Comic Book Resources

Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs: Al Williamson's Flash Gordon

Al Williamson's Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic

Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon
Text by Mark Schultz; Stories by Larry Ivie, Al Williamson, Archie Goodwin, Bruce Jones, Mark Schultz, and others
Illustrated by Al Williamson
Flesk; $29.95

The third volume of Checker’s reprints of Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon is proving difficult to track down (unless I want to spend $70 for a used copy on Amazon, which I don’t), so I’m taking a break from that series until it becomes available again. In the meantime, Flesk helps fill the void with an excellent collection of Al Williamson’s Flash material.

I grew up reading Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson’s Star Wars strips and I was always impressed with how real Williamson’s characters looked without looking exactly like the actors. His use of models sometimes meant that figures looked posed and static, but it also leant credibility to the fantastic stories he and Goodwin were telling. As did his talent at creating lush, detailed worlds. It was almost like these were the real adventures of my favorite Rebels and Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford were just actors playing the parts.

I’d never read Williamson’s Flash Gordon stuff before this collection, but the same traits are all there. If you like his Star Wars stuff, there’s no reason you won’t enjoy this too, especially with Archie Goodwin joining in on some of the writing. But what surprised me about the book was its diversity. All the stories share some common Williamsonisms (giant mushrooms and alien animal life decorating the landscapes, for instance), but it’s interesting to see the different ways of doing things that Williamson employed depending on the particular project.

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Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs: What Looks Good for January

Time again for our monthly trip through Previews looking for interesting new adventure comics.

Hairy Things

Ape

Hairy Things #1-3: Interesting strategy releasing three, individual issues in the same month rather than a single graphic novel. I hope there's a collected version coming soon though, 'cause Bigfoot vs. cowboy cannibals sounds awesome.

Dark Horse

Blacksad: Funny animal comics for people who don't like funny animal comics. In fact, calling Blacksad a funny animal comic is like calling Homer a fantasy writer. The characters may all be animals, and they may talk, but private eye John Blacksad's world is absolutely real and his mysteries are utterly engrossing. Unfortunately, even though it's in January's catalog, the book isn't coming out until March.

Hellboy, Volume 9: The Wild Hunt: The latest Hellboy collection. I really need to get caught up.

Mesmo Delivery: Rafael Grampa is enough to peak my interest, but this gets on the list for the Elvis impersonator and the words, "wrong delivery man to mess with."

Funny animal Frankenstein, robots vs. dinosaurs, and steampunk fairy tales after the jump.

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Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs: Hunter's Fortune

Hunter's Fortune #1

Hunter's Fortune #1
Written by Andrew Cosby and Caleb Monroe; Illustrated by Matt Cossin
Boom!; $3.99

It's comics like that this that are the exact reason I started this column.

I love treasure hunter stories. That probably started with Raiders of the Lost Ark, or maybe Treasure Island long before that, but ever since I was a kid I've loved stories about people trying to find hidden treasure. Whether it's a chest of gold, a lost artifact, or a hidden city doesn't really matter. It's just the whole spirit of adventure; striking out on little information to try and discover something that may or may not exist.

My biggest fear when starting a new treasure hunter story is that it's not going to live up to its concept. Maybe I won't like the main character. Maybe the clues will be too easy to figure out. Maybe the villains will be unoriginal. Maybe the banter will be more annoying than witty. Maybe it just won't have the sense of wonder that it should. There are dozens of things that can go wrong and often do. I'm so happy that none of that's the case with the first issue Hunter's Fortune.

The story opens with Hunter Prescott being kicked out of his apartment on the same day that his car's repossessed. Hunter's a young kid - early 20s - and his only support is his best friend Trip, who's only slightly less worse off than Hunter. "You can totally crash at my place," he tells Hunter. "With both of us, I bet we can even afford to turn my power back on." Thanks to Matt Cossin's art, Hunter is a good-looking, likable kid and Trip is all starry-eyed and optimistic. Caleb Monroe's dialogue also helps enormously to make these guys real people and not annoying clichés. Hunter's down on his luck, but he's got Trip, whose cheerfulness in the face of adversity makes him a huge asset. Even if Hunter doesn't always totally appreciate it.

