Reviews

Jakob Dylan – Women and Country

| xeyeti

I realize that, at this point, there probably aren’t a whole lot of people clamoring for a new Wallflowers or Jakob Dylan album. I am, mind you, but I have a thing for sturdy roots-rock with layers of guitars, organ, and thoughtful singer-songwriter lyrics.

Jakob Dylan’s first solo outing, the sparse and spare Seeing Things, wasn’t a bad record. The sepia-toned music didn’t really aspire to do much, and some of the songs seemed to be more sketches than fully-realized tracks. That said, I still enjoyed it, slight though it may have been.

Dylan’s second solo record, Women and Country, avoids many of the traps and pitfalls of its predecessor. For one, the tracks are more fleshed-out, with a greater diversity of instrumentation (Seeing Things mostly featured Dylan’s voice, acoustic guitar, and the occasional upright bass or sparse percussion), a wider stylistic net, and songs that just feel more complete. Probably the best sonic comparison for this album would be Allison Krauss and Robert Plant’s duet album from a few years back, Raising Sand (an album likewise produced by T-Bone Burnett): there’s lots of pedal steel guitar, reverb-heavy guitars, subtle percussion, and the occasional hint of strings or banjo to add texture.

Dylan throws out a variety of song styles on this record. “Lend a Hand” sounds like it could be a Tom Waits song, while “Standing Eight Count” “and “Truth for a Truth” sound like they could have been Wallflowers tunes. “Smile When You Call Me That” is a straight-up old-school country song the likes of which you’d expect from George Straight or Merle Haggard. “Holy Rollers for Love” is a beautiful song made even better thanks to the fantastic backing vocals from Neko Case and Kelly Hogan.

This is the sort of solo album you like to hear: different enough from the artist’s main gig to be worth the effort to go solo, but with enough familiarity to not alienate. Women and Country is easily my favorite album of the year so far.

Time and Again – Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.

| xeyeti

There are some things that I just keep coming back to again and again: particular albums, specific books or comics, movies that I’ve seen a dozen times or more. There’s just something about them that keeps drawing me back in, and every few months I find myself cracking open the book/CD case/DVD case and running through it all over again.

Warren Ellis (writer) and Stuart Immonen’s (artist) Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. is one of those things. I feel the overwhelming urge to reread this comic every couple of months, just to remind myself that, yes, something this awesome does in fact exist. It’s probably my favorite Ellis comic, and I’m quite the fan of most anything he writes. It’s probably that he seems like he’s just having so much fun writing the comic. I happen to usually like my comics with a bit of “bwahaha” in them (hence, JLI is a perennial favorite), and there are plenty of those moments here. Ellis throws so many completely random things at the reader (Fin Fang Foom in purple underpants, for instance, or “drop bears,” deadly koala commandos dropped from the aeromarine, which is itself basically four submarines thrown together with great big jet engines strapped onto the back), and it’s the sort of comic that never takes itself too seriously. I like that. I like comics creators that see this as a fun medium (which isn’t to say you can’t have Serious Comics; I also happen to like some of those, but I tend to come back to the fun ones more often) and take advantage of the goofy and downright bizarre nature of the artform to craft engaging, entertaining stories.

Ellis’s writing is, of course, top-notch, wry, and funny as hell, but what really sells this particular book is the art by Stuart Immonen. Immonen’s art for Nextwave is a loose, cartoony style that perfectly captures the crazy, kinetic nature of the action. “Cartoony” doesn’t mean “less detailed” in this case, though; Immonen crams so many details into each page that it’s amazing the book doesn’t just explode awesome all over the place. The series of splash pages in the middle of issue #11 – in which our heroes face increasingly bizarre enemies such as Elvis M.O.D.O.K.s that spew hamburgers, monkeys with Wolverine’s claws, a dinosaur with Cyclops’s eye beam, and crazy ninjas – as they march towards their enemy’s inner sanctum is just brilliant and reason enough to read the book.

Nextwave is a great cheek to the somewhat-stale superhero genre. It’s out-over-the-topping (yeah, I just made that up) the sometimes-extreme nature of superhero comics, with the splash pages and the hyper-violence and the old anti-hero trend (seriously, can we get away from that one now?). While Ellis and Immonen clearly have some affection for the genre they’re so mercilessly lampooning, they don’t pull any punches. Nextwave is easily one of the best comic books that’s been released in the past decade, and the only problem with it is that it doesn’t last longer.

