Fairy tales are often warped for the enjoyment of comic book fans—see GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES and FABLES as two obvious examples. In GODCHILD, Kaori Yuki has done similar things with nursery rhymes, and the effect is simultaneously gorgeous and horrifying.

This is an eight-part series about an Earl named Cain, who has a cursed heritage and even more disturbing hobbies—in this case, collecting poisons and solving other royals’ mysteries with them. The mysteries that Cain solves involve blood-draining parasites, human embalming, medieval torture masks, and reanimated dead people. It is truly mad Victorian mayhem, with brief moments of subtle emotion. The characters can barely breathe between plot elements, and when they do, it’s usually in the form of self-reflection… or self-hatred.

Cain himself is a curious cross of Sherlock Holmes and The Shade.  He enjoys solving mysteries but has moral loyalty to no one but his valet, Riff. His actions can be arbitrary and dictated by mere curiosity, but he also seems to be capable of great love—as far as it serves his own interests, that is.

Kaori Yuki’s artwork, while amazing, is difficult to defend in an American comics context, because it is very, very Japanese. Yuki is a master of spidery lines, wandering limbs, and slender faces. Her attention to detail is shocking; even a straining neck seems elegant, and the imagery—spiders, petals, candles, the tarot—makes Dracula seem tame and dry. But Yuki never apologizes for her style. It’s rich and genre-filled like a classic Hammer horror film.

I have a friend who used to say that Kaori Yuki is ‘like Shakespeare with pictures’, and that has never been more accurate than in the case of GODCHILD. Meet your manga Macbeth, your comic King Lear, your gothically illustrated Titus Andronicus. And if this comparison puts you off, then perhaps it’s just as well, for there are no happy endings here, and Cain’s Victorian London is darker than any Green Lantern can light.

There is a translated prequel series, entitled THE CAIN SAGA, which is no less disturbing or poetic but slightly more difficult to read, seeing as Yuki’s art style has matured so drastically since she first wrote it. GODCHILD bewitches all on its own. In fact, if you buy Volume One at Meltdown, we’ll take ten percent off of it and everything else. Do you still dare to resist?

LAST MONTH: Junji Ito’s UZUMAKI.

For more of why Kaori Yuki is so diabolically different from Western writers, read my blog: http://concretesoul.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/why-kaori-yuki-is-my-favourite/
For more comic & manga ramblings, follow my twitter: http://twitter.com/junkstory
#comicgeeksagainstmangadiscrimination

What always made the best horror comics work is a sense of unpredictability—confronting the unknown in brand-new circumstances (see 30 Days of Night, Severed, The Courtyard). Traditional monsters are fun and funny—especially when featured in ‘monster mash’ titles like Screamland and DC’s new Frankenstein book—but there is no real sense of fear there. Unless you break the rules, monsters can be fairly unscary.

What Junji Ito does so well in UZUMAKI (as well as his other titles) is introduce unknown horrors that have no real precedent and no ‘explanation’ or reason for happening. There is no ghost to be pacified, vampire to be staked, or alien to be blown away. These are phenomena without source or relief.

In UZUMAKI, there are spirals. The shapes invade a small coastal town, infect the locals, cause smoke rings and tornadoes. Characters become obsessed with their own cochleae. People turn into giant snails. Babies grow spiral-shaped mushrooms from their stomachs. Hair hangs its owners by wrapping around telephone poles. And there is no why, here—no secret answer to the chaos.

Ito’s art style takes grotesque situations and makes them tangible—the sweat, the decay, the snail skin. His characters’ hollow eyes scream of desolation and desperation. It is not pretty, and not for the faint of heart. These lines are scaly and horrifying. There is nothing remotely ‘magical’ about it.

UZUMAKI goes places that few American mainstream comics would dare. Are you a fan of Avatar titles like Crossed? Sick of the usual villains? Pick up a volume of UZUMAKI at Meltdown and receive 10% off of your purchase. Just don’t get caught staring at your fingertips for too long…

LAST MONTH: Shiro Miwa’s DOGS.

Follow my twitter for more thoughts: @junkstory #comicgeeksagainstmangadiscrimination

It’s true: readers of American superhero comics often look at manga with disdain. They roll their eyes and pick up their single issues, snubbing black and white volumes, intentionally avoiding what has somehow become a ‘teen market’. But, surprise: not all manga is about magical schoolgirls traveling through sparkly dimensions! Manga is just the Japanese word for comic. And remember how pissed off you get when people think of American comics as cheesy fairy tales about men wearing tights?

Every month, I’ll be laying a new series upon you, my lovely, single-issue-reading, Batman-loving Meltdown-goers, as proof that Japanese comics can kick just as much ass as Aquaman has been doing lately.

This month: Shiro Miwa’s DOGS.

One thing that American comic book fans love is an assembly of great characters—each with his or her own unique abilities. I mean… Justice League, The Avengers, even less mainstream ventures like Umbrella Academy and Doom Patrol. There’s something really exciting about teaming up all that power and watching it crack down on whatever force is threatening the universe.

