discussion of Yakitate Japan which is a battle manga about bread.  And there's a very cute springer (?) spaniel rumbling about too.

Sunnysweetpea tweets here and has a lifestyle blog here.  Her youtube channel is here.
Thanks to Ang (@appletreeang) for supplying me with the credits and suggesting the book to Jenny.  Ang blogs here.

If you like the sound of superhero cops you might also want to try Top 10.  It has a very different take on the idea.

Saga volume 1

Today's review comes to you courtesy of Phil May - AHA @ReadItDaddy.  Phil is a technical wizard mashing coder by day, drawing fantastic characters and creatures by night and also reviewing children's books with his daughter over at http://readitdaddy.blogspot.com and grown up stuff at http://daddyafterdark.blogspot.com. 

Writer: Brian K Vaughan
Art: Fiona Staples
Publisher: Image Comics

What's it about?

Space operas don’t come any weirder than Saga, and just when you feel that you’re comfortable that science fiction comics are mined out and the mighty reign of the superhero comic is unshakeable, Saga spins your head around and embroils you in a graphic universe that is sprawling, chaotic and (sometimes) darkly funny.

Saga kicks off slap bang in the middle of its narrator’s birth, setting the tone for the series stock-in-trade method of shock followed by quick explanation. This is set against a background of a huge intergalactic plot involving space war, marginalization, bounty hunting and sheer unadulterated bizarreness.

Comixology's submit - stuff that didn't fit anywhere else.

This the last of the books from the Comixology: Submit sale we talked about in March.  This bundle isn't available anymore but the books in it are, and are well worth looking at.  Here are the remaining five that we think are worthy of note.

Smut Peddlar - short anthology of smutty stories.  Clearly for adults only and not safe to read at work. This may not have been in the bundle, but is an indie book and is good sexy fun.  It's got a mix of pairings - male/male, female/female and male/female.
Writers and artists: various
Publisher: Iron Circus Comics

Dumbing of Age - excellent book about a home schooled Christian woman starting university and meeting people from different backgrounds.  It's smart and funny. It's not mean about Christian homeschooling - it doesn't insult anyone for being who they are.  It's got a great cast who interact really well.  This made me smile a lot, when not much else did.  It started off as a webcomic, which you can read here. Start at the bottom of the page.  Includes LGBT characters and characters of colour.
Writing and art: David Willis
Publisher: Self published

Rock Star Scientists - in this world, scientists are treated like rockstars.  They get the fans, the glory and the clothes. There are 2 stories in this comic, which is split into two section called Side A and Side B.  Side A is an introduction to this world and Side B is a rather short story. Nonetheless it's worth the money.
Writing and letters: Kenny Jeffery
Art: Jordan Cutler
Pencils and inks: George Zapata
Colours: Armit Ghadge
Publisher: Angry Fruit Salad

After Twilight - this has nothing to do with sparkling vampires.  It's 2022 and Texas is in a civil war with the rest of the States to become independent.  Government and laws are based on biblical faith.  The protagonist is a librarian who finds herself involved in the struggle between the underground resistance and the theocractic leaders
Writing: Richard Alvarez, Gary L Watson, Sandra Yates
Art: Douglas Brown
Colours: Chandran and Meagan Tanner
Publisher: Nu-Classic Publishing

Legend of Oz - it's the story of Oz done as a Western.  Dorothy is a gun toting cowgirl and Toto is her horse.  The colours are rather brassy and the faces are a bit plasticky, but the story is good enough.  There is some violence so this won't be good for kids.
Writing: Tom Hutchinson
Pencils: Alisson Borges
Colours: Kate Finnegan
Publisher: Big Dog Ink

Comixology submit: spooky and mythical

In the second of our posts prompted by March's Comixology submit sale we focus on books that have mythical elements, that are sometimes a bit fairy tale and sometimes a bit horror.