The Pull List – March 31st

| xeyeti

Spring Break means getting comics on the day they come out! Huzzah! Get ready, here come the comics!

Detective Comics #863: The end of the Cutter storyline gives us a decent-enough resolution to the arc, with more of that parallel storytelling between what happened in the past with Batman and Batwoman in the present. Both get their man, we get a nice little moment between Batwoman and her cousin at the end (though I’m still not sure if we’re supposed to know what costume Bette’s wearing). Jock’s art is great, and Rucka’s writing is solid as usual. The backup feature with the Question is great as usual, with the revelation of the big baddie (though when did he get that weird burning sword cross thing on his forehead?) and some solid banter between Rene Montoya and the Huntress. Good stuff all around.

Wonder Woman #42: Wonder Woman is only featured in half of this issue, really, with the first half focusing on some Green Lanterns and setting up the conflict for Wonder Woman in the second half. We get a nice bit between Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor and a great Etta Candy moment (“You think you could maybe go get my guns for me? Oh, and maybe some pants while you’re at it?”). The enemies seem truly dangerous and malevolent, but why is it her enemies are always women? It’s strange.

Trades this week: third volume of Fables, Wonder Woman: Ends of the Earth (which felt disjointed the first time I read it; maybe reading it all in one shot will be different. Also, it includes the great two-part story about a Wonder Woman movie), and the third volume of Mark Waid’s The Brave and the Bold (which seems slighter than the previous two volumes, but it’s still good fun).

The Pull List – March 24th

| xeyeti

Pretty light week this week, but hey, today’s my birthday, so you get a present!

Deadpool #21: This particular story just hasn’t been doing anything for me, so thank goodness it’s over. Maybe it’s just the presence of that horrible thing known as Hit-Monkey, or maybe the conceit of Deadpool running around “trying to learn to be a hero” has just worn thin for me, I dunno. I’m gonna give the book another few issues before I decide what to do, but I seriously hope this title picks up a bit. On the positive side, there were a couple of decent gags in this issue, and it was definitely stronger than the last couple of issues. The art’s still solid (though I’ve no idea why Carlo Barberi draws Spider-Man with such broad shoulders. Isn’t Peter Parker supposed to be more…I dunno, wiry? Not built like a guy who lifts weights and downs protein shakes?)

I also picked up two trades this week: the third volume of Brian Wood’s excellent Northlanders and the Deadpool: Suicide Kings collection. Suicide Kings was alright, though it relied a little too heavily on a couple of crutch-like jokes throughout (the whole “imagine some ‘wacky’ situation then snap back to reality and realize he was daydreaming or whatever” thing was used, like, at least once per issue, and most of the supposedly-wacky situations weren’t all that wacky), but it was okay. Northlanders was great, a collection of some of a couple of the shorter stories from the title so far (two two-parters, “Lindisfarne” and “The Shield Maidens,” and a couple of one-shot issues, including the excellent “Sven the Immortal,” proving that an old man who is pissed off can take a bunch of insolent young idiots anytime). Good times.

She & Him – Volume Two

| xeyeti

“Sometimes, lonely isn’t sad,” Zooey Deschanel croons in the album opener, “Theives,” over instrumentation that wouldn’t have been out of place in a Roy Orbison tune. That sense of optimism in the face of failed love in “Thieves” carries forward throughout the album; there’s a genial, conversational tone to her lyrics and stories, and while the thematic content of the songs hasn’t change much (or, really, at all) from Volume One, but Deschanel and Ward are mining such a rich, comfortable source that you can always draw from.

Volume Two builds on the sonic palette from the first album, adding new sonic touches such as old-school countrypolitan strings and more electric guitar (both of the warm, 1950s Patsy-Cline style and Ward’s more typical spidery electric leads) to the warm, strummy acoustic base. There are touches of steel guitar and some piano and keyboards as well, and Ward surrounds Deschanel’s voice with a Phil Spector-ish wall of sound. While Deschanel’s voice is limited, it’s limited in a charming way, and she manages to work around her limitations in such a way as you don’t notice or mind so much.

Volume Two is a great continuation of the Deschanel/Ward collaboration, and hopefully the two will continue making comfortable, warm, sunny pop music for a long, long time.

