Comics and stuff

Well, it’s been a while since I did a graphics novel review, and the work has been piling up on me. (Yeah, ‘cause blogging the dull drivel I call a review is SO important.) Happily, I’ve managed to keep up my resolution with myself and purchase one or two novels every week, including some new stuff. Therefore, I will dispense with this rather unnecessary and time-consuming introduction and get with the shit.

The most recent novel I bought was a collection of the new Black Panther series from Marvel: issues #1-6 entitled “Who is the Black Panther?” Honestly, I picked it up on the priority that it was penciled by John Romita Jr. I know, it’s kind of shallow and fanboyish of me, but after reading a good number of comics, I’ve come to miss the reliable solidity of his art in Spider-Man. It’s always pretty good. Never awesome, but never bad. I’ve always been impressed with his action sequences and simple storytelling, too. I consider him the essence of Marvel pencils, really, and his art reminds me most of Jack Kirby’s superhero drawings, which should impress.
ANYWAY, this is my first encounter with the Black Panther, though I’ve always been intrigued by the little I’ve heard of him. I never imagined he’d be the ruler of his own country, though. It’s actually pretty lame. The fact that he has to protect an entire nation against invading forces not only makes the story a political yawnfest, but draws the attention off of the hand-to-hand combat you’d expect of any other superhero (not to mention that national leaders look pretty silly in kitty masks). Instead, the latter part of the story focuses on an all-out attack on various fronts of Wakanda, the Panther’s country. Basically, it’s an fully blown war between Wakanda and the offensive force told in three issues, and the story gets a little scattered at this point and seems rushed as the writer tries to in cram too many elements. Some elements seem unnecessary too, like the American zombie-cyborg army. Cool, yes, but they didn’t really do anything. All that high-tech patriotic undeadness for nothing.
But I only complain about the last three chapters of this novel. The first three are great, as they deal with the legend and history of the Black Panther and Wakanda. There’s a certain mythical property to the stories that makes them exciting and the idea of a African nation that has been an eternal middle finger to Christian and Islamic invaders while their African neighbors were overrun is just brilliant. It was way past cool to see Captain America beaten by the Black Panther, too. Damn, that will never grow old.

Death Note vol.5 has finally been released, much to my glee. In the previous volumes, Light Yagami came into the possession of a notebook that killed whoever’s name was written into it. Light used the “death note” to kill off criminals, while being followed around by the creepy shinigami death god, Ryuk. Eventually, all the criminals dropping dead around the world caught the attention of the police, who hired the world’s greatest detective, known as L, to stop the mystery killer who’d become known as Kira.
Previously, we’d watched as Light tried to avoid revealing himself as Kira while L came closer and closer to tracking him down. Volume 5 is intriguingly different, however, as Light has lost all his memories of the death note and with them his desensitization of death. He is now the honest, hard-working young man he once was and is actually helping L track a NEW death note user. This sudden change of pace was just the thing to keep me reading. No longer is Light the cold-blooded killer we’ve seen him as, and he and L are practically bosom buddies. The story delves into the rather untouched personalities of the other members of the police task force, most notably Light’s father and the young Matsuda. The situation with the new Kira is also new and intriguing. I’ve been very impressed with the way Tsugumi Ohba (the writer) has been able to come up with new and interesting material to keep this manga in business. Just as the story is beginning to get a little repetitive ... PLOT TWIST! Of course, it helps that he can make up rules for the death note as is convenient, but still...
EDIT: According to Wikipedia, two live-action Death Note movies are to be released this year! Excellent! I hope they make their way to the States. I can't wait to see what Ryuk looks like.