The four main characters in DOGS are assassins, and although not a traditional ‘team’ per se, fulfill different thematic purposes: an old man who lost everything to leave his gang but hasn’t lost his hitman skills, a one-eyed tabloid photographer who goes homicidal when he doesn’t get a smoke, a quiet (but lethal) swordswoman covered in scars and regret, and a white-haired, quick-healing, dog-collared meta-human called Heine. Get these four together in the same book and it’s like watching a great ensemble heist film—with a little more genetic mutation, psychological trauma, and decapitations involved. There’s a reason each volume is marked with a Parental Advisory label. The manic gun battles and shakingly violent combat found in DOGS make the Suicide Squad seem like a bunch of pussies.

This is also not your average doe-eyed manga artwork. Miwa paints his characters with savage lines, sharp teeth, and crazed, shadowy eyes. The action sequences cut across the page without heed to a ‘grid’ format. The conspiracies run so deep that each volume demands a reread, since no panel has been left untouched by stylistic plot devices. Heine, Naoto, Badou, and Mihai each have their reasons for becoming ‘stray dogs’ (there’s a Volume 0 with character introductions, but it’s not a necessary read for understanding their current exploits), and I guarantee they are as mythological as any superhero origin story.

Don’t let these sleeping dogs lie. Grab Volume 1 at Meltdown and get 10% off your entire purchase. Your gunplay skills will thank you.

For more (possibly less formal) thoughts, follow my twitter @junkstory. #comicgeeksagainstmangadiscrimination

]]> http://www.meltcomics.com/blog/2011/12/01/introducing-manga-doesnt-suck-a-monthly-column-thing-by-holly-your-friendly-neighborhood-manga-reader/feed/ 2 http://www.meltcomics.com/blog/2011/02/25/may-we-have-the-envelope-please-here-are-the-nominees-for-the-2010-meltdown-comic-awards/ http://www.meltcomics.com/blog/2011/02/25/may-we-have-the-envelope-please-here-are-the-nominees-for-the-2010-meltdown-comic-awards/#comments Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:16:15 +0000 Stacey http://www.meltcomics.com/blog/?p=14129 Awards season is coming to a close with the grand finale of the Oscars this Sunday.  But not to be outdone, we present last, but certainly not least, the esteemed nominees for the 2010 Meltdown Comic Awards! It’s been an amazing year for our favorite genre and choosing the best of the best was no [...]]]>

Awards season is coming to a close with the grand finale of the Oscars this Sunday.  But not to be outdone, we present last, but certainly not least, the esteemed nominees for the 2010 Meltdown Comic Awards!

It’s been an amazing year for our favorite genre and choosing the best of the best was no easy task.  This year’s Golden Melty list was comprised from multiple “Best of” lists, sell-through numbers, reviews, Publisher’s Weekly lists and combing through dozens of message boards to hear what true comic fans are saying.  So, without further ado, the nominees are:

Best Indie Comic Series

by: Stacey Levin

(WARNING! SPOILERS BELOW!)

Where is Tron?  And before you look at me like I’m from another planet, I know “Tron: Legacy” is in the theaters.  Actually, I saw it and… Yawn (oh, I’m sorry, yawningmid-sentence is rude.)  Well, what I should say is that I saw whatever parts of it I managed to stay awake through.   Wow, what a snooze fest.  And it also leads me back to my original question – where is Tron?  Considering the movie is named after him, he was barely in the flick I saw.  In fact, if you’re new to the franchise, you might even be asking “who is Tron?”  That’s not a good sign, folks.

Jason and I don’t cover movies often in this column, but Tron is one of those magical properties from our youth that most comic book readers loved and cherished.  And like any good geek, we were beyond excited to see “Legacy.”  Have you guys seen it yet?  ‘Cause I have questions, people.

Here’s the rub: “Tron: Legacy” is a flashy, visually cool film with no story.  Well, most of the visuals were cool.  I mean, who doesn’t like to look at the pretty neon suits and flying disks?  But, of course.  And sure, the light cycles still look fun to ride.  But all of the hype about “Clu” and how they aged Jeff Bridges backwards?  Um, he looked like a character straight out of “Final Fantasy.”  Not impressed.

Now let’s discuss the story… or lack thereof.  Such wasted opportunities at almost every act break.  “Tron: Legacy” has one beat that repeats over and over again.  We get it, Sam wants to get his father home.  Is there anything else to it?  Uh, nope.  That’s it.  Gotta get him home.  And logic?  Right out the cyber window.  From the biggest points like:  How did Clu turn into a Hitler-like dictator from a program that was originally designed to be utopian?  Ok, the program wasn’t perfect because its creator Kevin Flynn (old Jeff Bridges) wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t inherently evil.  Where did Clu’s evil Caeser-like reign come from?  Here’s another one:  What the hell happened to Tron all this time?  How about this:  how the heck would Quorra be able to manifest herself in the real world and live like a human?  Seriously?

