Devolution #4

Devolution, Issue #4 has been in my to-read pile with an ever-growing number of books and single issues for some time, but as soon as I opened it, I was hooked again.  Scientists developed the DVO-8 bomb, which would cure the people it was dropped on of faith.  It was dropped on the Middle East, of course.  Get rid of violent Islam, violent Judaism, and violent Christianity where it's all coming to a head, and you "save" the world.  Only the bomb doesn't work as planned.  It starts people, animals, and plants devolving.  Strange creatures populate the world, and only a few non-devolved humans survive.  A few of them make it to San Francisco in this issue, and they attempt to reverse the devolution, but can they?

Devolution is good.  It's mostly an action story with a few clever ideas thrown in, and such stories rely heavily on characterization by the writers and the artists (and the performers, in other media).  Like many adventure stories, the main character is mostly staid, with bizarre supporting characters that really steal the show.  The Jerry Seinfeld Show was a bit like that, with the three main supporting characters and the minor characters stealing the show.  Of course, in four issues, the characters can't develop too deeply, but I really like the direction this title is going in.

International Iron Man #3

International Iron Man, Issue #3 is a dual story.  As a young man, Tony Stark becomes involved with the daughter of one of his father's rivals, Cassandra Gillespie.  His father, thinking that the whole thing is just a "honey pot" operation, separates Tony from Cassandra.  In the present, 20 years later, Stark finds out that his father isn't his biological father, and the search for his birth father leads him to Cassandra Gillespie, now a rival international arms dealer, herself.  She attacks him and gains the advantage, or so she thinks.

I'm a fan of this series, and I've explained why in my two previous reviews.  Bendis and Maleev working together is good stuff, even if it isn't on the Daredevil line they made so famous some 10 or 15 years ago.  Even though the two have worked together in the past, the artwork is still new and unique.  I love the way they use light in this series and how the characters age.  Both the 1996 and 2016 timelines take place in Europe, and while I don't really feel London or Sofia in the artwork from what I experienced of those two cities, this is not a failure of the artwork.  Of course, maybe Sofia has changed since I was there.

Southern Bastards #14

Southern Bastards, Issue #14 finishes the third arc, which is six issues long.  The first arc is about Earl Tubb, who dies at the end of the arc.  The second arc is the story of Euless Boss's ascendance to the top of Craw County's football program.  The third arc has been a mishmash of different stories about the characters in Craw County.  This issue starts with Roberta Tubb, the half-black daughter of Earl Tubb, returning from Afghanistan to find that her father has been murdered.  Her return from the war in Afghanistan is emblematic of many soldiers' return from Vietnam.  She gets the police called on her, people call her the N-word, she gets in fights, and there's nothing but trouble.  To make matters worse, she decides to go to Craw County and find out what really happened to Earl.

Issue #14 was a long time coming for me.  I started out reading the trade paperbacks, like a lot of people, but I ended up reading the comics, even though it was more expensive.  Issue #12 came out ages ago, last summer, if I remember correctly.  I've been waiting for Roberta Tubb to join the fray for at least a year, and she's finally about to.  My question is whether she can succeed where her father failed.  Can she take down a man who controls not only the football team, but the criminal underworld and damn near the town, itself?

Monstress #6

Monstress, Issue #6 starts with Maika Halfwolf, the Arcanic beast-child, imprisoned in a thousand-year-old sarcophagus.  Will it hold her?  Sleeping inside the sarcophagus, the monstrum inside her speaks.  The story of how she got here is summed up in the paragraph on the inside cover.  Maika was betrayed by Master Ren, who now finds himself just as hunted as Maika once was.  Master Ren is a talking cat with two tails.  He and Kippa know too much to be let go.

When a writer introduces a gun, it must be shot, and when a writer puts its main character in a cage, that main character either breaks out or dies.  I was tempted to see what happens at the end of this issue before reading it all, but somehow, I managed not to do so.  Basically, the story is split into the Cumaea battling a small group of Arcanics, and a journey into Maika's subconscious, where monstrum talks to mother and to Maika.

