Comic Book Encounters

I have perused some manga in my time. I am not a super-fan, what with the kitten ears and the chibi obsession and the rape tentacles. But I liked some of the Clamp graphic novels. Hellsing and Blood Alone are also gory fun.

And that is really the extent of my comic book exposure. And, yes, I know manga aren’t comic books, exactly.

Fortunately, a close relative just became a comic book store clerk. Last weekend, as I’ve mentioned, was Free Comic Book Day, and God knows I can’t pass up shiny, bound pieces of paper (except hardcore butt porn. Pass. Although I think the more egregious porn has found a new home on the internet).

My books came from a local shop called Tenth Planet, where the owner wisely decided to distribute a stack of six randomized comics to each customer in lieu of letting them rifle through the entire collection themselves.

What follows is my unvarnished, novice opinion of the free comics I received.

Locke & Key, Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez: Joe Hill! That is a name I recognize. I think I’m even following him on Twitter. But pure name recognition does not a good graphic novel make.

But, of course, the comic itself is stellar, too. It is set in a genuine gothic mansion, and it has spires, perpetual smog, and a whole Vincent Price B-movie milieu. Oh, and the mansion is overrun with belligerent shadows/spirits. And the orphaned waifs who live in the mansion have superpowers or something (I may have skipped the “story thus far” section).

The whole affair would make a really cool Saturday Morning Cartoon. I do not mean that in any derogatory sense, either. I would totally love it if my theoretical offspring watched a bad*ss pre-teen girl set off some kind of flash bomb inside a shadow-monster’s jowls. That is some important behavior modeling.

Young Justice Super Sampler/Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Art Baltazar, Franco, Mike Norton: Speaking of TV adaptability, this next selection was adapted from a Cartoon Network animated series. So, it’s a comic book based on a cartoon that was in turn inspired by classic comic book characters. To be exact, it is about angsty teenage sidekicks. They are angsty because they are sidekicks, and therefore redundant and useless: “I need to show him that I am capable of being Aqualad,” says Aqualad of his forbearer, Aquaman, who apparently has exacting standards. To be honest, the series does not seem to compare to Teen Titans. (The Titans did not let Aqualad join, for one thing).

But DC atones for Young Justice by giving us a promo of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, also animated on Cartoon Network. I love this series because of this alone. I spy a fabulous evildoer choir in Gotham Prison. But I digress.

In the comic book short, Batman teams up with The Flash to capture a pyromaniac with a flamethrower and his firefly-man companion. Why do the criminally insane always have access to flame-resistant costumes, I wonder?

Not to worry, though. The Flash unsexily disrobes the bad guys, and Batman pows, wumps, and “put[s] the two hotheads on ice.”

Worlds of Aspen, Michael Turner: Female Protagonists, BAM! Two of the presented Aspen comics have women as their central characters. One of them, Executive Assistant Iris, is an assassin. The other is a watery tart from a comic called Fathom. Possibly, I’m being unfair about the titular Aspen, but she’s a little too Baywatch for my tastes. Plus, she apparently wears blue clothing exclusively. The Power Rangers-inspired monochromatic wardrobe irritates me to no end.

Soulfire, the final comic in the World of Aspen sampler is about a prepubescent boy, not a Female Protagonist. He is an epic magical being with heretofore undiscovered abilities. He battles the evil forces of technology! Wicked, malicious science with its technological advancements and medical discoveries. Society would do better with more fire-breathing dragons and glittery faeries.

Or maybe I am just not a fantasy person. Whatever.

To Be Continued

Tune in for the Exciting Second Installment!