blinded by the lights - batwoman elegy

For me the only women in the narrow segment of the comic world of which I have been exposed to so far who excite me have been the good/bad indecisive's Harely Quinn and Poison Ivy.

The discovery of an actual heroine intriguing enough to grasp and sustain my interest is something that has evaded me in the year Ive been actively perusing my comic education....

Until now!

Batwoman was an unknown entity to me, and my word, Elegy was a perfect way to be introduced!

Greg Rucka provides us with a thorough knowledge of her history, where she came from and what drives her.

He weaves this into an intricately layered story of which J.H Williams lll expertly illustrates in mind bogglingly beautiful form, ingeniously laced with hints and references through out as to the next revelation this remarkable read is intending to blow your mind with, just as you think you've recovered from the last.

I can honestly say I will definitely read Batwoman Elegy again, for I know I will gain even more out of it the second time round.

But I would want to own this item irrespective of this fact purely to be in possession of such a awe inspiring, imagination firing, sexually charged feat of artistic accomplishment. Truly breath taking!

You receive the same dark Gothicy atmosphere I love about reading Batman, with an unexpected injection of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson magic which I found heightened the unhinged nature of the character Alice, adding an exaggeration to her already sinister air.

Just like Batman, Batwoman is portrayed to reflect the terrific endurance the human spirit is capable of, using tragedy which could easily have lead to a downward spiral of self destruction to fuel instead a journey of ultimate triumph. Epitomizing the limitless possibilities we are all capable of when our mind, spirit and body work together.

Upon learning more about the character I used to describe as "A glorified Inspector Gadget" this is a trait I have long since admired in Batman, and is one I now admire in Batwoman.

Never before have I felt so strongly drawn to a female comic character, but I can safely say in Kate Kane I have not only secured that long anticipated excitement for a heroine I have also found a character I can learn from and aspire towards.

I was moved particularly by the Relationship between Kate and her Dad, almost moved to tears by the obvious love expressed through support, mutual respect, loyalty and acceptance.

I have taken influence from her courage in the face of adversity and motivation from her physical achievements.

I'm not insinuating I will now be donning a skin tight bullet proof all in one and becoming a nocternal crime fighter (well, not yet at least) but this is what reading a well written story and creating an exceptional personality does to the reader, it evokes emotion, forces you to look within your self, use your own life experiences as a point of reference.

My belief is that a greatly portrayed Hero/heroine forces you to look within your self and want to be a better person.

A fantastic example of such a prospective lesson and one which reflects my own moral beliefs, comes from a quote within the story. It is initially disclosed to us in the introduction by Rachel Maddow;

"When you act wrongly, you have to answer for it.

Without hiding, without complaint...That's integrity, and it is the foundation of honor."

If the world lived by the same moral code as Batwoman there would be no more bad guys left to hunt, great for humanity... maybe not so great for comics.

www.frogbros.com

introducing a book by it's covers - identity crisis

Any fellow comic book comrades out there, who like me are only just experiencing the the mind exploding, tummy fizzing, squeal inducing excitement being introduced to the medium and the plentiful bounty of wonderment it has to offer, may agree the initial voyage into the maiden waters of the comic world can seam overwhelming.

It's hard to know where to start first on your journey to knowledge and enlightenment in the field of Superheros, and all the adventures they have embarked upon in their history together.

Although reading the new endeavors of our favorite characters still provides an all encompassing injection of adrenalin, I still feel I get a little more out of it after I have learnt a little about their past, their previous trials an tribulations, their nemeses, allies etc.

So it is my mission to provide some directional guidance towards landmark novels in comic history to those who at present, may feel somewhat lost.

However it's always good to have variety, so we can throw in some new titles to balance out the retro.

My first review will be Identity Crisis;

This was introduced to me by a very good friend primarily because of the covers Michael Turner did for the 7 installments.

Even after you delve past the tremendously beautiful work of Turner and immerse yourself into the story, the art maintains a high level of impact.

I went into this journey blind, with no idea of what the concept was about.

For me this heightened the whole experience so I don't want to say too much in a bid to extend to you the very same opportunity, all I'm prepared to divulge is that this story is fantastically written, offering a homicide (<--- Arghh I know! The suspense!!) crime thriller that keeps you guessing from beginning to end.