Supernatural
Who Needs the Moon - there's a vampire in Kingsford and the townsfolk don't know anything about it.  Enter a werewolf, who can do something about it.  The art in this is intelligent - something I rarely say.  The colour palette and panel layout tell the story more than the words.  In fact, many panels have no words, but there is never a problem in understanding what you are seeing.  This is a great and challenging (in the best way) comic that really does deserve your attention.
Art and writing: Todd McCullough
Publisher: Self published

Ink and Thunder - three supernatural short stories written and drawn by Becky Cloonan.  These are beautiful and inspiring and sumptuous.  All three have a feeling of immense sadness and yearning about them.  Cloonan is a professional storyteller and these have to be three of her best.
Writing and art: Becky Cloonan
Publisher: Self published 

Fairy tales
The Demon's Sermon on the Martial Arts - I haven't read much of this but it looks impressive. Paraphrased from the comixology description:
This is a classic collection of martial arts parables.  The stories feature demons, insects, birds, cats and more.  They may seem whimiscal but they contain essential teachings that offer insight into the fundamental principles of martial arts.  This graphic novel is based on Issai Chozanshi's eighteenth century text.
It's in black and white and has a classic Japanese art style.
Adaptation: Sean Michael Wilson
Translation: William Scott Wilson
Art: Michiru Morikawa
Original writer: Issai Chozanshi
Publisher: Shambhala publications

Twas the Night Before Krampus - This is a black and white book about the Christmas Eve fight between St Nicholas and the evil Krampus.  This is a rather unique and creepy Christmas story.  Not suitable for kids.
Writer: Ben Avery
Art: Tim Baron
Publisher: Lifesize Monster Ghost

The Order of Dagonet - this is written by Jeremy Whitley (he who wrote the amazing Princeless).  Mythological creatures of ancient Britain return and knights have to be found.  Although created by Americans, it's got a really British voice and a really good handle on British folklore. N.B: this wasn't part of the sale but I've included it because it is an independent comic.
Writer: Jeremy Whitley
Art: Jason Strutz
Publisher: Action Lab Comics

I've tagged all of these as age mature as although older teens would probably like them, they have a bit too much to them be considered age: general.

Gotham City Sirens Volumes 1-4

 
Credits: Various
Publisher: DC comics

What's it about?
Gotham City Sirens focuses on the DC villains/antiheroes Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn.  These three women are probably the most famous female residents of Batman's Gotham City (aside from Batgirl, of course).  They aren't exactly friends.  Catwoman (Selina Kyle) has worked with Batman too much to be true friends with the more criminally minded.  Poison Ivy doesn't really like people.  Harley Quinn gets on with most people but would leave them hanging in a moment if her beloved Joker called.

Volume 1 brings the Sirens together by having them share a house (a really big house, more like the size of a warehouse).  Ivy and Harley set out to discover Batman's identity from Selina; the Riddler has reformed; and one of the old Joker sidekicks turns up.

Best of 2013: DC

This is the last in my Best of 2013 posts,  As such I decided to focus it on my beloved DC Comics  Anyone who listens to the Radio Bamf podcast or who follows me on twitter would be forgiven for thinking that DC's output for 2013 was all utter rot.  This is not the case.  I am susceptible for going off on a tangent and declaring the company's current direction rubbish, but that's not fair to them, as they have put some excellent series.  So let's look at them!

Best of 2013: Spandex

Writer: Martin Eden
Art: Martin Eden
Publisher:  Self published and Titan Books

What's it about?
Spandex tells the story of a group of 8 queer superheroes and their enemies, living in Brighton, UK.  For those of you that don't know, Brighton is an LGBT friendly city on the south coast of England.  The members of Spandex are Butch, Diva, Glitter, Indigo, Liberty, Mr Muscles, Neon and Prowler.  Spandex generally has 7 members at a time, and their costumes are coloured according to the colours of the rainbow.  Butch wears green, Diva wears red, Glitter is orange and so on.

Between them their power set covers unbreakable skin, light based powers, teleportation, a danger sense called gaydar, ultra strength, ability to absorb other gay people's powers and skills.  All members are on the LGBT spectrum.  There are recurring characters such as the pink ninjas and the 50 foot lesbian.

Best of 2013: horror

Last week Bamf Comic Book Radio, a podcast I am a co-host for, http://waabamf.podomatic.com/entry/2014-02-05T09_25_13-08_00 did a horror special.  We invited P M Buchan, aka Bucky, author of Black Out (reviewed last year) to join us.  Four of us chatted for 60 minutes about the latest comic news and all the horror comics we have enjoyed, covering manga, indies and some more mainstream stuff.  There's a fair bit of swearing on the podcast, so it's probably more suitable for mature listeners!

If you like horror, go give it a listen.  I think the sound quality may not be great on this one, but please bear with it.  I had an absolute blast recording it :)

2013 overview: Grendel - War Child

Hola!

Apologies for the lack of updates - I'm hoping I've still got some readers left...  As usual I have a ton of things I'd like to review and, as usual, the task is a little bit daunting.  So, to make it easier on my myself (and to get some posts on here for you dear lovelies to read) I'm going to do a few posts on the best stuff I read in 2013.