Secret keys, beautiful villains, a legendary artifact, and a bear-fighting Russian after the jump.

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Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs: Robot 13 #2

Robot 13 #2

Robot 13 #2
Written by Thomas Hall; Illustrated by Daniel Bradford
Blacklist; $3.99

After I read Robot 13 #1 I wrote that "I hope it's not a surprise or an insult to say that Daniel Bradford is no Mike Mignola. He's very good at imitating the style and the colors, but I think I'll enjoy him more once he finds his own groove. His work already has a sense of humor that breaks the boundaries of his inspiration, so I know it's coming. I'm looking forward to it."

Pleased to say that - if issue #2 is an indication of the direction Bradford's going with his art - that seems to be happening. The work's more detailed this time around and he does some really cool things with the colors, especially in the flames of the giant phoenix that attacks Robot 13. That sense of humor I mentioned last time is on display again too, but even larger. As a couple of guys are watching the robot-bird fight, their faces are almost manga-like in their expressiveness.

The first issue looked like Bradford was working hard to mimic Mignola. Even though he was mostly successful at that, it's great to see him relax with this issue and do his own thing. Robot 13's design will probably always be reminiscent of Mignola, but he's drawn more naturally this time. And because of that, he feels more like a real character.

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Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs: The Cowl, Super Maxi-Pad Girl, and the return of Rooster Jack

With the convention season wrapping up, I'm taking a break from longer graphic novels this week to finish up some shorter works that I've picked up at recent cons.

The Cowl

The Cowl
Written by Brian Azzarello; Illustrated by Benito Gallego
Based on characters created by Joseph Finder
JosephFinder.com; Free

One of the few highlights of this year's WizardWorld Chicago Comic-Con was Crimespree Magazine's booth and the focus on crime comics that it brought to the show. On one of my many trips to the booth I got handed a superhero mini-comic called The Cowl that was written by Brian Azzarello. The connection to crime fiction - other than Azarrello - is that it's a tie-in to Joseph Finder's most recent thriller, Vanished. Not an adaptation of Vanished, but a real version of a fictional comic created by one of the novel's characters.

It's only eight pages and mostly a teaser, so it's tough to review, but it serves it's function as a teaser very well. In some of the material that came with the comic, Finder talks about how he came up with the idea and asked a friend at DC for artist recommendations. After describing the style of art he wanted, Finder learned that he was looking for a modern-day John Buscema and was directed towards Benito Gallego. It was a good lead. I don't know if Gallego's intentionally trying to evoke Buscema for this project or if that's his usual style, but he does a fine job in the way he draws anatomy, poses his characters, and delivers action.

Even though the comic is essentially an ad for Vanished, Azzarello isn't wasted on it. The Cowl could have been - probably should have been, by all rights - a disposable superhero cliché. Certainly his costume is uninspired. But Azzarello gives him a couple of moments that are so cool - and a villain who's so immediately wicked and horrifying - that you can't help but hope to see him succeed. Only that's when you hit the cliffhanger and realize you're gonna have to read the novel. Nicely done.

Super Maxi-Pad Girl and Rooster Jack await you after the break.

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Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs: What Looks Good for December

Time again for our monthly trip through Previews looking for interesting new adventure comics.

Chimichanga

Albatross Exploding Funny Book

Chimichanga #1 - First of all, the title makes me hungry. Second of all, it's by Eric Powell. Third of all, it has a little bearded girl on the cover and she's holding the enormous, clawed hand of some kind of monster. I don't know why Dark Horse isn't publishing this; I'm just glad it exists.

Alterna

Adam Wreck and the Kalosian Space Pirates - Yeah, they pretty much had me with "space pirates." But I'll also take "shipwrecked on a strange planet filled with stranger alien creatures."