But maybe I’m thinking too hard about this, right?  Let’s take a look at some smaller points instead.  What do Programs do all day aside from trying to score tickets to the gladiator games being held in the giant glass Rubik’s cube?  Do they have apartments?  Jobs?  What was Kevin surviving on all of these years?   Where did that huge dinner he served Sam come from?  Wait a minute, while we’re on the topic of ingesting – why do Programs drink or eat at all?  Aren’t they cyber beings living in a cyber world??   And quite possibly the biggest conundrum of them all: Clu designs a world he believes to be Utopia, but it doesn’t have anything comforting or nice about it at all, and the one thing he does create is a dance club complete with electronica music?  All of that time and energy spent on making a perfect world and he re-created the same stupid club scene we have here on earth?  I don’t know about you guys, but in my version of Utopia, maybe there’s a lounge or two, but definitely no clubs.

All of these questions and more can be found in “Tron: Legacy.”  Instead of the writers taking this amazing opportunity to write a layered and emotional story to explain what’s been happening in Cyber Land for the last 25 years, they chose to go the lazy Hollywood route and flash a shiny object at us so we’ll forget it doesn’t make any sense.

I hate to rain on Disney’s Christmas parade (and believe me, I’m the hugest Disney fan there is), but “Tron: Legacy” was a total disappointment.  You know what?  The more I think about it, this movie sucked.  Final analysis:  fatal error.

Peace, love and all that jazz.

Follow me on twitter: @TVStaceyLevin

by: Jason Vaughn

“It is a time of magic and monsters, a time when the civilized world has been reduced to a few scattered points of light glowing with stubborn determination amid a rising tide of shadows. It is a time when only the bravest dared to tread the wilds of the unknown…”

Welcome back, D&D!  Thanks to IDW Publishing, under license from Hasbro, Inc. and Wizards of the Coast, an all-new comic book series based on the crazy popular game launches next week.  For those who don’t know anything about “Dungeons & Dragons” (although you literally would had to have been living under a huge, all-consuming rock), it’s the biggest fantasy role-playing game ever.  It defined the genre, the industry and provided the social backdrop for countless number of fans for decades.   IDW’s “Dungeons & Dragons #1” is the inaugural issue of the first ongoing “Dungeons & Dragons” series in more than 20 years.

Ok, firstly, let me admit (much to the great relief of my internal teenage jock) that I didn’t play “Dungeons and Dragons” as a kid.  I missed out on the days of sitting in a dank basement in someone’s mother’s house with cardboard cutout swords, twelve-sided die and Led Zepplin playing in the background under a black light poster.  Fine, maybe not the Led Zep part – what?  Don’t look at me like that, it was college!  Now before you go and blow your helm and say that I’m just a role-player bashing troll, I’ll confess that much like Christine O’Donnell, “I too, am just like you.”  I may not have been into fantasy games as a kid, but as an adult, I‘ve completely embraced my inner nerd rage.  With the advent of MMORPGs, we now have the opportunity to pawn someone from half a world away… silly, silly newb.  Games like “World of Warcraft,” “Everquest,” and “Final Fantasy” owe their very existence to the grandfather of all role-playing games, D&D.  Jumping on to the bandwagon of RPG resurgence, the elven horde over at IDW is about to catapult a new ongoing “Dungeons & Dragons” title on to the shelves of Meltdown next week.  So until you’re able to loot a copy for your very own, let’s take a peek at the GM’s story page and see what’s in store for our not-so-merry band of adventurers.

Speaking of adventurers, no D&D campaign is complete without a diverse group of strangers from across the land coming together to fight for a common goal… or for common gold as often is the case .  (It’s a lot like the United Nations in that way, but I digress.)   The series artist Andrea Di Vito from Marvel’s “Thor” and “Nova,” renders such sharp characters that they look as if they just jumped out of a “Lord of the Rings” flick.  Adric Fell, a pirate like soldier-of-arms, leads a group consisting of a dwarven paladin named Kahl, the elven hunter Varis, the roguish halfling Bree, and the tiefling warlock Tisha (who resembles an unnatural breeding between a ram and elf.)   Having slayed the young black dragon and freed the human slaves in the Underdark (issue #0), we join our heroes as they enjoy a moment of relaxation in celebration of their recent victory.  The revelry doesn’t last long, however, as the group suddenly find themselves besieged upon by the walking dead.   (No, not the TV show, but yes they’re zombies).  In the course of defending himself, Adric slays several of the zombies only to find out a little too late they’re not the undead at all, but local villagers under a spell.  Now on the run for murder, Adric and his band of reluctant heroes must find out who’s behind a spell that’s turning normal folks into George A. Romero rejects all the while keeping their own skin intact in the process.

Writer John Rogers, “Transformers” screenwriter and co-creator of the television series “Leverage,” crafts an excellent introductory issue.  For those of us who might have missed the actual first issue “Dungeons and Dragons #0,” what I dig most about how this issue unfolds is Rogers’ avoidance of the overdone origin element.  Instead, he opts to throw us right into the middle of the story of Adric’s small band of adventurers.  This allows for a wide range of potential back story for future issues which is part and parcel for the D&D cannon.  And let’s face it, we’re all tired of the constant carbon copy “Avengers Assemble” feeling that most new team oriented books have.  The pacing was quick and the story moved along from page one.

