Ontario's Official Symbol (is now a comic)

Trillium #1
Writer/Artist: Jeff Lemire
August 2013
Vertigo Comics

"Chapter 1: The Scientist":

I'm a sucker for Jeff Lemire. Everything from his early creator-owned comics like Lost Dogs and Essex County to his recently concluded Sweet Tooth series and his current writer-only series Animal Man for DC all tickle my fancy (it's really quite funny). Trillium is the first series of Lemire's creator-owned work that I've actually been able to read monthly and I couldn't be a happier camper cause of it. Anyways, enough dribble-drabble.

I immediately get the vibes of a classic Sci-Fi story with this chapter. It evokes the feel of stories like H.G. Wells' The Time Machine and Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers and others that I can't think of at the moment (it's been a long, rainy, mellow Hallowe'en) mixed with something new. I really appreciate that the protagonist is a female (western society could really do with some more female leads, especially in the comic book reading world).

There is a lot of set up in this issue, but that is a very forgiving factor since Lemire is world-building in this completely new series. A positive that comes from this is that the reader feels thrown right into the story; Lemire doesn't waste time with exposition and filler. However, I found it a lot to take it on the first read, so I reread the issue again to refresh things (a couple months later nonetheless...). Nika (the scientist) feels like a loner to me. Her only companion so far has been her A.I. (named Essie) that is built into her suit. Her higher-up, Commander Pohl, does not gel well with Nika and so far the only other person of importance in Nika's life is her deceased mother, who we see several times through the story. This lone-wolf aspect to Nika has me intrigued and I'm interested to see what she makes of her encounter with the alien species and the special someone she runs into (surprise surprise!).

This book has a political undercurrent running through it. The premise of the intruder occupying new territory is prevalent throughout and is rather mysterious at the moment. We'll have to wait and see how this plays out. The later scene with Nika's interaction with the alien species had me a bit nervous the entire time... that splash page was phenomenal. Jeffy's artwork has a slightly different feel to it with this miniseries. For one, he's colouring a good portion of it (note the water colours). I love the watercolour feel, however there's something about the inking. I'm being a bit nit-picky, but there are certain pages that felt off to me and could have used some more finesse. Colour choice-wise, the book is awesome, especially the scenes with the aliens in tow. The blue contrasted with reds, browns, and grays looked exceptionally beautiful.

"Chapter 1.2: The Soldier":

This chapter also evokes the fear of the "Other" that is common to SF stories ("the strange and savage natives..."). The cross-imagery of the bird resembling a plane to William's (the soldier) mind is neat. Lemire utilizes telling two stories at once here quite nicely. This story was easier to digest as there was less text to try to make sense of; the first chapter, especially the single splash page, felt a bit too wordy for me. I realized from reading this chapter that my beef above about the slight change in presentation of Lemire's art is that it looks cleaner than I'm used to. The line work looks neater compared to some of Jeff's other works. It looks fantastic as Jeff's art always does, I guess I prefer his more messy style. Just a minor gripe!

I'm running short of thoughts here... the Other is an obvious motif in both these stories and it's interesting to see how both Nika and William's encounters with alterity/difference lead them to each other (yet another encounter with the other). Perhaps I'll rewrite this when I have more energy and interesting things to say.

"...after three hundred thousand years, we'd really stunk up the place."

Hinterkind #1

"Once Upon A Time... Chapter One"

Writer: Ian Edginton

Artist: Francesco Trifogli

October 2013
Vertigo Comics

This is a post-apocalyptic story that isn't so much concerned with the Earth having been destroyed but more so about the repercussions such an event would have on humanity and how people would react in such a state. "Seven months from the top of the food chain to endangered species." The book is an allegory of sorts for how destructive and savage a species humans are, and I have to say that I dug it a lot. Similarly to Grindhouse #1 (the review I posted yesterday), I have no prior experience or knowledge of the creators involved, so that type of bias is completely out of my brain with this book. I enjoyed it immensely last night, and while I think it's a better than average book, I'm not really sure what I think at the moment. Perhaps the beer I drank last night had something to do with my initial opinion... Or perhaps my current fatigue and acheyness are negatively influencing my judgement. Whatever the case, I feel that having read only one issue is insufficient in judging whether this is a fantastic series or not.

The Positives: The characterization is above average. I like the fact the protagonist is a female who has yet to be sexualized. The world building in the art department is nailed in this issue. Scenes are crafted with full environments and there is often a lot going on in the background. There are lush colours throughout and the palate screams mother nature. Greens and blues abound (take that industrialization!). There are several literary allusions I noticed. The first one is of a broken statue of Alice and friends from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland that takes up a medium-sized panel. The text that accompanies it may be related to the book but I've only read it once and am not well-versed enough to know whether it's a quote or not. The second reference occurs when Prosper Monday is talking with her grandfather Asa about tagging along with him on his journey to the mysteriously dangerous Albany (oh my!). Prosper says "I'm not some dopy Eloi, I can handle myself!" Asa even congratulates her for the reference! (but I won't tell you what comes of their conversation).