The Swiss Family Robinson

Campfire

The Swiss Family Robinson - Speaking of shipwrecks, I'm not sure how well this story will translate into comic form, but the pages from this preview are promising. The island looks inviting and I'm already jealous of the treehouse from just the little I can see on the front cover. And as everyone knows, the primary goal of any Swiss Family Robinson adaptation should be to make you jealous of the treehouse.

A Christmas Carol - The art's a little less even on this one, but I quite like the way Naresh Kumar draws the three spirits. Looks better than the Robert Zemeckis adaptation anyway. Ultimately though, my curiosity about it is related to an unnatural fascination with Dickens' original story and the choices people make when adapting it.

Martians, dinosaurs, talking gorillas, and more space pirates after the break.

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Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs | Science Fiction Classics

Science Fiction Classics

Science Fiction Classics (Graphic Classics, Volume 17)
Written by Hans Christian Andersen, Ben Avery, Antonella Caputo, Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Dunsany, Hunt Emerson, EM Forster. Rod Lott, Tom Pomplun, Rich Rainey, Jules Verne, Stanley G Weinbaum, and HG Wells

Illustrated by Hunt Emerson, Micah Farritor, Roger Langridge, Ellen L Lindner, Johnny Ryan, George Sellas, and Brad Teare

Edited by Tom Pomplun
Eureka Productions; $17.95

You might think that a book full of classic science fiction would be a natural subject to talk about in a column concerning adventure fiction, but I actually reconsidered it a couple of times. While I love robots, aliens, spaceships, and laser guns, I’m not someone that real science fiction fans would want to let into their club. Gimme Star Wars and Flash Gordon; you can keep your Asimov and Clarke over there. An anthology of the "classics" of scifi is likely going to need some serious spicing up to keep me interested. Fortunately, Science Fiction Classics has a full rack.

There are a couple of reasons that the anthology is appropriate for this space. First, it’s Volume 17 in Eureka’s Graphic Classics series. That means that there’s no way it’s going to be anything less than excellent in terms of how stories are selected and presented. Editor Tom Pomplun’s got the selection formula figured out and he’s great at executing it. He always has at least one, hugely popular story that everyone knows (War of the Worlds, for instance), but then he fills the rest of the book with lesser known material by a mixture of authors. The result is always surprising. Hans Christian Andersen and EM Forster aren’t exactly renowned for their scifi work, for example. And even writers who are – like Jules Verne – are represented by interesting picks (Verne’s “In the Year 2889,” for instance, instead of, say, From the Earth to the Moon).

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Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs: Cursed Pirate Girl #1-2

Cursed Pirate Girl #1

Cursed Pirate Girl #1-2
Written and Illustrated by Jeremy Bastian
Olympian Publishing; $4.95 each

On the back cover of Cursed Pirate Girl #1, Mike Mignola calls Jeremy Bastian a genius and declares, “I almost never see work this original.” If pirates and Bastian’s whimsical and detailed style aren’t enough to make you curious, praise from Mike Mignola – who knows a thing or two about originality – concerning the book’s uniqueness ought to. I mean, that’s like hearing David Petersen call it “stuff that makes other artists jealous and comic readers drool.” Oh, wait. That’s on the back cover too.

I promise I’ll get to the book itself in a second, but there’s another remarkable quote on the back of the second issue. Painter Gail Potocki calls the series, “our generation’s Alice in Wonderland.” Which is interesting because one of the first things you notice when you open it is the influence of classic Alice illustrator John Tenniel with his opulent linework and exaggerated body types. Another way of describing Bastian’s style might be, “Jeff Smith as inked by Gary Gianni.”

But there’s much more to Potocki’s Alice comparison than just the art. Lewis Carroll’s stories were joyous celebrations of childhood and imagination. And while Bastian’s book isn’t as nonsensical as Carroll’s, there’s certainly that sense that anything can happen. And often will.

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Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs: Anne Freaks, Volume 2

Anne Freaks, Vol. 2

Anne Freaks, Volume 2
Written and Illustrated by Yua Kotegawa
ADV Manga; $9.99

Well, that was not at all what I expected.