I hope everyone has on their +5 dexterity cloaks when the “Dungeons & Dragons – Dark Sun” limited series releases right on the heels of this title in January because it’s going to be one wild ride full of gold, goblins, and gear.  And for all of you actual D&D players out there, don’t forget to check out the last two pages of the issue for a cool treat.

If anyone can guess where the title of this column originated from, then congratulations, you just won yourself Meltdown’s very own version of a “no-prize!”  Stephen Lynch has to be the funniest person with a guitar and too much time on his hands since Adam Sandler’s days with SNL.  (Now there’s an idea for “Comics on Comics.”)  Check out his album “Superhero” which includes the aforementioned “D&D,” then follow Stephen on twitter @TheStephenLynch and myself @GoTodash.

by: Stacey Levin

Hey, fellow Melties, don’t you hate it when you invest in a new title, shell out a hundred bucks, tell other people to read it (like, say in a published column) and then it limps to the finish line like the Dodgers did this season?   Yeah, I hate when that happens, too, and sadly, several recent books have let a lot of readers down.  Let me warn you now, this is gonna get a little ugly, peeps.

Let’s take a look at “Air,” shall we? “Air” was touted by many very respectable reviewers and publications for its originality and strong lead character.  Hell, Neil Gamian even compared it to the works of Salmon Rushdie.  I was in – actually from the very first columns I posted here, I told people to read “Air.”   And for the first half of the issues, it lived up to the hype.  I thought the story moved, the plot unfolded in good arcs and cliff hangers and the characters evolved weekly.  But some where around issue 14, “Air” started to lose its way.  There were several issues where the story literally just stopped like Wilson had run of out ideas or pulled a thread in her own story.  But I was invested and kept reading hoping “Air” would find its way back to its innovative beginnings where it utilized historical characters and events and simultaneously tapped into a universal fear of terrorism that we all felt deep inside.  But no such luck.  It became clear by issue 17 that the “Air” we had come to love was no more.  The story limped along almost painfully till the inevitable announcement that “Air” would end its run in issue 24.  I wish I had some other word for the ending of “Air” other than lame, but that’s honestly how I felt about it.  24 issues of wasted investment.

Now let’s take a drive down “Greek Street” – yet another title I personally touted early on.  ”Greek Street” was well received by the comic community and rightfully so – it was a modern, violent take on Greek mythology.  Utilizing classical literature and characters in comics is one of my favorite lines of storytelling, so “Greek Street” was right up my alley.  With each issue, the story became more intricate – even becoming a little hard to follow at times.  But I’m all about using my noggin, so I welcomed the depth and complications.  I even forgave the side story focusing on the British soldier who returned from the war – a deviation I never really liked.  However, by the time the story got back to Eddie’s self-loathing crisis, it seemed like there weren’t many places left to go with it… maybe “Greek Street” became too smart or clever for its own good because it clearly had taken a wrong turn and the inevitable ending was announced.  Well, when I finished the last issue, I was completely annoyed that I had bothered to read the series at all.  In case you’re still reading, I won’t blow it for you, but trust me, it’s an abrupt, unsatisfying non-ending to what started out as an above average foray into modern genre fair.

So what’s really the problem here?  Is it writers who pitch a title, but don’t really have an ending to their own story?  Or does the fault lie with the publishers who flake on their writers early not allowing them to finish what they actually did have planned?  Having come from television, I saw examples of both sides of the question – i.e. those of you who got pissed when “Firefly” was cancelled in the middle of its first season know what I’m talking about.  Well, comics are no different.  As a fan and reader, nothing gets me more than investing in a title and then having it yanked so the writers are forced to abruptly end the story without much thought.  And as a writer, I get equally irritated when a writer gets a shot at publishing something new and exciting, but never really had an end in mind.  Trust me, comic book fans remember both of these scenarios when it comes time to decide if they should give a new series or a new writer a try.

Now, I don’t want to give the impression the publishers get it wrong.  A recent example of doing it right is “Daytrippers” – a complete story that was well executed in the number of allotted issues.  At the end, I didn’t feel cheated or hoodwinked – I felt respected because the writers obviously knew the story they wanted to tell and accomplished it in ten issues.  The same could be said for the genius story of “N” which was told in completion in only four issues.  See, it can be done without a huge commitment from either the writer or the publisher.  Or, it can be done on the opposite end of the scale as in “Y: The Last Man” – an amazing, in depth story that took 60 issues to be told in its entirety.

So, what I’m asking is pretty simple.  Publishers, since we’re the ones shelling out the 2.99 or 3.99 per book, show us a little regard when you abruptly decide to cancel a title in the middle of its run before the writer has a chance to honor the end of the story for the people who have been reading it.  And writers, getting the opportunity to publish a book is a rare and privileged one – please honor the chance you’re given by having a worked out story to tell when you embark on the first issue so those of us who go along with for the ride get a satisfying experience.

Whew, that was like a purging!  You know how when you get really drunk and the next day you’re so totally hung over that you spend hours praying you’ll be able to just “get up?”  And once you do, you feel SO much better?  Yep, that’s how I feel right now.  And btw, Vertigo guys, I didn’t intentionally target you.  Just so happens I was invested in these titles which both ended recently.  But then again, if you threw us a bone with a review copy once in a while, it wouldn’t be as financially painful when one of our favorite titles goes down.  No disrespect, but I’m just sayin’.