The Pull List – March 17th

| xeyeti

St. Patrick’s Day was indeed a day for green, as the second of five (!) new Green Hornet titles from Dynamite came out. Apparently my LCS guy thought I might enjoy it, so I found a copy of Green Hornet: Year 1 #1 in my box. Here’s my thoughts on it and the rest of the stuff I pulled this week.

Green Hornet: Year One #1: I really dig Matt Wagner’s stuff set in the 1920s/1930s (really, the only other thing I can think of off the top of my head is his work on Sandman Mystery Theatre, which is absolutely fantastic), so I’m down with this. The Year One subtitle is a little bit of a misnomer, as Wagner bounces around between the early childhoods of Britt Reid and Kato and their early efforts as masked heroes. What we get is the beginning of a nice little examination of how Green Hornet came to be, and some solid moments of characterization for each character. We haven’t seen how the two will get together just quite yet, but hey, this is just the first issue. I may not have originally planned on pulling this book, but I’m glad it made its way into my box and I’m definitely looking forward to the next issue.

Joe the Barbarian #3: This book just keeps getting more awesome. Sean Murphy’s art is easily the best thing about this title, but that’s not to say Grant Morrison’s script isn’t cool as hell. The parallels between Joe’s hallucinations and the real world are well-done and add some great depth to the story, and things are starting to blur together in a pretty exciting way. Plus, we get a new addition to the group, the rather large son of a pirate guy who brings some fun to the proceedings. This is one of the funnier books I’ve ever read by Morrison, and I’m enjoying it immensely.

Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #1: So we get a nice little send-off for Hercules here, with folks getting together and telling stories about their experiences with the Prince of Power. Thor’s tale is pretty great, a couple of solid little jokes about Herc’s sexual exploits, and an interesting set up at the end of the issue. I do have a couple of problems with the book: first, the art is just bland and boring. Things look washed out, and the women all have the same exact face. The Agents of Atlas backup works pretty well, featuring Venus going around and closing out Hercules’s accounts in what ends up being quite funny and warm. The book’s worth picking up, if for no other reason than to set up the new Prince of Power book that’s starting up in a couple of months.

As for trades, I picked up the new Hellboy trade, which admittedly came out last week, but which I could only find this week. Huzzah for Hellboy!

The Pull List – March 10th

| xeyeti

I don’t let a little thing like having some bad RAM in my laptop stop me from bringing you a rundown of the comics I bought this week! I’m just that dedicated, really.

Batman and Robin #10: New story arc, new artist (Andy Clarke). And damn if this issue doesn’t kick some ass. There’s some great interaction between the two title characters (and a hint that there’s more to Damian than petulance), and a lot of fun clue finding in the Wayne family mansion. This comic is consistently fun and awesome (we’ll even give a pass to the arc with Phillip Tan on art chores), and the setup here for the Return of Bruce Wayne miniseries is handled pretty well. I’m definitely looking forward to next issue.

Batman: Widening Gyre #5: I’m still not sure what to think of this miniseries. It seems like it’s trying to do too many things at once: Bruce Wayne’s efforts to let go a bit, and the introduction of a new player in Gotham named Baphomet. It’s interesting, but the intrigue of who Baphomet really is and why he’s doing what he does and the love story with Silver St. Cloud just…it all seems like it should be in two separate books, not smooshed into one.

Doom Patrol #8: This feels more like what I was expecting out of this series from the beginning. It’s quirky, fun, and manages to maintain a frantic, excited pace throughout. Not to mention Keith Giffen’s use of lots of weird ideas from other incarnations of the Doom Patrol. It’s fun, which is something I always appreciate in a comic. More, please!

Secret Six #19: Another new arc in Secret Six, too. The issue plays a little too formulaic, but the characterization is as solid as we’ve grown to expect from the book, and the ending is pretty awesome (plus, there’s an old man in a tuxedo coat, shirt and tie, and khaki shorts, which is fantastic). This issue promises some crazy antics in the next couple of issues, so I’m still excited to see what happens next.

In terms of trades, I got the Batman: Heart of Hush trade, which was pretty good. Paul Dini’s run on Batman was pretty solid, and this was probably the best use of Hush I’ve ever seen (granted, it’s still Hush, so that’s damning with faint praise, really). Worth checking out if you’re a fan of Dini’s work or Batman in general. I also wanted to pick up the latest volume of Hellboy, but my LCS didn’t have it in stock, unfortunately.