Anne Freaks is the first manga that I’ve ever liked enough to buy a second volume (Akira doesn’t count because I borrowed the entire thing from a friend), so I don’t know a lot about Japanese serial storytelling. I guess I kind of figured that I’d get more of what I liked about Volume 1, but that wasn’t the case. I very much enjoyed Volume 2, but it surprised me by being a very different kind of story from the first installment. I don’t know if that’s typical of manga series or not (I suspect that - like most things - it varies from series to series), but it’s certainly welcome and exciting.

Volume 1 was so psychological. It had beautiful Anna recruiting two, tragic boys named Yuri and Mitsuba to help her take down her father and a terrorist organization. Did she orchestrate the events that led to their recruitment or is she just taking advantage of a couple of fortuitous incidents? Yuri is falling in love with her; maybe Mitsuba is too. Is that also part of her plan? Or does she actually have feelings that she’s doing a very good job of hiding? Kotegawa sucked me in with these questions and I was looking forward to spending more time with these characters and hopefully getting some answers. I’m going to have to keep waiting though.

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Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs: What Looks Good for November

Harker

Time again for our monthly trip through Previews looking for interesting new adventure comics.

AAM Markosia

From the Pages of Bram Stoker's Dracula: Harker - I'm always curious about new Dracula stuff and it's encouraging that this project has the support of the Stoker family and Leslie S. Klinger (whose Annotated Dracula I love). Plus, the more I read the summary, the more curious I am to see writer Tony Lee's plot play out.

Antarctic Press

Sherlock Ninja: The Curious Case of the Iron Monkey - It's so high-concept that it can't possibly be as awesome as it sounds. But I'm sure going to have to check it out and see for myself, aren't I?

Flash Gordon, musketeers, dinosaurs, and much more Sherlock Holmes after the jump.

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Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs: Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon, Vol. 2

Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon, Volume 2

Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon, Vol. 2
Written by Alex Raymond and Don Moore; Illustrated by Alex Raymond
Checker; $19.95

First, wow.

I said when I talked about Volume 1 of this series that Alex Raymond’s art was gorgeous and convincing. Compared to the material collected in Volume 2, it’s xkcd.

Some of that may have something to do with the manner in which it’s collected. The first couple of months of strips follow the formatting from the last part of Volume 1. Each week’s strip is split over two pages to allow each half to be printed at a huge size. Purists might not appreciate the separation, but no story is lost and – since each strip is divided across a single, double-page spread – the pacing doesn’t even really change. It’s the next best thing to something like Sunday Press’ oversized Little Nemo in Slumberland volumes, and when you figure in that Flash Gordon is almost a tenth of the Little Nemo price – it’s a change I can live with.

After the first two months, the format changes and we’re back to one page for one strip. The art’s not much smaller though and it’s obvious that there was some kind of format change to the strip itself in June 1935. What bothers me is that there’s no title on these strips in the collection. I’ve unsuccessfully tried to find a scan of a Flash Gordon strip from this period because I’m a little concerned that we’re missing the drop panels from these strips. I’ve got no way of knowing for sure, and the story still flows nicely from strip to strip without a lot of cumbersome catch-up exposition, but I guess there’s a little purist in me after all and he’s a bit nervous. Still… love the huge, detailed art. Raymond’s linework is a lot more sumptuous and delicate in this volume than the last and it’s a joy to be able to lose yourself in it.

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Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs: Age of Bronze: Betrayal, Part One

Age of Bronze, Volume 3A: Betrayal, Part One

Age of Bronze, Volume 3A: Betrayal, Part One
Written and Illustrated by Eric Shanower
Image; $17.99

I said a couple of weeks ago in What Are You Reading that I had mixed feelings about starting this book. On the one hand, I couldn't have been more excited about visiting Shanower's ancient Troy again. On the other, I knew that this would catch me up with the collections, giving me an impossibly long wait for the next one. Fortunately, the volume was enthralling enough to keep me from thinking about the lack of any additional Age of Bronze to follow immediately. At least while I was reading it.