Peace, love and all that jazz.

Follow me on twitter: @TVStaceyLevin

by: Jason Vaughn

Space… the final frontier… well, actually, for sci-fi comics, it’s more like the first, best, and only frontier. When I was a kid, outer space TV shows like “Buck Rogers” and “Star Trek” rocketed me light speed toward a geosynchronous orbit around syndicated fun and excitement. (Ok, “Star Trek” was due mostly to my dad’s “Ming the Merciless”-like despotic control over the remote control.  I grew up to be a “Star Wars” kid, go figure.)  Even though I’m referring to the reruns of the seventies and eighties, space cowboys and adventurers have been astonishing and scaring the crap out of the little kid in all of us since almost a decade before Superman ever lifted his first car on the cover of Action Comics.  So let’s take a look at two current books and one upcoming title with stories from a galaxy far, far away.

Star Wars: Rescues #3 – Dark Horse (On sale now!)

Like I said above, I’ve been a “Star Wars” fan ever since I can remember.  (However, the prequels did make me question the sanity of that devotion each time I left the theater.)  The horrendous Jar Jar movies aside, in recent years I’ve found myself running to the arms of a different pusher by the name of Dark Horse in order to acquire my “Star Wars” fix.  I thoroughly enjoyed “Knights of the Old Republic” and duly look forward to John Jackson Miller’s new title “Star Wars: Knight Errant.”  Let’s not forget “Dark Times” which has its moments as a character driven piece that follows ex-Jedi-in-hiding Dass Jennir as he copes with life in a galaxy ruled by the newly founded Empire.  Unlike these other titles, “Star Wars: Rescues” features the original crew of Luke Skywalker and company, although several years in the future.  In this part of the “Star Wars” timeline, Luke has rebuilt the Jedi with a small band of knights; Han and Leia have twins (Jaina and Jacen) who are also under Luke’s tutelage as future Jedi; and a new, yet strange threat with unusual technology is invading the fragile Republic from parts unknown, the Yuuzhan Vong.  Not having read the “New Jedi Order” books (I stopped right after the second Timothy Zahn trilogy), I’m thrilled Dark Horse decided to do this series.  My only issue is this - get on with it already!  “Rescues” suffers from the same fatal flaw “Legacy” did – it was ungodly slow for a sci-fi action comic. Granted, “Legacy” took some set up due to its placement in the time line, but “Rescues,” and “Invasion” before it, has no such excuse yet suffers from the same plod-along pacing.  We know the “sandbox” by now.  Enough with the set up and let’s actually get to a major beat point already.  There are plenty of books in this series, so I’m not sure I see the need in dragging out the story to the point where Ambien-like sleep kicks in while I’m reading it.  As a fan, I’m on board for a few more issues because I do think the use of the Vong as the antagonist is a surprising change from the stand-by, overly used “Sith,” and also in hopes they’ll pick up the pacing a bit.

MGM Drive-In: “It! The Terror From Beyond Space” #1- IDW (On sale now!)

This book is the first of three special series updating classic sci-fi flicks.  This new title by IDW harkens back to the days of midnight B movie marathons when you had to keep the volume low out of fear you’d wake up your parents.  You know the type, a flick that Tom Servo, Crow and Joel would’ve made fun of on MST3K.  The story begins with the hastily assembled crew of the Challenge 142 en route to Mars on a rescue mission where they discover that the one lone survivor of the Challenge 141 may have killed the rest of his crew for the remaining rations.  Or at least that’s the way it appears until the survivor reveals they’re not alone on the red planet.  I love the retro-pulp feel of this title.  For example, how the book refers to their technology as “atomic engines” and the nod and wink to old school 50’s Hollywood with members of the crew smoking in an oxygen enriched environment.  I guess no one told the Captain Kirk-lite that offering a cigarette to an alien just after sex might blow up his cabin.  This book is cheeky, smarmy, and just cheesy enough to be considered a guilty pleasure.

Farscape: Scorpius #4 – Boom (Drops this Wednesday!)