Hinterkind #1 was a nice change from the standard superhero fare I've been getting sick of in (most) mainstream comics. The story becomes a little actiony at the end (which is okay given all the exposition and world building that takes up most of the book) and introduces elements that change the tone of the first half of the book. I'm not sure if I like these additions or not, but I'll find out next month when they're fleshed out more in issue #2.

The Negatives: I'm about to sound like a cracked glass cup. The art. There isn't much wrong with it. There are a few frames that could have been detailed a bit more or certain faces could have been touched up a bit, but other than that it looks alright. That's my problem with it: it looks too plain. It kind of reminds me of the Sandman interior art from the first three volumes I've read. Neither this book nor the Sandman artwork do much for me unfortunately. Yes the artist(s) create a well established world and they have my deep respect for that, but the art style itself doesn't grab me. It's not so much that I'm bitter towards it but rather that I'd prefer if someone else drew the book. I've risked sounding like an asshole for the chance to be honest.

In the story department my only complaint is the last few pages when something that I've already mentioned happens. At the moment I'm iffy but I'm willing to see things through to next month. The creative team seems confident in their ideas so I'm going to do my best to remain that way as well.

So far, so good. (So what?!). Make me want to come back next month gang!

To "Bee" Continued!

Grindhouse: Doors Open At Midnight #1
"Bee Vixens From Mars: Part One"
Writer: Alex de Campi
Artist: Chris Peterson
Colors: Nolan Woodard
October 2013
Darkhorse Comics

"Honey, we outta beer?" "How much she sting you for?" It's quotes like these that make this comic so great. Oh, and add to that the textual/visual irony and punnery that occurs on (almost) every page (from Jimmy claiming to be careful meanwhile getting himself into trouble, to the multiple honey references, to the oversexualization of the female characters). All of these seemingly poor choices (in terms of quality from a creative standpoint as well as the choices the characters make within the story) are what give this book its flare and appeal. I'm not the most well-versed person when it comes to the Grindhouse genre (modern throwbacks like Black Dynamite, Hobo With a Shotgun, and some of Robert Rodriguez's and Quentin Tarantino's films are what come to mind for me) but this book is a fantastic representation of the tastelessness and exploitation that I've come to be familiar with of Grindhouse works.

I knew nothing of the creators involved with this book but decided to give it a look anyways (Francesco Francavilla doesn't really count since he only participated in the cover art). I tend to read into creators a bit more before trying something new to get a sense of whether I will dig their work or not but I decided to jump in sans being informed. I have to say that I'm thankful I gave this comic a chance. I knew from the opening page that it was a right fit for me. I'm normally a disliker of exploitation of women in comics (sorry to all of you masculinists) but this comic includes it simply to demonstrate how outrageous and vulgar it is. This IS Grindhouse as I know you're well aware of, so exploitation is a given component of what makes this book humourous. Throw in a lot of cheesy cliches (car drives to dark, spooky cemetery on a hilltop with a sign in the foreground that reads "NO TRESPASSING" for example) and you've got yourself a recipe for success.

I mean no disrespect, but the art by Peterson and Woodard is just okay. It works for the story but it lacks distinctive qualities that say, the likes of Fiona Staples, Greg Capullo, and Matt Kindt's art is characteristic of. It's by no means bad, but it's not memorable like the aforementioned artists' work is. Peterson's art looks too computer generated for my tastes. It's rather clean (in most cases) and doesn't look like it was drawn by pencil. I guess I like it rough! (fitting no?) On the positive side, Peterson has a knack for creating well established scenes as a means of telling the story through images. His choice of "camera" placement and POV are excellent and aid the script that de Campi wrote. I have no issues with his storytelling capabilities, I suppose I just don't identify with his style of artwork. On the other side of art, Woodard's colours are actually commendable. There are lots of purple and bluish hues used during the outdoor nighttime sequences mixed with bright reds and yellows giving the look a retro-ish feel.

Puns, cliches, nudity, gore, onomatopoeia. This is everything superhero books take seriously and everything Grindhouse doesn't. Check out Grindhouse: Doors Open At Midnight #1 if you could use a good laugh (and who couldn't?).

Note To Self

Dear Self,

Write a new post today! And while you're at it, continue doing so at least once a week.


With utmost respect and sincerity,

Your Brain