We generally don’t review anything but graphic novels on the ‘Panel, however every once in a while a book comes along that I actually pick up and I generally can’t let it go, The Dark Tower that was released by Marvel a couple of weeks ago is one of those books. There are at least three really good reasons that I can think of as to why I should have avoided this book. I’ll start off by saying that I’ve never read a Stephen King book. In fact the closest I’ve ever come to the man’s work is watching ‘The Green Mile’, which in my book seriously doesn’t count unless the movie was as close to the book in the same way that ‘Sin City’ was, otherwise they’re two completely different things. Therefore I have no affinity to these characters as I would have, if say ‘His Dark Materials’ gets made into a comic book.

The other point is the underhanded way in which Marvel decided to promote this book. To all those thinking that Stephen King actually wrote this, think again. We’ve been buffered by not just Peter David doing the writing but another guy above him as well, before we get to the man himself at the top. King I guess acts as more of an advisor over a lunch as they hash things out. Don’t spend too much time on this, you’ve got more important things to do.

In addition to that I’m not a Peter David fan. Never have been and somehow I never think I will be. Not to get personal or anything but he’s one of the very few creators that I’ve allowed his personal politics take judgement for me over his work, which is why I tend to avoid it completely. Plenty of fish in the sea, plenty of other books to read and all that. He can continue to do his thing and I’ll do my thing.

So you’re probably wondering why I even bothered looking at this book. The honest truth is because after all the crap that Marvel pulled above, they did one thing incredibly well and that was choosing one of my favourite artists, pairing him with one of my favourite colourists, and fortunately, together they’ve made magic on a page.

I don’t tend to wax on about the artwork very often as those days where it was artwork first have faded away (and that’s kind of a good thing mind you) however Jae Lee and Richard Isanove have created one of the prettiest books on the market. I’ve been a fan of Jae Lee, since his Image days when I went out about bought Hellshock (the first series). It had this rawness that I kinda liked. I remember thinking to myself that he’d never really hit the mainstream as his work is far too much in the acquired taste category. I think Jae must have thought the same thing because after his second Hellshock series he came back with the completely sublime Inhumans with Paul Jenkins. His artwork had changed. It became more refined. There was a softer side to his lines and he seemed a lot more confident in his work (at least that how I saw it). The Dark Tower is a LEAP forward for Jae. Every one of his lines is there for a reason.

So what do you do to a guy that is currently firing on all cylinders? Easy, you team him up with one of the best colourist/painters in the industry. I’ve been watching Richard Isanove since his Top Cow days. Back when Top Cow was actually a big player in the industry, they had a crop of up and coming colouring talent that no one else in the industry could even come close to (except maybe Wildstorm). With names like JD Smith, Steve Firchow, Peter Steigerwald and of course Richard Isanove, they paved the way for some of the best looking books on the market. They stood out a mile. Thing is Top Cow recognised how great these guys where that they brought out a card set based on their painted work. Richard’s moved up in the world greatly. I put him up there with Laura Depuy (yeah I know she’s married now and changed her name but she’ll always be Depuy for me), Brian Haberlin amongst many others. He’s colouring directly off of Jae’s pencils and he’s using all manner of tricks to achieve these amazing colour tones and combinations.

So enough about the artwork which honestly is worth the price of admission alone, what’s up with the actual story and characters? Well the good news is that it’s actually not a bad story. Seriously. I put down the book and thought to myself that I have to go out and buy the Stephen King books. I mean if the comic adaptation is this interesting, imagine what the actual book it’s based on is like. I’ve got to say I’ve never heard of the Dark Towers series of books. Seems King has been writing these things since the early 80s, so we’re getting close to 30 years in the making.

For me the most interesting thing about the whole story is how King has combined the wild west with a completely different world with their own codes, languages and culture. The set up is simple Roland Deschain (love that surname) is traveling across the desert for the man in black, in search it would seem of the Dark Tower. Straight away we flip back to the past and we’re shown the route to how Deschain became a Gunslinger and received his first guns. Peter David’s dialogue gets a little getting used but I’m pretty sure that’s part of the whole Dark Tower mythos here so it’s just a question of how authentic it actually all is, I’ll only be able to comment once I’ve read the books, which will keep me going until the hardcover in like 6 or 7 months time. I will say however that the pace is good although there are elements of the story that I’m unsure about but I’m attributing this to the fact that it’s still only a first issue. They’re not so much plot holes but rather incomplete information. What is going on with Roland’s mother? What are the Gunslingers in general doing? What makes Roland Deschain an important Gunslinger to follow? Why isn’t his father there to protect his mother? And the list goes on. The problem is of course that maybe some of these questions have been answered (I found out the answer of the third question by reading the back of the first novel, he’s apparently the last one), however these questions and many more were not really answered in the comic book. Even the fact that he’s trying to find the Dark Tower by hunting the man in black isn’t all that clear (once again after I read the back of the first novel). This actually makes me wonder if the book is aimed at the complete newbie Dark Tower reader or someone that’ll get intrigued and go out and buy the novels and then gain that extra understanding of the book itself?

As a package this comic book is very well put together. We get a nice hardstock cover, some nice paper, a backup prose story (and a map). In addition next month’s cover is shown and a few sample pages as well. I’ve got to say I LOVE it when they show next month’s cover. It’s a small thing that just gets you excited about the next installment, especially when Jae+Richard have outdone themselves yet again.

Who are these people, Duke?

They’re Cobra’s prisoners, Optimus, their salves. We believe they’ve done this to millions more in Europe. We hope they have…

You hope this has happened? To millions of your people? But…

Optimus, if they aren’t slaves, they’re dead.

Autobots, ROLL OUT!