There’s a growing trend these days for popular TV and movie properties to find renewed life in the world of graphic novels and comic books long after they’ve left the screen. Obvious examples are “Buffy,” “The Green Hornet,” “Die Hard,” “Charmed,” “Blade Runner” (“Andriods…”), and “Farscape.”  “Farscape” was one of those shows that flew under my radar when it first debuted.  However, my introduction to this show is a day I’ll not likely ever forget.  In an effort not to make this column all morbid, I’ll just quickly say that if you ask someone from a previous generation where they were when JFK was shot, most would be able to tell you exactly the place, and could probably recall the following few days afterwards as well.  I had a similar experience on the day I first learned what a “translator microbe,” a “Luxan,” and a “Hynerian” were on September 12, 2001.  I vividly remember that day as I was walking to a friend’s house, thinking how odd it was not to see any con-trails in the sky from the neighboring airport.  Living in Atlanta at the time, which is close to one of, if not the, busiest airports in the world, it was an extremely unusual sight not to see a single plane in the sky.  After I arrived, my friend would soon put on a recorded episode of “Farscape” while looking at me in awe uttering “what, are you kidding me?  You haven’t seen it!?  This show is like ‘The Muppets’ on acid.”  From that day forward, I was on board with John Crighton, the ultimate fish out of water, and his desperate attempt to get home to Earth while trying to relate to these creatures he’s been forced to live with while on the run from the authorities.  If you were ever a fan of the show, I can tell you that you won’t be disappointed with this series.  Issue #4 in the “Farscape: Scorpius” prelude to “The War for the Uncharted Territories” is a great read.  The tone and feel of this arc is so reminiscent of the show, I feel like its Friday night and I’m watching TV when SyFy was still Sci-Fi (and didn’t have to steal their story ideas from hard-working filmmakers, but I digress… *cough* Drones! *cough*.) And it should have that sense of nostalgia since one of the writers is none other than series creator Rockne O’Bannon.  Along with fellow writer Alan Mack and art by Mike Ruiz, O’Bannon has managed to catch the heart of the series with a story following the twisted machinations of John Crichton’s arch nemesis Scorpius.  Up to his old tricks, Scorpius deceives, intimidates and manipulates his way into command of an invading armada from the “grey space” who have their sights set on destroying the Peacekeepers and setting up camp in “Scorpy’s” backyard.  For a prelude, this story has a smooth set-up and great jumping on point for any longtime fans who haven’t yet read the comics, or for the newbie who’s just dying to learn what “farbot” means.

Follow on twitter: Jason -@GoTodash

by Stacey Levin

…Stephen King, that is, because the sovereign of scare has done it again with his newest entries into the comic arena – “American Vampire” and the limited series “N.”  The King (That’s my nickname for him.  Cause we’re friends.  And friends have nicknames for each other.  Ok, fine, I don’t actually know him… yet.) has been writing comic books and graphic novels for over 25 years.  In fact, on his website, he lists “Creepshow,” the companion comic to the movie, as his earliest comic credit back in 1982.  But most fans readily associate his comic work as extensions and companions to his existing published titles such as “The Dark Tower” and “The Stand.”  All great stuff, but with “American Vampire” and “N,” The King has gone back to the roots of his horror story telling which is what I love the most.  Ok, yeah, so this is a completely biased ode to The King.  Sue me.  Well, I guess you could stop reading, but it’s STEPHEN KING, people!

In Marvel’s “N,” which is based on SK’s short story and written by the talented film and television writer Marc Guggenheim, The King tells a chilling tale about living in a personal hell of paranoia and obsession when his lead  character descends into the dark world of mental illness.  A lead character with a mental  illness is not new territory for S.K.  Some of his most famous creations were really just  batsh*t crazy folks.  (Hello, Annie Wilkes!  How ya doin’, Jack Torrance?)  But what’s  different about Dr. John Bousaint in “N” is that he starts out sane.  Actually, he’s a  psychiatrist who is literally driven crazy by the mysterious circumstances that surround  the death of one his patients known only as Patient N.  Patient N committed suicide –  pushed to the ultimate limit by hanging out at an odd geological formation of rocks in a  barren field.  Wait, what?  The rocks made him kill himself?  No, that can’t be and it sounds  illogical.  Well, that’s what the good Doc thought, too, until he went to investigate the place  and soon found himself catching the same kind of madness that Patient N suffered from.  So  you’d think people would stay away from the weird rocks, right?  Not in a horror comic,  peeps.  That’s just the beginning.  From there, The King’s story and Guggenheim’s expert scripting literally describe every pain staking moment of what it must be like to slowly go  insane… to know it’s happening to you, but be helpless to stop it.  I can’t think of too many  things more frightening than that.  Artfully drawn by the accomplished artist Alex Maleev,  the imagery in “N” makes you feel as if you too might be catch the insanity if you read too  much.  Effing brilliant.

With Vertigo’s “American Vampire,” The King takes on the overused area of vampiressszzzzzzz.  Oh, sorry, dozed off there for a second because every freakin’ publisher, studio and network is taking a stab at telling a vampire tale.  (Stab – get it?  Yes, cheesy pun intended.)  But once again, nobody can do it like The King.  I love “American Vampire”!  It’s the book I can’t wait for on pull days.  It’s not just any ordinary vampire tale.  It’s the story of one guy, vampire Skinner Sweet, told from two separate places in his timeline.  It’s the same storytelling device SK used in two of my favorite novels from his library – Desperation and The Regulators (under his pseudonym Richard Bachman.)  Written along with Scott Snyder, I suspect the two stories being told in “American Vampire” will soon meet in one complete tale.  Snyder’s story starts in 1920’s Los Angeles in the seedy underbelly of Hollywood where the heroine Pearl struggles to make ends meet while pursuing her acting dreams.  For many of us already living in Los Angeles, that in and of itself is the nightmare.  But wait, there’s more.  Poor Pearl gets sucked in by a handsome leading man (yep, I went there – sucked in!) who whisks her to a posh Hollywood party where she proceeds to find herself getting attacked by vampires.  Confused, scared and feeling really, really strange, Pearl awakens to her new life as a creature of the night.  Well, that blows.  She doesn’t know the first thing about being a vampire.  Luckily our new favorite bad guy, Skinner Sweet is there to give her a few tips… right before the story switches to an old west tale set in the early 1800’s- the setting for Skinner’s origin tale written by The King himself.  And for those of you familiar with “The Dark Tower” series, you know the West is a world S.K. loves; a place where he can take his time telling a rich tale with lots of character, color and history.  Complementing both sides of the Skinner Sweet yarn is the beautiful art by Rafael Albuquerque whose technique e fills the page with expression and life.  “American Vampire” has managed to accomplish what none of the countless other vampire books have yet to do – make vampires seem original and scary again.