In me it induced a plethora of emotions, the twists and turns take you on an exciting ride keeping you in a heightened state of suspicion, I laughed, I whooped, I even shed a tear (...although that stays between us ya hear!)

This trade paper back gives you the opportunity to see another side to the heroes in the JLA and provides an intriguing insight into their opinions of one an other.

From the works I've read involving the league I've only ever seen them project a united front, so I found it really interesting to hear character assessments about my favorite Heroes from those who know them best.

Even more enlightening was the morally controversial actions they were forced to take in allowance for the personality foibles the mightiest of theses heroes posses, all in the name of the bigger picture.

This book covers some sensitive and difficult subjects with dignity and grace, balanced out within this gritty tale also lies heart wrenching displays of unconditional true love, friendship and unwavering loyalty.

Reading Brad Meltzer & Rags Morales dissection of the frame composition at the end took my breath away, that attention to detail explains why the world of which your reading about utterly engulfs you.

Also exposing why on several occasions I was forced to pause for thought, as we are all unique in our perception with individual interpretations of what we read and see, I believe each one of us will take something different from a truly great graphic novel, of which Identity Crisis can easily be categorized.

Just days after finishing it I found myself reciting a quote from this moving read, to successfully comfort a friend who was in a low place.

For me that epitomizes the impact and influence this electric medium provides us with when done well, Comics...changing the world, one series at a time.

www.frogbros.com

play it again Superman - Superman: Earth One

Ok, so anybody who has read previous reviews or knows me in the slightest knows that I’m not a massive fan of the big blue Boy Scout otherwise known as Superman. Why are you reviewing this I hear you all cry or at least the two of you that I know will read it, cheers mum!! Well, I guess it’s down to two things really. Firstly, as much as I hate to admit it a part of me wants to like Superman and all that he upholds. Those of you in my age group will no doubt remember growing up with constant re runs of Christopher Reeve Superman films being shown over and over at Christmas and I for one started dreaming of flying around the globe and saving the world as a result. The thing was that it wasn’t about being cool or impressing the ladies, I saved that for the teenage years, it was about doing the right thing, upholding ideals and being a stand up guy. Superman was always incorruptible and served a greater good than his own which I guess struck a chord in a very naive 8 year old boy who was pretending to fly around a room with a towel tucked into his t-shirt saving the world in my own little way. That very small part of me that is tucked away deep in me wanted to give this book a shout. Secondly, as others might know I am a huge JMS fan from his days on Babylon 5 all the way through to the immensely entertaining Thor books at Marvel so I felt I had to give it a shout.

For those of you that don’t know, the Earth One series are original graphic novels set on an alternative Earth and will serve as a re imagining of popular DC heroes. What’s that I hear you all cry? Is this meant to be like the Ultimate universe in Marvel? Haven’t DC tried this with the all star line? Well, actually, yes is the answer to both of those questions and when I had initially heard of this project I was very excited. Geoff Johns will be handling Batman and JMS has just relinquished his monthly hold of Superman and Wonder Woman to concentrate solely on OGN’s like this one and has indeed signed up to write more Superman Earth One. This is where the problems start for me, this was billed as a bold re imagining of Superman legacy but in fact it’s been nothing like that in my opinion. The book basically boils down to a young Clark trying to find his way in life after college whilst shying away from his destiny as seen by his folks until a common alien enemy threatens all which galvanises him into stepping into the red and blue. Yaaaaawn!! Superman versus alien threat?!! Where have I seen that before? Oh yeah, everywhere. That is the book in a nutshell. The main villain in the story has absolutely no depth or any pathos whatsoever unlike somebody like Luthor so you don’t care in the slightest what happens to him or his cause. As a bold re imagining it simply does not work at all. It doesn’t bring anything new and is no better than what you might get from Smallville which quite frankly is an embarrassment. I can imagine the Superman faithful hating this book because it strips so much of that unflappable moral fortitude Superman is famous for away from him and leaves him as a bit of an angst ridden cliché. All that being said I found some merit and a little potential in exploring this side. Clark exploring the fact that he could have all the material things he could ever want if he decided to use his talents for self gain even though he wants to do it for his mother so that she can have a comfortable life. What if he was just a bit of a knob that was self serving? Wouldn’t that be a fresh and different angle to approach things from? Also, Krypton was destroyed by a neighbouring species in the book which also brings up an interesting angle of vengeance. What if he was just an angry, self serving brat looking to find his way in an alien world? Ok, that’s not new in the world of comic books but it’s new for the big Boy Scout. Let’s give that a spin and see where you can take him.

