Quick OEL Manga Reviews

War on Flesh, vol. 1
by Justin Boring, Greg Hildebrandy, & Tim Smith 3

The opening chapter of this GN--in which martial-arts monks take on a bunch of zombies--sounds like great high concept fun, but instead comes off as a pointless, confusing mess. Fortunately it gets a bit better in the later (mostly unrelated) chapters, as a desperate father make a deal with Evil Forces to bring his son back from the dead. The son, it turns out, is destined to become a key player in the enigmatic War on Flesh. It turns out to be a more-or-less competant story of voodoo zombies, and if that's your thing you may find War on Flesh enjoyable. But with other, better zombie comics out there, you can probably get your zombie fix elsewhere.

Rating: 2 (of 5)


I Luv Halloween, vol. 1
by Keith Giffen & Benjamin Roman

I Luv Halloween has a warped, twisted and dark sense of humor, centering around kids going trick-or-treating on Halloween and doing some Very Bad Things. There's Moochie, the young girl who dresses up as the Tooth Fairy, who finds a discarded brassiere and uses it as a slingshot and a garrote to kill two neighborhood bullies. She and her brother Finch live seemingly unsupervised in an abandoned house, with only the decaying corpses of the former occupants to keep them company. There's also Devil Boy, the kid who only shows up every Halloween to go trick-or-treating. And a zombie dog. Events spiral out of control into an evening of violence and blood and death. It's all rather well done, with appropriately twisted art from Roman and Giffen in his Lobo-esque ultrviolent humor mode, applied to kids who aren't quite old enough to understand the lack of morality of their actions. This book will definitely appeal to a certain type of reader, and if any of the events I described here sound interesting, then that type of reader is probably you. Conversely, if you're not that type of reader, you'll probably be best off staying far away.

Rating: 3 (of 5)

SNAP! is Saturday

A reminder that we in Southeast Michigan get our very own mini/indy/small press comic show this Saturday: SNAP! The Comic Arts Festival.

YAFL: Week 7 Results

Here are the results from week 7 of Yet Another Fantasy League:


The Maxx Squad 69
Kickers Inc. 75

Tomorrow Syndicate 48
The Inferior Five 60

Power Pack 63
www.rickgebhardt.net 37

B.P.R.D. 69
Moon Knights 68

Nine Pound Hammers 40
Secret Six 65

Inferior 5 plus 6 48
Danger Limited 62


Current Standings:

   Team                 W-L-T  Pct   Pts  Streak
   -------------------  -----  ----  ---  ------
1. Inferior 5 plus 6    6-1-0  .857  491  L-1
2. Power Pack           6-1-0  .857  447  W-5
3. B.P.R.D.             5-2-0  .714  475  W-3
4. Kickers Inc.         5-2-0  .714  418  W-2
5. Secret Six           4-3-0  .571  490  W-2
6. Nine Pound Hammers   4-3-0  .571  383  L-1
7. Tomorrow Syndicate   3-4-0  .429  450  L-2
8. The Maxx Squad       2-5-0  .286  407  L-2
9. Moon Knights         2-5-0  .286  362  L-3
10.The Inferior Five    2-5-0  .286  353  W-1
11.www.rickgebhardt.net 2-5-0  .286  317  L-2
12.Danger Limited       1-6-0  .143  384  W-1

Week 8 Games:

Secret Six (4-3-0)
vs.
Kickers Inc. (5-2-0)

The Maxx Squad (2-5-0)
vs.
The Inferior Five (2-5-0)

Tomorrow Syndicate (3-4-0)
vs.
www.rickgebhardt.net (2-5-0)

Power Pack (6-1-0)
vs.
Moon Knights (2-5-0)

Inferior 5 plus 6 (6-1-0)
vs.
B.P.R.D. (5-2-0)

Nine Pound Hammers (4-3-0)
vs.
Danger Limited (1-6-0)


Good luck to all!


In my other Fantasy Leagues, I was thrashed 121-65 in my friends & family league (2-4-1, eighth place); won a 69-68 squeaker in my public league (3-4-0, still eighth place); and scored a disappointing 260.95 points in my Pass & Kick league, which dropped me down to fouth place.

New This Week: October 26, 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 later today:


The pick of the week is the first collection of Illusive Arts' Dorothy, a fascinating photo-art retelling of the Oz story in a modern (and not-for-kids) vein. Yes, it's vastly decompressed, but it sure looks pretty while getting along the Yellow Brick Road.


In other comics:

About Comics have their 24 Hour Comics Day Highlights 2005 collection.

Abstract Studios have another issue of Strangers in Paradise (#77).

Amaze Ink debut their Disney license Haunted Mansion just in time for Halloween; and also the first issue of Andi Watson's Paris.

Antarctic Press have a new issue of Gold Digger (#68).

Dark Horse have the second Conan collection in paperback, and new issues of BPRD: The Black Flame (#3) and Usagi Yojimbo (#88).

DC weigh in with the debut of the Azzarello & Frusin's western Loveless; and new issues of JLA Classified (#13), JSA Classified (#4), Jack Cross (#3), Legion of Super-Heroes (#11), The Losers (#29), and Solo (#7--Mike Allred!).