Although I can go on and on about my main man, I’ll stop here so you can run to Meltdown and pick up the four issues to date of both “N” and “American Vampire.”  While you’re doing that, I’m going to hatch a plan to meet The King himself so we can embark on the beginning of a beautiful friendship.  Shut up, it could happen!

Follow Stacey and Jason on twitter at @TVStaceyLevin and @GoTodash

By: Jason Vaughn

Hello once again to all of you comic book connoisseurs out there in cyberspace. It’s about that time for another random genre selection as we reach our hand into the musty cob-web covered Meltdown Genius Pull box. Here’s an excerpt from the previous mix for anyone who might have missed it (and exactly why did you miss the last one, hmm?) and may not be sure how this works.

“Every iTunes library now contains a playlist called “Genius Mixes.”  It’s a rather intuitive program that cycles through your library and pulls together multiple mixes from the different genre types in your music collection.  So this got me to thinking?  What if you could do the same thing to your comic collection and pull list?  Just *click* and you have a selection of crime dramas, *click* a mix of superhero stories, *click* and there’s a handful of your favorite horror books to lull you into a blubbering nightmare-filled sleep before bed.  So until the major publishers catch on and start doing something similar on their own websites, every so often I’ll be highlighting a random genre pull of current upcoming books and compare them to some back issue favorites.  (By the way, I take full credit for the idea, guys!  You can send the royalty checks to Jason Vaughn courtesy of… oh, who am I kidding.)  This way, you don’t have to go digging around in that closet where you hide all of your comics from your girlfriend.  And guys, don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

So there you have it – the Genius Pull.  This week’s selection is the person every guy wants to be, and every girl wants to… well, batter dip his corn dog if you get my drift.  So this week we’re going to have an unfortunate run in with the one, the only, everyone’s favorite bad-boy, the “anti-hero!”  Merriam Webster defines the anti-hero as “a protagonist or notable figure who is conspicuously lacking in heroic qualities.”  We all grew up with infamous screen anti-heroes like Tony Montana, Snake Plissken, The Equalizer (that one’s for you Gaston!), Clint Eastwood as The Man with No Name, and La Femme Nikita to name a few.  In the graphic novel world, there are also obvious characters to choose from such as The Punisher, Lobo, or even the 80’s version of Wolverine (not the cuddly, everybody’s best buddy, team player guy that graces almost all of the covers nowadays.)  I suppose in some circles, even Batman is still considered an anti-hero, but that’s an argument for another column.  With that, let’s take a look at some new titles with characters who lack a moral compass and walk the fine line between the light and the dark, and compare them to a back issue favorite who lives a life in true shades of grey.

American Vampire #3 (MR) – Vertigo

Written by: Scott Snyder & Stephen King

Art and Cover by: Rafael Albuquerque

Variant Cover by: Andy Kubert

It took me a couple of issues, but I have to say that I am fully hooked on American Vampire.  Each issue contains two stories that span the course of several decades.  One story is by Snyder and the other by the maestro of the menacing, Stephen King.  The first storyline revolves around a young 1920’s Hollywood extra named Pearl Jones who is on a mission to destroy the men who turned her into a creature of the night.  The second story is a western tale about the hunt for an elusive vampire monster.  But what both stories have in common is the roguish old west outlaw named Skinner Sweet.  (Ok, essentially he’s Josh Holloway with fangs.  I think I just found the guy his next gig.  I expect the standard ten percent, Josh.)  Skinner is a new type of vampire – one who has evolved and living in the “New World.”   I find King’s origin story of Skinner’s creation, and the story about the eventual war on the “Old World” vampires who are trying to destroy him, the high point of the book.  As an anti-hero, Skinner is the perfect mix of unremorseful bloodlust with a twisted sense of honor; one that he doesn’t feel the need to constantly whine about ala “Angel.”  (And let the Whedonite hate mail begin!).  He’s a man who’s been wronged and has no issue with leaving a trail of half mangled, half eaten bodies in his wake until he sets things straight. In an over “vamped” world of Twilight, Daybreakers, The Gates, The Vampire Diaries, True Blood etc… Skinner Sweet is an uncharacteristically fresh breath of vampire air.