I'm going to start with books from a couple of smaller publishers: Grendel: War Child, from Dark Horse comics; and Top 10 from America's Best Comics.

Grendel: War Child

Writer: Matt Wagner
Art: Patrick McEown and Ken Henderson
Colours: Bernie Mireault and Kathryn Delaney
Inks: Matt Wagner and Monty Sheldon
Letterer: Kurt Hathaway
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

What's it about?
I did have a full length review of this written in rough, it inspired me so much, but then I lost the bits of paper and now I have to re-write it from memory.  There's a lesson to you all - organise your paperwork!

War Child is a 10 issue mini series and part of the wider Grendel story.  I haven't read any other Grendel books, although I am a big fan of Matt Wagner (the writer), so this review comes from my understanding of this single story.

Grendel is the senior bodyguard/protector of the leader of the empire, Orion I.  After Orion's death his son, aged about 10, is kidnapped by Grendel.  Orion's widow is now ruling as regent; however she is a little unhinged.  She is desperate for power and wants the son back to give her leadership legitimacy.  She has locked her daughter in her quarters, ostensibly for her protection from the threatened rebellion - but honestly?  I think her daughter just isn't a high priority.

Grendel has taken the son on Orion's orders and they are travelling through the wastelands to safety.  Orion's widow sends the army after them, and predictably they all fail.  Eventually Grendel and the child find sympathisers and can rest, and wait.

Stumptown

Writer: Greg Rucka
Illustrations: Matthew Southworth
Colours: Lee Loughridge, Rico Renzi and Matthew Southworth
Design: Keith Wood
Publisher: Oni Press

What's it about?

There's a female Private Investigator called Dex Parios.  She's broke because she gambles, so she's forced to take on a case to wipe out her debt.

What's the case?  The boss of the Wind Coast casino, Sue-Lynne, has a granddaughter who's gone missing.  Sue-Lynne fears her granddaughter is mixing with unsavoury characters and wants her home.   Feeling dubious, Dex takes on the case.  What follows is mystery; intrigue; a fair few punches; some guns; family revelations; and a very annoyed Dex.

There's a lot of swearing and violence so I'd say it's intended for mature readers. 

LGBT History month - Deathwish

     

Writer: Adam Blaustein, later known as Maddie Blaustein
Plot Assist: Yves Fezzani
Penciller: J H William III
Inker: Jimmy Palmiotti
Painted colour: J. Brown
Letterer: Joseph Daniello
Publisher: Milestone (an imprint of DC comics)

What's it about?
Marisa Rahm is a transgender cop in Dakota, America.  There's a serial killer, the Deathwish of the title, out there murdering trans women and Rahm is determined to bring him in. Rahm has been chasing Deathwish for years.  Her singlemindedness is all encompassing - she lives, breathes and eats the case.  Predictably, this is affecting her relationship with her girlfriend, Dini.

As Rahm gets closer to Deathwish he starts manipulating her, messing with her mind, and then it becomes unclear who is the hero and who isn't.

This is a four issue miniseries published under DC's Milestone imprint in the 1990s.  It has never been collected into a trade but it can be found in places such as Ebay.  Unfortunately I only have issues two, three and four of this series, but it's importance for trans comics characters means I am determined to review and promote it.

Black Out

Writer: P M Buchan
Art: Jack Fallows, Mike Barnes, Joe Whiteford, and Philip Marsden
Demonology by Andrew Waugh
Fat Jackie by Philip Marsden
Self published

What's it about?
Black Out collects 11 stories and they are all, with the exception of The Demonologies, incredibly crude.  If you like Tank Girl, or Viz magazine, you'll probably like this. Wages of Sin is about a dirty fucker living in a hovel who gets haunted by Death and the Devil.  Zingo's Lament is a one pager about a clown who eats kids (or not) and gets sent to hell. There's one story where a fat bloke gets so high on mushrooms he decides to dress as jack o' lantern and carves a face into his belly.  It's horrific but it's also really, really funny.  What's Inside A Girl? is a tale of unrequited teenage love, with misunderstanding, booze, acid and cannibalism.  Then there are sex dolls and love in the afterlife ending in a suicide.

You get the idea.  It's horror/comedy and most definitely for mature readers only.

I Don't Like My Hair Neat

Continuing the Thought Bubble theme, next up is Julia Scheele's I Don't Like My Hair Neat.