All in all, given the level of hype surrounding this book I would have to say that it quite frankly does not deliver. I’m ordinarily a big fan of Shane Davis’ art work but even that left me a little cold. It wasn’t terrible and you can very much see the potential in his work but it simply does not seem to ever hit the heights. The story itself didn’t get me going in any way but has left the door slightly ajar for what could possibly be an interesting take on the Superman mythos. JMS, you have much work to do if you are to save this one. Over to Geoff Johns and his re imagining of Batman on Earth One, please don't mess this one up!!

www.frogbros.com

budding artists and comic creators

Hey Guy's here's a couple of competitions that you all might be interested in. First up Jamie Hewlett the artist and creator of Tank Girl and The Gorillaz is holding a competition to design a new Gorillaz character. The submission process is quite rigid and you have to draw your work through an app on their site which can be found here along with all the information you'll need:

http://gorillaz.com/news/news/who-is-the-evangelist-gorillaz-and-ie9-character-design-competition-now-open

Second is a competition which may inspire the fledgling creators out there is being run by Mark Millar, yes the big hitter comic, film and all round big name star Mark Millar of Kick Ass, American Jesus and Nemesis fame. Millar has recently started a monthly magazine publication CLiNT, CLiNT is available in most newsagents and in the big man's own words 'I'm going after a whole new audience here, people who've never been in a comic book store before. I'd like to create a whole new generation of British fans who will hopefully love this stuff and then try comic stores as they become more addicted.' Obviously we Frog Bros applaud such thinking, more people do need to visit their local comic shop (especially in the Bournemouth area!) What we also applaud is Millar running competitions to find the next comic book stars of tomorrow, competitions for budding writers and illustrators and giving them a genuine 'foot in the door' oppourtunity, follow the link below for more information...

http://clintmag.com/features/announcements/see-your-work-clint/

www.frogbros.com

sweet tooth, volume 1: out of the woods by Jeff Lemaire

Unlike my Frog Bro Miguel I love comics that don’t have a superhero (obviously I love the superhero ones too, or I’d be in the wrong game) but books that don’t have an obvious costumed hero really rock my boat.

Sweet Tooth vol.1 is just such a story, beginning with a young boy who by some obvious mutation is part boy part deer, obvious? The kid has antlers, the X-Men this ain’t. Anyway the book begins with a monologue from the boy, Sweet Tooth the main character of the story. The monologue delivered in a touching way that immediately connects the reader to the character gives a good grounding into what has happened thus far into Sweet Tooth’s life and his worldly outlook. Because of Sweet Tooth’s mutation he has been sheltered from, well pretty much everything, and I mean everything, living with just his father, his dad’s face is the only human face he can ever remember seeing, except for a haunting face that comes to him in dreams, and Sweet Tooth and his dad have lived in a wooden shack deep in the forest for his entire life.

Inevitably, as there is a horrible disease attacking the human race, Sweet Tooth’s father dies, leaving our young boy to fend for himself and for the first time go outside of his wooden compound, thus breaking one of the 5 rules set by his dad. Sweet Tooth travels through a post apocalyptic landscape meeting an array of characters the main one being Jepperd, the hulking owner of the face from Sweet Tooth’s dreams.

What follows is a spooky, violent, eerie but overall touching tale with an ending that just breaks your heart in two. The art is perfect for the book but then as it’s drawn and written by Jeff Lemaire I suppose it’s to be expected, never the less to have both aspects of this book working so well together he is to be applauded.

I came late to Sweet Tooth, the single issues are now at no.14 and I have literally just got up to date and I have to say the series continues to keep up it’s opening high standards and keeps on finding strings to pull I didn’t know my heart had.

For those of you who prefer trade paperbacks Sweet Tooth volume 2 is pencilled in to be released on 14th December 2010 and if you read Sweet Tooth vol.1 number two will be a must have.

www.frogbros.com