Best graphic novels for Sept/Oct – Umbrella Academy and Fear Agent
Posted by Mark on October 23, 2008
Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way
To say I was not expecting much from a rock star trying his hand at comic storytelling is an understatement. I’m not that familiar with much of My Chemical Romance, so I didn’t have an opinion on the music one way or the other. What I got with this comic is a pretty imaginative story about an family of superheroes that comes together after their adopted father dies and their disfunctions are on full display. When the one who is powerless is abducted and experimented on, the true destructive nature of her power is shown as she is driven mad by her abductors and tries to destroy the world. Of course, the others work to stop this from happening but many lives our lost in the process. Ba’s art is great and reminiscent of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy.
Fear Agent V. 1: Reignition
There are not a lot of Sci Fi comics being published these days. Even the “space opera” comics at the big two publishers more often miss than hit. So it is nice to see such a unique character come to the fore in Fear Agent. Rick Remender creates a character in the mold of Mal from Firefly, though even more of a loner. Heath Huston is the last Fear Agent, who goes from planet to planet, carying cargo and eliminating threats to the earth. The plot is full of unexpected turns and leaves you wondering where the next chapter will take us.
Chiggers – Hope Larson
A nice story about girls going to summer camp, making new friends and dealing with cruelty. The art is well done and appealing. There is no huge turning point or dramatic moment, but the tale takes a magical turn at the end.
Invincible V. 3
Another great chapter in Kirkman’s cross between Superman and Spiderman. Invincible heads into space to help an alien race, only to discover his father has become the ruler of this planet. Their reunion is short lived as other super beings from his father’s homeworld come to take him away. Invincible later begins to recognize his feelings for Atom Eve when confronted with a future version of her. Great fun and well done.
Walking Dead V. 8: Made to Suffer
It’s difficult to see where Kirkman can take his Zombie book and these characters after dragging them through hell and back so many times. Rick is now clearly losing his mind. So many of the supporting characters are gone, he will now have to rebuild the cast, but to what end? I wonder if he has an end point in mind, because it doesn’t feel like we are getting anywhere. He has stated that this is almost an exercise for him to push his own boundaries of what is acceptible, but that doesn’t necessarily make it worth doing. The nice thing about a zombie movie is that it ends after two hours. The nihilism and hopelessness of this series looks like it may never end and that is becoming it’s major flaw.
Ult. Spidey v. 20 Amazing Friends
This train keeps on chugging along at a nice pace. Bendis takes us back to the cheesy 80s cartoon starring Spidey, Iceman and Firestar as Liz Allen becomes Firestar in the ultimate universe. Craziness ensues as MJ, Kitty Pryde and the Human Torch get involved as well.
Ult X-men: Apocalypse V. 19
Mildly interesting but still pretty much a train wreck compared to the other ultimate books.
Legion of Super Heroes: 1050 Years in the Future
A fun look at the various Legions over the years but it also shows how convoluted and complicated the continuity is for this group. If Geoff Johns is struggling with it currently, then it may not be possible to write a modern, successful Legion series.
Question V. 1: Zen and Violence by Denny O’Neill
Greg Rucka’s take on the Question piqued my curiousity, so I picked up this book. The art is not great but serviceable. The real problem, as with many comics from the 80s including Sandman, is the coloring. After years of reading and looking at the latest computer generated techniques, the 80s stuff looks horrible. The story itself holds up nicely and any fan of Rucka’s update needs to take a look at these stories as well.
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