The Pull List – March 3rd

| xeyeti

Comics strike back! And this time, there’s some fantastic stuff in the pile…

Detective Comics #862: Part 2 of “Cutter” continues the breakneck pace of the first issue in the arc, flipping back and forth between two cases (one from Batman’s past and one which Batwoman is currently working) that are running remarkably parallel. There are some great character moments here for Batwoman, and some interesting interactions between her (in her civilian Kate Kane persona) and her cousin, Bette Kane (and an unusual little snippet of a scene featuring Bette looking at a rather odd costume), and the parallels between Batman’s work on the earlier Cutter case (I’m guessing the implication here was that he was unsuccessful in really stopping this guy back then) and Batwoman’s approach now are deft and clever. Parallel imagery and situations are handled well by artist Jock, and Rucka’s dialogue and scripting are smart, well-paced, and fit well. The Question backup feature continues to engage as well, and Cully Hamner’s art is just great.

Invincible Iron Man #24: The finale of the Stark: Disassembled storyline delivers a solid story after a rather tepid issue last month. Stark’s friends acquit themselves well in a fight against Ghost, though ultimately it’s up to Tony to save the day (and he does so in a very Tony Stark sort of way). Dialogue and action are well-done here, and the scenes in Stark’s mind are much better than they were last month. Still not quite sure what was happening there, but sitting down with the whole story and reading it in one shot should help clear that up. The most interesting aspect is the last scene, which sets up a new status quo for the revived Tony in a way that not only makes sense, it kinda helps clear the deck of the past few years’ worth of craziness that’s built up. I’m interested to see where this is going next, and that’s always a good thing.

This was a good week for trades. I picked up volume four of Justice League International (the last one they’re releasing, as far as I can see, which makes me quite sad), and though it doesn’t feature nearly as much Kevin Maguire art as I’d like, it’s still a great collection. If you haven’t read this stuff, I highly recommend it: superhero melodramatics and laugh-out-loud funny bits mixed together liberally and with some (usually) great art (there were a few issues in volume 3 that looked like they were just using someone’s rough sketches for the final art, and it’s pretty painful after getting used to the stellar work of Maguire and the book’s other semi-regular penciller, Ty Templeton). Definitely worth the investment.

The other trade I picked up was the Iron Man story Demon in a Bottle, one of the most well-known Iron Man stories out there. I haven’t had a chance to crack this one open yet, but I’m looking forward to it.

The Pull List for February 24th

| xeyeti

It’s that time again: comics!

Wonder Woman #41: Mostly just an excuse for Wonder Woman and Power Girl to have a little throwdown, but it works pretty well. In typical superhero fashion, this leads to an inevitable team-up. Simone’s dialogue sparkles as usual, and the characterization between the two is swell. The way Wonder Woman defeats the Crows (those obnoxious, mind-manipulating little bastards who are causing all the trouble) is fairly novel, too, the gag about Wonder Woman needing Power Girl to tie her up is amusing, and seeing Power Girl use something other than her fists and her cleavage to accomplish something is nice, too. Could have probably done without the hot dog bit, though.

Batman and Robin #9: This issue wraps up Cameron Stewart’s three-issue run on the title, and damn it was a fun ride. Morrison throws several crazy ideas at us, from Batwoman letting herself die and trusting Batman to bring her back, to using Knight and Squire effectively (seriously, how come we only see these guys in Morrison-penned comics?), to the battle between the fake Batman and Robin & Alfred; everything just really worked. We even get a bit of justification for Dick Grayson’s apparent inconsistency with regards to using the Lazarus Pit to revive Bruce Wayne, even if it doesn’t quite fully explain things. Overall, a solid issue.

Deadpool #20: A definite improvement over the previous issue, though it still felt pretty weak (especially compared to the whacked-out zaniness of the previous storyline). Some of the bits between Deadpool and Spider-Man were pretty good (and the dress was a fantastically left field thing to throw in), but the continued use of Hit-Monkey kind of drags the proceedings down quite a bit. We’ll see if this story justifies its existence next issue.

As far as trades go, I picked up the Immortal Weapons TPB, a collection of one-shots featuring the immortal weapons of the 7 Cities of Heaven from Immortal Iron Fist. Haven’t gotten very far into it yet, but the Fat Cobra story was pretty decent, and I heard good things about most (if not all) of the stories in this collection, so huzzah.