Not that it’s without flaws. It feels sacrilegious to say after so thoroughly loving the first two volumes, but there were a couple of times in this one that I had a hard time connecting to what was going on in the story. Not because Shanower couldn’t find the emotional hook – he’s always brilliantly able to do that – but because I had a hard time figuring out the way a particular subplot supported the main story.

The biggest example of this is a long sequence about a king named Philoktetes who’s bitten by a snake during a sacrifice. It happens as the Greeks are camped on the island of Tenedos, their last stop before arriving at Troy. Over the next few days, as the poison begins to spread through the Philoktetes’ body, he’s in such pain that his screams and curses can be heard all over camp. It’s horribly distracting for High King Agamemnon and the rest of the army.

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Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs: Cat Burglar Black

Cat Burglar Black

Cat Burglar Black
Written and Illustrated by Richard Sala
First Second; $16.99

I occasionally get some grief from my male friends when they find out I like gothic romance. They hear “romance,” their eyes glaze over, and they immediately want to start talking about something else. No amount of castles, ghosts, malevolent barons, girls in white dresses, or hidden passageways are going to change their minds. As far as they’re concerned, I might as well be talking about Confessions of a Beauty Addict or Better than Chocolate.

But I’m so not and it’s a pity that books like The Castle of Otranto, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Northanger Abbey are so easily dismissed. I’m a sucker for any story about a young girl forced to move into a creepy old house with a terrifying owner and at least one locked room she’s not supposed to go into. What’s not awesome about that?

The only thing I don’t like about some of these books is that the heroine ultimately has to be rescued by a guy. Product-of-the-times and all. In Cat Burglar Black, Richard Sala avoids that by making his protagonist an extraordinary thief who can take care of herself, but other than that it’s classic gothic romance.

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Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs: The Atheist, Volume 1: Incarnate

Antoine Sharpe: The Atheist

The Atheist, Volume 1: Incarnate
Written by Phil Hester; Illustrated by John McCrea and Will Volley
Desperado; $15.99

I had dinner recently with someone and I mentioned that I was reading The Atheist. "Oh, yeah," he said. "There was some controversy about that title, wasn't there?" I don't remember the controversy itself, but I do remember an interview or something in which Phil Hester felt the need to explain the name of his book. He does it again in the introduction to the collected volume. What's surprising, I think, is that it's not conservative religious people who were complaining this time.

Hester writes, "I thought The Atheist was a snappy, if somewhat jarring, hook of a title. It seemed to perfectly describe Mr. Sharpe's uncompromising brand of skeptical thinking and just plain old sounded cool. Of course, I should have considered that this title might cause readers to infer the book would have some stance, pro or con, on the atheist world view, and that some atheists would take offense at their views being fodder for a horror comic book." He also says that he's dropping the title on any potential future volumes.

I bring this up because I remember being jarred by the title when the first issue came out. I remember wondering whether the book would take a stance on atheism and whether it would be pro or con. This was one of the first books I read where Hester was writing but not illustrating it, so I didn't know what to expect. But I also remember reading it and being relieved that atheism really wasn't what the book was about at all.

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Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs: What Looks Good for October

The Black Coat: Or Give Me Death

Time again for our monthly trip through Previews looking for interesting new adventure comics.

AAM Markosia

Kong: King of Skull Island: I remember looking at the single issues and putting them back, but I don't remember why. Was I waiting for the trade? Did I not like the art? I suspect it was the latter, but I'm unsure enough that it might be worth flipping through a copy of this when it hits stores.

Ape

The Black Coat: Or Give Me Death #1-2 Double-Sized Issue:  It's nice to see this mini-series relaunch after stalling out a couple of years ago. I've enjoyed the Black Coat one-shots they've put out in the meantime, but I'm very much looking forward to some longer adventures of my favorite Colonial-era revolutionary/monster-fighter.

Archaia

The Devil's Handshake: I don't seem ever to get tired of stories about treasure hunters. Especially ones set in the jungle and featuring hidden pyramids. Thank you, Archaia, for feeding my need.

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