Monstress has very high quality artwork.  I'm no art student, but the detail is unlike anything I've ever seen.  What you see on the cover is what you get in the issue, and Sana Takeda deserves to be mentioned alongside such names as Moebius and Dongzi Liu.  In particular, I love the way eyes are used.  When Maika is asleep, the monstrum opens her eye, and her blue eye looks pale, as if she were blind.  And of course there is the eye symbol throughout the title but most prominently on Maika's chest.  This is a wonderful title.

3 Devils #3

3 Devils, Issue #3 sees Tara and Marcus, after six years of living in Bent River, Utah, training and plotting Tara's revenge, finally come across a bartender who says he used to ride with the White Man.  She confronts him, of course.  The second half of the issue is the story of Beckham Toler, a bounty collector after the Coleman brothers, one of which raped and murdered the young daughter of a banker.

I've heard complaints that Alejandro Jodorowsky uses rape as a theme in too many of his stories, and rape is used twice in this 32-page issue.  First, Tara allows herself to be put in a vulnerable position, only to stab to death the man about to attack her.  And then there's the rape and murder of the banker's daughter, which is mentioned but not shown.  Both rapists get killed, a la I Spit on Your Grave, which is common among revenge stories.  Still, three or more rape situations in three issues is a bit excessive.

Empress #2

Empress, Issue #2 is about the Empress's escape.  The story takes place 65 million years ago, when a galactic civilization is situated on a soon-to-be-devastated-by-an-asteroid Earth.  The title combines far-reaching science-fiction imagery with action sequences.  Action and comedy sequences only work if you care about the characters in one way or another.  Arnold Schwarzenegger's Commando works because he had a daughter, and because his quick wit makes you like him.  A black comedy like The Young Ones works because you hate all the characters and like to see them get taken down a notch.

The Emperor is the guy you want to see taken down a notch, and the Empress, her family, and her bodyguard are the ones you're starting to root for as you get into this title.  The eldest child, the daughter, wants to go home again, knowing that it would mean the death of her mother and the captain of the guard.  She's the type you want to see eaten by the dinosaur in the end, but she goes along with the story and even helps out a little at times.

I love the detail in this comic, and as Mark Millar states in the back matter, that's 99% on Stuart Immonen, the penciller, although I do believe the coloring by Ive Svorcina is important as well, as are the editing, inking, and lettering, of course.  While there are titles like Power Lines, which are one-man shows, most comics are a collaborative effort.  Millar goes out of his way to thank everyone involved in the process, the sign of a good leader.

The Woods #22

The Woods, Issue #22 focuses on Karen, the red-haired schoolgirl turned huntress.  The issue starts eight months in the past, when Karen is still more of a student but already on the alien moon.  She's drunk, and she tries to kiss a female friend Sanami, thinking that's what everyone wants.  Then she passes out.  In the present, she has two male admirers, and they've run off to find the Horde (see Issue #21).  She wants to go after them, but Sanami doesn't think it's safe.  It isn't safe, but Sanami has a plan.

I've been looking to cut back the number of comics I read.  I'm not trying out any new series, and thankfully, a few of the series I'm reading (Cry Havoc and 3 Devils) are ending soon.  I don't think The Woods will end up on the chopping block, even though it has a good 10 or 15 issues left in it.  There's too much good about it.  I like the teenage soap opera, the different sexual preferences, even a few transgender characters.  The colors by Josan Gonzalez are simply fantastic, adding to the already-great artwork of Michael Dialynas.  Ed Dukeshire's letters are clean and consistent, with slid-up horizontal lines, which I like.

But what keeps me reading is the character changes, and this is a pretty good issue in that regard.  You can see Karen's character around the time the series started, and how it has been since she started hunting - brutal, aggressive, lonely.  I think the point of this issue is to highlight the change she's gone through, mentally, physically, and emotionally, the change they've all gone through.  I can't wait to see more about what the students in the Horde are doing, how many of them have survived.  I've grown attached to the characters.