Quick Alan Moore GN Reviews

A Small Killing
by Alan Moore & Oscar Zarate
Adman Timothy Hole has just landed a major Russian account. On his way to Russia he stops off in his home country, England, and the past comes back to haunt him; not just in the remembering of his mistakes and failures, but also in the preseance of the vision of a demonic child that only Tim can see, and who seems to be trying to kill him. In the end it's not much of a mystery, but it is cleverly constructed and does manage to evoke a solid emotional response. As Tim devolves into paranoia, we are brought right along with him through the pacing and the art.
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)



Top Ten: The Forty-Niners
by Alan Moore & Gene Ha
Journey with us now back to 1949, when Neopolis was still young and being populated by science heroes, now that the world had no real use for them after the war. Moore tells several interweaving narratives about the early days of the city, from the struggles of a young police department against organized vampire crime to the struggles of the new immigrants trying to adjust to life after war. The art by Ha and colorist Art Lyon is wonderful, fully evoking the feel of the past butting up against a gleeming future. Each page is packed not only with mood but also with small details that really make this book come alive. It's a story both epic in scope and human in its details, and along with the art is well worth the deluxe hardcover treatment.
Rating: 4 (of 5)

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

Today's cover is Forbidden Worlds #132, from November 1965. The cover by Kurt Schaffenberger (as Pete Costanza) features Magicman going into battle against The Ancient Ape, who apparently has a penchant for armored car robberies.

(standard disclaimer about apes not really being monkeys applies)

Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

Yet Another Music Blog

Announcing a new addition to the Yet Another Blog Family: Yet Another Music Blog.

Just as YACB focuses on comics, YAMB will focus on music. My tastes in music are nearly as eclectic as my tastes in comics, so it should make for interesting blogging. There's not much there yet--just a welcome announcement--but look for content to grow in the days ahead.

There's also a new companion online radio station: Yet Another Music Radio.

Don't worry, I'll continue to blog about comics right here on YACB--Monkey Covers and all!

The new blog is just the start of the celebration of our one year Blogiversary. Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks for more exciting happenings, including our big giveaway event that will be announced next weekend and run through the week of August 15th. Stay tuned!

Quick GN Reviews

Sleeper, book 3: A Crooked Line
by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips

Reprinting the first half of the second 'season,' this collection finds the title character Holden Carver caught between the machinations of his boss, the international criminal TAO, and his former boss, the newly revived John Lynch. Realizing that he's but a pawn in whatever twisted machinations these two are pulling, Holden is looking to make sense of his place in this grey world, and somehow to find his way out. Brubaker has specialized of late in writing about the gritty side of super-powered worlds, and Sleeper ranks up there with Gotham Central in playing to his strengths as a writer. Phillips is the perfect artist for this type of book. His inky, hard-edged realism fits the main thrust of the story to a tee, but when a banana-headed alien needs to make an appearance, he can handle that just as well. Book four is due out in September, and I'm looking forward to reading the endgame of this highly entertaining series.
Rating: 4 (of 5)



Batman: Death and the Maidens
by Greg Rucka & Klaus Janson

Let's talk about the art first, because according to the front- and endnotes that's where the genesis of this comic lies: in the desire of Klaus Janson to do a Batman story. Janson is best known as an inker, particularly for his work over Frank Miller on Daredevil and The Dark Knight Returns. But he's also an accomplished penciller, as his work here illustrates. The layouts are exciting and dynamic, without being overly flashy. This is a good looking Batman comic--helped by the effective colors of Steve Buccellato--and that alone would probably be enough to recommend it. But in addition, Janson's writer of choice, Greg Rucka, turns in a fine story as well. The notes also make clear that the genesis of the story wasn't easy--this book went through several format changes, from a hardcover OGN to a four-issue prestige series to its final configuration as a nine-part mini-series--but the end result is a well-told self-contained Batman story that also manages to fit into the larger Batman myth. Rucka takes the opportunity to push forward the long-stagnating saga of Ra's al Ghul, introducing a previously unknown immortal daughter of Ra's and putting Batman in the crossfire of their ongoing conflict. Rucka also allows batman to explore his own psychology, examining why exactly after all these years Bruce Wayne sees it as his mission to be a vigilante instead of having undertaken a more productive role in mainstream society. For fans of Ra's al Ghul this is a must-read addition to the saga; for everyone else it will serve as a good looking, well-written chunk of Batman comics.
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

Like Printing Money

Via BookSlut's SDCC coverage, Raina Telgemeier is doing graphic novel adaptations of The Baby-sitters Club for Scholastic. This seems like the perfect storm for audience and content. It will also probably not sell in most comic shops, although I'm sure it'll make a killing in bookstores, and sell well to libraries too. And don't Scholastic do one of those buy-books-through-the-school things? I'd think that a smart comic store would have a couple of these on hand, prominently displayed near the front of the store, for browsing by little sis when she gets dragged along with big brother.

New This Week: August 3, 2005

Based on the NCRL list for this week's comics shipping from Diamond, here are a few things to look for at the local comic shop tomorrow:


The Pick of the Week is Top Ten: The Forty-Niners from DC/WildStorm/ABC. Yes, it's an expensive hardcover OGN, but it's Alan Moore telling the history of the Top Ten universe, and with art by Gene Ha you just know that's it's going to look fabulous in this upscale production.


In other comics:

Abstract have the seventy-fifth issue of Strangers in Paradise.

Active Images have the new Hip Flask: Mystery City one-shot.

Alias debut the second volume of the fun Opposite Forces, at just 75 cents.

Dark Horse have the second issue of Serenity (I'll be getting the Jo Chen cover.)

DC bring on the Alan Moore love, as in addition to the Top Ten OGN they also have a collection of The Ballad of Halo Jones, with art by Ian Gibson. Other trades include a collection of The Sandman Presents: Thessaly, Witch for Hire and DC's Greatest Imaginary Stories. New comics include the debut of Alex Ross's Super Friends-inspired Justice, as well as new issues of The Return of Donna Troy (#3), Gotham Central (#34), The Intimates (#10), JSA (#76), Swamp Thing (#18), and Y, the Last Man (#36).

Digital Manga have the debuts of Antique Bakery for the yaoi fans, and Bambi & Her Pink Gun for the cute-punk/goth-chicks-with-firearms fans.

IDW have the third Legend of Grimjack collection.

Kenzer & Co. have the latest issue of Knights of the Dinner Table (#105).

Marvel have the debut of the Gaiman-less Marvel 1602: New World, plus a new issue of Ultimate Spider-Man (#81).


And that's it. Not a great number of items, but there's several expensive trades and GNs, so you should have no trouble spending your money this week!

New Library Comics: Week of July 25, 2005

Here are the comics we got in for our library collection last week:


Kobayashi, Makoto, 1958- What's Michael? /Milwaukie, Ore. : Dark Horse Comics, 1997-1998. v. 6-9

Millionaire, Tony. Sock Monkey /Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Comics, c1998- v. 3/4

Miyazaki, Hayao, 1941- Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind /San Francisco, CA : VIZ, LLC, c2004- v. 7