Art: Julia Scheele
Writer: Katie West and Chrissie Williams:
Self published

What's it about?
I Don't Like My Hair Neat is a collection of stories. The first (and main) one is Positive - an 18 page story about a woman fearing she might be pregnant.  How did it happen? Who is the father? What will the kid look like?

Green Arrow Sale on Comixology

A Twitter friend has just alerted me to the fact that Comixology, the digital comics retailer, has a Green Arrow sale.  Each issue is 99 American cents, or about 50p (English money).

Green Arrow is one of DC's superheroes.  He dresses in green and is an ace archer.  He has an on again/off again relationship with Black Canary, ace martial artist with a sonic scream.

Death in the Family

Batman: A Death in the Family

Writer: Jim Starlin

Penciller: Jim Aparo

Inker: Mike De Carlo

Colourist: Adrienne Roy

Letters: John Costanza

Publisher: DC Comics

Today's guest review is by Jimmy McGlinchey:

Posing as a mild-mannered accountant, the entity known as @JimmyMcG on Twitter is an enthusiastic DC Comics follower who has been collecting DC comics since 1989. Other interests include travel, cinema, television and trivia.  You can follow him on twitter @JimmyMcG.

What’s it all about?

In the 1980s, Dick Grayson had quit his role as Robin to Bruce Wayne’s Batman, moving on up to the persona of Nightwing. His role as Robin was taken over by Jason Todd, a young street orphan who Batman came across when finding Jason trying to steal the tyres from the Batmobile. Todd was a much darker incarnation than Dick Grayson’s Robin, prone to defying Batman’s orders and being rebellious.  In a comic before the “Death in the Family” storyline, it was implied that Jason caused the death of a serial rapist, who, being the son of a diplomat, would escape prosecution for his crimes.

Jason Todd as Robin was not popular with the readers and, with the availability of technology to poll readers, DC Comics decided to use this to promote a storyline whereby the readers decided if Jason Todd should live or die.

As “Death in the Family” begins, Batman makes the decision to bench Jason Todd, fearing his emotional state would cause him injury. Jason, while suspended, makes a discovery that his mother was in fact his step-mother, and that three possibilities of his real mother were located in either the Middle East or Ethiopia. Jason sneaks away to try and locate his mother. However, Batman is also on the way to the Middle East as a certain escaped lunatic has absconded there with a stolen cruise missile in tow….

Claymore vol. 1: The Silver Eyed Slayer

Writer and Artist: Norihiro Yagi
Publisher: Shonen Jump Advanced

What's it about?
In a pre-industrial world in which monsters called yoma infiltrate human settlements in order to hunt and feed on human viscera, female warriors known as Claymores (after the huge swords they carry) are employed to hunt and kill the yoma. Half yoma themselves, these warriors have the strength and speed needed to fight yoma, and the ability to sense them out when they're hiding among humans. The warriors' inhumanity, clear in their lack of pigmentation in hair and skin and their shining silver eyes, makes it hard for humans to trust them, and leaves them outcasts in the society they work to protect.

Read right to left!

If it sounds familiar to you, you probably already know whether or not this series is for you.

Clare is a warrior that the Organization sends to a village for a routine yoma hunt, where she meets Raki, the young boy whose parents were the first victims. His gratitude to her when she saves him, combined with the village's distrust when they realise how close he was to the yoma, causes him to follow her out of the village and into her dangerous world, where a hesitant friendship develops between a boy who has lost everything and a girl who has shut herself off from the world.

Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Tony Harris
Inks: Tom Feister

Colors: JD Mettler
Publisher: Wildstorm Comics

What’s it about?
Have you ever wondered how the life of a superhero would look in real life?
What would he try to accomplish? Would fighting crime with super powers be actually enough?
What kind of repercussions would such a man have?
If we can consider the sort of popularity they'd gain, like a movie star, what if they were to use this fame to try to enter politics where such men could actually end up making a difference on a larger scale?

That is probably what Brian K. Vaughan had in mind when he decided to work on Ex Machina.  Ex Machina is the tale of Mitchell Hundred, the superhero known as The Great Machine in a world where only this man became a superhero...during the turn of the century in the early 2000s. It features a very political background over which Mitchell's story is told via flashbacks and even some flashforwards, alongside the present day events following his establishment as Mayor of New York City.

A dramatic story with a political aspect, mixed with some of what you would expect from superheroics, some shenanigans with villains and a mysterious origin story.  It may take place in a sort of alternate reality, but it feels that more real because of it.