Nemesis #2 (MR) – Icon

Written by: Mark Millar

Pencils by: Steve McNiven

Ok, I’m going to be honest with you here, I’m very conflicted with the Nemesis book as a whole.  I’m a big fan of the guys who brought us “Old Man Logan” and “Civil War,” however; I wasn’t completely sold on the story until the end of the second issue.  The first issue felt slightly uninspired, a tad flat, and surprisingly void of any shock value – especially coming from the man who created the “ultra violent kiddie” genre with “Kick Ass.”  In Nemesis, Millar has made his very own “Batman gone bat$h*t,” a genius terrorist who is always one step ahead of his targets, and equipped with enough high tech weaponry to rival any other sociopath in a cape and mask.  Nemesis, the character, feels like a cross between Batman and Moon Knight in both attitude and resemblance.  Like Batman, Nemesis has his very own twisted origin story, one that also deals with the fall of his parents, but in a strikingly different manner from the Dark Knight.  Now, this unstoppable international mass murderer has set his sights on the United States, more specifically, the man whom he blames for his parents’ death, the Chief of Police of Washington D.C.  So what does keep me coming back if it’s not the story?  Well, it’s how wickedly nefarious Nemesis can be.  He’s outright evil personified, but he does it with such timing, flourish and finesse, that you can’t not help but admire the methodology while sitting enthralled on the edge of your seat waiting to see what the guy will do next.  I may not be completely sold on the story, but it is only the second issue after all and there’s plenty more story left to tell.  I have enough faith in Millar to believe he kept a few surprises hidden up his sleeve.

Red Hood – The Lost Days #1 – DC

Written by: Judd Winick

Art by: Pablo Raimondi

When I was kid, there was one rule in all of comic-dom that always held true: “no one in comics stays dead except for Bucky Barnes and Jason Todd.”  When Bucky was resurrected as the Winter Soldier and later turned into the new Captain America, I don’t think anyone was surprised when the long-thought dead Jason Todd resurfaced around the same time.  I was never much of a fan of Jason as the second Robin, and when the fans (including myself) ended up voting for his death back in ’88, I definitely didn’t lose any sleep over it.  And actually those years following Jason’s death, when Batman became decisively more aggressive, were some of the best Batman stories I have in my collection.  To further cement my dislike of the character, DC completely dropped the ball with his resurrection story by using the idiotic Infinite Crisis “Superboy Punch” element to explain his sudden arrival.  The subsequent storylines of Countdown and The Battle for the Cowl’s misuse of the character essentially resorted in making Jason Todd a two dimensional anti-hero adversary for Batman.  I guess that old mantra “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” is one that Judd Winick believes in when it comes to the former side-kick.  Luckily for us, this time I think he may have actually succeeded.  The first issue doesn’t give us much insight into the man that would become “Batman with guns,” but what it does accomplish is giving the character a more grounded return story using an obvious story telling device in the Batman mythos – one of Ra’s Al Ghul’s lazarus pits.  Along with a more believable resurrection story, Winick infuses the first issue of this limited series with an emotional depth that was lacking in many of the “tights and flights” books with the turbulent father/daughter relationship between Ra’s and Talia.  Each of their motivated reactions to the news of Jason Todd’s death and the drastically different choices made regarding his resurrection is worth the cover price alone.  Considering it’s the first issue, admittedly there isn’t much “anti-heroing” going on, but knowing Jason’s appetite for destruction, I’m sure we’re not far away from multiple gunshot wounds and fractured femurs for everyone.  I fully expected this book to suck and now I’m eagerly awaiting the next issue to see how Winick just might be able to turn one of my least favorite characters into a surprising addition to my pull list.

Scalped: Indian Country (TPB) – Vertigo

Written by: Jason Aaron

Art by: R.M. Guera

What praise can be said about Aaron and Guera’s “Scalped” that hasn’t already been shouted from the mountaintops?   I’m ashamed to admit that I came late to the party when it comes to this title, but wow, I won’t miss a single issue from here on out!  Jason Aaron is one of the best writers working in the industry today, and there is no better example of his prowess than in the creation of his protagonist in “Scalped,” the ultimate anti-hero, Dashiell Bad Horse.  Brian K. Vaughn describes Bad Horse as a “rare film noir protagonist who’s actually as cool as his name, this is the tale of one mean cop with a big damn secret.”  Bad Horse is a full blooded Oglala native who left the reservation at the age of thirteen, and now, as an angry twenty eight year old, he has suspiciously returned to the reservation with a vengeance.  He has no friends, never smiles, and often ends up in a fight with most people he encounters including his own mother.  Described as a “borderline sociopath,” Bad Horse is a master of Jeet Kune Do and so skilled a bada$$, that he’s able to take on a whole room full of bikers in a barroom brawl with a pair of nunchaku.  And let’s not forget Bad Horse’s moral ambiguity and lack of basic ethics when it comes to an old married flame who helps lend to his anti-hero status.  Jason Aaron has crafted such an interesting character with multiple layers of motivation and just pure “kickassery,” that I can’t wait to see who Dashiell Bad Horse will punch next.

Sadly, that’s the end of this Genius Pull mix.  Hopefully you’ve found a new questionable “good guy” to root for, and if not, check out Meltdown’s vast selection of back issues and trade paper backs to find your own favorite anti-hero.  I’ll see all of you Meltdown fanatics on Wednesday for the new books!

Follow on Twitter:  Jason – @GoTodash