Fantagraphics have Richard Sala's Mad Night Featuring Judy Drood Girl Detective, more spooky fun for your Halloween weekend.

iBooks have the long-delayed second Mister X collection.

IDW have the final issue of Angel: The Curse (#5).

Image have new issues of Age of Bronze (#21), Ferro City (#3), Noble Causes (#14), and Stardust Kid (#3).

Kenzer & Co. have a new issue of Knights of the Dinner Table (#108).

Mavel debut JMS & Colleen Doran's Book of Lost Souls, and heft up new issues of Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her (#2), Captain America (#11), Daredevil (#78), Defenders (#4), Drax the Destroyer (#2), Kabuki (#5), and New Thunderbolts (#14).

Oni have the penultimate issue of Andi Watson's Little Star (#5).

Radio Comix have a collection fo the furry comic Ebin & May.

Speakeasy have the second issue of Hero at Large (#2).

TokyoPop have the second volume of Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad, and the debuts of the OEL titles A Midnight Opera and Mark of the Succubus.


And finally, stuck way down in the Books sections is The Life of Groo as 'available again'--if this shows up at your LCS, grab it, because there are few things better than the Sergio Aragonés funny.

Review: John Constantine Hellblazer: All His Engines

John Constantine Hellblazer: All His Engines
by Mike Carey & Leonardo Manco
DC/Vertigo, $24.95


In the quintessential Hellblazer story, John Constatine encounters, stumbles across, or is brought into a situation of evil nefariousness. Constatine starts to tackle the problem with much of a plan, developing his strategy has he goes, which ultimately backfires. He then regroups, and through a combination of luck, skill and deviousness, triumphs, although often a hefty price must be paid by someone close to him.

All His Engines is pretty much a quintessential Hellblazer story: When his long-suffering friend Chas's granddaughter goes mysteriously ill, the family reluctantly brings John in to help. Of course there's some otherworldly cause, one that leads he and Chas to Los Angeles, where a hellspawn has brought a bit of Hell to Earth, and is looking to franchise. The demon blackmails John into helping his get rid of his rivals, and John complies, all the while looking for the angle that will successfully get Chas's granddaughter back.

Carey and Manco, currently the creative team on the regular Hellblazer comic, bring their A-Game to the table here. Carey crafts the story tightly, and keeps the familiar characters true to their past depictions while telling a big story with personal stakes. I've always appreciated Manco's art for its grittiness, but here he seems to add a touch of well-needed control and discipline, while at the same time pulling out some interesting visuals. This is a good, solid Hellblazer story, and if you like the character you'll probably like this.

The questions remains however as to why this perfectly good Hellblazer story needed the deluxe hardcover OGN treatment. Surely this story would have fit just fine within the normal comic? Undoubtedly it was created to tie into the perceived excitement around the Constantine movie, both to cash in to the potential windfall and to reward the creators. Is it a life-changing event in John Constatine's life that no true fan will want to go without reading? No; it's just solid entertainment. You'll have to decide if that's worth the deluxe treatment to you.

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

New Library Comics: Week of October 17, 2005

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



Bertozzi, Nick. The masochists /Gainesville, FL : Alternative Comics, 2001.

Brown, Jeffrey (Jeffrey David), 1975- Be a man : the 'Clumsy' you wanted to see! : a novella /Deerfield, Ill. : Jeffrey Brown, [2002]

Brown, Jeffrey (Jeffrey David), 1975- Jeffrey Brown loves you but he is not 'in' love with you /[S.l.] : Jeffrey Brown, 2002.

Brown, Jeffrey (Jeffrey David), 1975- Maybe we could just lie here naked holding each other for a while but not have sex /[Deerfield, Ill.] : Jeffrey Brown, 2003.

Gilbert, Eve. Tits, ass & real estate : an autobiographical road trip through the other America /Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books, 2003.

Greenberger, David. Bern and Edwina /Marietta, GA : Top Shelf Productions, 2001.

Hurd, Damon. The white elephant /Gainesville, FL : Alternative Comics, c2004.

Insidious tales #2 /Valley Stream, N. Y. : CFD Productions, 1995.

Kochalka, James. Fantastic butterflies /Brooklyn, NY : Highwater Books ; Gainsville, FL : Alternative Comics, c2002.

Koshi, Rikdo. Excel saga. 04 /San Francisco, CA : Viz, c2003.

Marcel, Swen. David : der Sexpertenbericht /Koln : Mattei Medien, 2003.

McKenney, Craig. The Brontes : infernal Angria Volume I : the great escape / Seattle : Headless Shakespeare Press, c1997.

Stromberg, Fredrik, 1968- Black images in the comics : a visual history /[Seattle, Wash.] : Fantagraphics, c2003.

Ueda, Hajime. FLCL /Los Angeles, Calif. : Tokyopop, c2003- v. 1

Willmarth, Susan. Prisoners of a hard life : women & their children /Northampton, MA : The Real Cost of Prisons Project, c2005.

Monkey Covers

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

"Welcome to buried Las Vegas! Once a playground for men—Now a sinister hunting ground for GORILLAS!"

God bless Jack Kirby, for giving us the cover of Kamandi #3 in 1978.

(standard disclaimer about gorillas not really being monkeys applies)

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