Honestly, I'm not quite sure what to make of Invincible vol.1. I'm not sure if it's an inspiring new take on the superhero genre or a tired rehash of Ultimate Spider-Man. One thing's for sure -- it was inevitable. Sooner or later, there had to be a an offbeat comic about a kid with a Superman wannabe dad who's developing his father's superpowers and fighting crime while trying to balance school, work, friends, and family. Unfortunately, Invincible doesn't seem to pull it off too well. I think the problem is that Mark and his family are too white. That is, they live in suburbia, Mark is a cool kid at school (but not too cool ... just a normal guy), his dad is the breadwinner, his mom is the reliable housewife ... they're just your average utopian America family, like the one in any given commercial. All that's missing is the adorably mischievous puppy. There just isn't really any antagonist element. Oh sure, there're the various bad guys, but they seem more like filler than actual characters with influences on the story. What's really important is the lack of motivation that Mark seems to have. He's a white suburbanite; he lives comfortably; he's just an average kid. He just happens to have superpowers. He's not fighting evil to avenge his parents’ deaths, or, potentially, to live up to his father's reputation. He fights crime because he's a superhero. THERE'S NO MOTIVATION.
The blandness of the story is reflected in the art. Cory Walker's pencils/inks and page layout is very, very simple. His job is to tell the story. It doesn't have to look cool, it just has to go from point A to B without looking like crap -- which I'd be fine with if this wasn't an action-heavy comic. The problem is the same with the facial expressions: there just isn't any intensity. Everyone just looks kinda happy, or kinda surprised. Hell, the most visually exciting character in the volume was Robot (who happens to have the best name ever) and his face is expressionless!
Still, Invincible isn't a bad read; it just seems uninspired. I'm willing to give it a chance, so I'll pick up a few more volumes before I make final judgment.

Midori Days vol.3, 4, and 5 were pretty much more of the same. The action and comedy are as entertaining as ever, but each episode is pretty much recycled material – Ayase and Shiori are still trying to get Seiji to hump them, Kota is still discovering his irrepressible lust for man-beef, and Takamizawa still gets a boner from plastic girls the size of said boner (oh god, the explicit sexuality!!!). A couple of new characters are introduced every once in while, but no one really significant, and there’s at least one episode each volume to move the plot along – remember how Seiji’s arm has boobies and everything?
But just because each story has the exact same plotline as at least three others before it doesn’t mean that the stories don’t continue to be funny. My favorite recycled plot is the one where Ayase tries to seduce Seiji, only to embarrass herself (usually by accidentally tearing open her shirt and waving her boobies in his face) and go totally unnoticed by her potentially suitor (because Seiji, like all men in manga, is totally oblivious when a fucking hawt chick tries to get all up on in his boxers). That plot never fails to make me laugh (plus I get to see a fucking hawt chick wave her boobies around).
Just one more interesting thing. Check out the book she's reading. Recognize the image on the cover? I guess Inoue (the writer) is a fan of A Clockwork Orange. Personally, I’ve never liked the movie, much like the Tarantino films, but I LOVE indiscreet references to obscure or cultist symbols, so I just HAD to point it out. HAD to.
I would have DIED otherwise.
DIED until I was DEAD.

I actually enjoyed Monster vol.2 more than volume 1. We're finally at the meat of the story, after that prologue stuff ten years ago in vol.1. Kenzo Tenma begins his search for Johann, who he believes is behind the series of murders that have occurred lately. Meanwhile, we're introduced to a new main character, Nina Fortner, who seems like an average girl, but harbors a dark and murderous secret. There are a number of interesting and fully developed characters in this volume, and some themes begin to make themselves apparent. For example, there is the classic battle of good and evil; wherever Johann goes, he brings fear and death, while Tenma brings hope and life to the people he meets. Especially touching was the last episode of the volume, but I'm not gonna ruin it. Just go out and buy this manga. Trust me. Just buy it. RIGHT NOW, fucker.

The Walking Dead vol.4 is more of the same. More people go nuts. More people try to commit suicide. More people kill more people. More people are eaten by zombies. It’s all good.
The only really notable thing is that Rick is finally slipping. It seems the pressure of being the leader of a steadily shrinking band of survivors in an apocalyptic world ruled by hordes of decaying flesh where some people will do anything to survive and you can’t even trust the people you love or even yourself has finally gotten to him. There’s even a scene where he and Tyreese duke it out. It was inevitable, I suppose.