Transformers / G.I. Joe is not just another Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover, but rather a dark and war-torn recreation of the Transformers and G.I. Joe universes in tandem by writer John Ney Rieber and artist Jae Lee. In the twentieth century’s darkest year, a world at war will find itself caught in the middle of a titanic alien conflict that has lain dormant for the last four million years.

The year is 1939, and the world has fallen before the might of the Cobra Empire. Desperate to drive back the tyrants, the United States Government plays their last hand and forms the world’s first elite strike force, G.I. Joe. But Cobra Commander has made his own desperate play for the few remaining free territories. He has made a deal with the Devil, a devil forged of metal and disdain, a devil known throughout the universe as Megatron.

The future of the free world begins to look hopeless, until a chance encounter leads the Joes to wake the dormant Autobots and their noble leader, Optimus Prime.

The battle for the free world has begun. Brother will face brother, man will fight machine, and old foes will dual to the death as four of the universe’s most powerful forces collide on a tattered battlefield. One will be victorious, one will see their dreams die before their eyes, and one will pay the ultimate sacrifice.

Unlike previous Transformers and G.I. Joe crossovers, Transformers / G.I. Joe does not take place during each series’ canonical time period. Instead, Transformers / G.I. Joe takes place during the year 1939 on an Earth that has been ravaged by World War II, where the Cobra Empire, instead of Nazi Germany, is poised to conquer the world, and ties the activation of the Transformers on Earth with Cobra’s rise to power and the formation of G.I. Joe.

John Ney Rieber’s story is dark, grim, and emotional, with an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness for our heroes, a feeling unlike any previous G.I. Joe or Transformers tale.

Jae Lee’s artwork is astounding and captures the atmosphere of Rieber’s story with a melancholy war-time environment that is all too fitting.

Transformers / G.I. Joe is a fresh look at both franchises and a must-have for any fan of Transformers or G.I. Joe. A second volume was produced, but cancelled after issue #1 when the publisher’s financial troubles led it to declare bankruptcy in 2005. Fortunately, Rieber’s brilliantly crafted masterpiece is best as a stand-alone novel.

What happens when you mix in Andy Diggle (of The Losers Fame) with Leinil Francis Yu, the Japanese Yakuza, samurai, political backstabbing, broken alliances, all set in the backdrop of Japan in 2063? Simple answer is a little book from Wildstorm’s excellent Signature banner, Silent Dragon.

I’ll start off this review by saying that I’m a MASSIVE Yu fan. I remember when he first burst onto the comic book scene years ago and was drawing Wolverine at the time. He was hailed the next Whilice Portacio (they’re both from the Philippines). At the time he still really hadn’t reached his pinacle in my humble opinion. He lacked a little bit of clarity in his lines and his style had not been completely defined as far as I was concerned. It was a little messy for my liking. Over the years however he has most definitely evolved into one of the top artists working in the industry at what he does. So what exactly is it that he does so well? He creates plausible worlds. The attention to detail in his artwork is second only to Whilice Portacio. His designs are some of the most original and meticlous that I have ever seen. What’s really impressive however is the fact that the man is able to carry that level of imagination onto each and every one of his projects (all of which generally have nothing to do with the other, at least from a visual perspective).

This is Yu’s second attempt at a creator owned series from Wildstorm. Neither have really been knock out success stories, otherwise they would have continued the series past the initial mini. The Wildstorm Signature series has one champion at the moment (Ex Machina), which is a shame as I would have loved to continue to see the stories that could compliment this story. It’s also a crying shame, because rather than Yu pouring out his heart into these designs he’s back working for the man at Marvel to churn out Hulk vs Wolverine crossover rubbish (it might not actually be rubbish as I’ve not read it to be honest, however for me it’s a waste of some awesome talent).

So now that I’ve talked up the artwork enough, what do I think about the story? It should come as no real surprise that I’ve got a thing for Japanese culture, and it’s very apparent that Andy Diggle has got the same affection. Diggle has created a world that is a fusion of the best parts of ancient Japan and modern Japan. Samurai are massive robots instead of foot soldiers, temples that sit atop sky scrappers and the list goes. The story follows Renjiro, who is the cheif advisor to Japan’s greatest Yakuza warlord. Unfortunately for Renjiro, he’s fallen for the boss’s wife and the feelings are more than mutual. So much so that Lady Takara decides she can’t take it any longer and plots the assassination of her husband, Hideaki. The problem of course is that Hideaki finds out about his assasination attempt and accuses Renjiro of this act, for which he excepts his advisor to do the honourable thing and kill himself. You’d think that the story could end here, however the military (whom have taken over the government) have other plans for Renjiro and the plot begins with them bringing him back from the dead. The story spirals into a battle for the future of Japan as the government and the Yakuza are about to clash for ultimate power, with Renjiro stuck squarely in the middle of all of this. My only real gripe is the exceptionally annoying character whom he’s introduced as Renjiro’s sidekick Suki. Easily one of the most annoying characters in recent years. I found her to be extremely one dimensional.

As always I’m not going to ruin the ending, but needless to say it’s got a great chilling ending (otherwise I wouldn’t be mentioning it right now); the great thing about it all is that I didn’t see it creeping up on me, because right until the end of the story I wasn’t sure where Diggle was actually going with this story. Silent Dragon is a great piece of fiction, however make no mistake the real star of this show is the artwork and the character designs. They’re more imaginative than 98% of graphic novels out there and is worth the price of admission on it’s own to be honest. Anything by Yu is golden as far as I’m concerned.

After so long in hibernation, and with damage to the carbonite unit, there’s little hope that Captain Solo will ever regain his sight.

Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi is an adventurous and thought-provoking “What if?” tale by writer Adam Gallardo and artists Ryan Benjamin, Dan Norton, and Juvaun Kirby. It begins in tandem with the original Return of the Jedi script, but when a rescue mission goes terribly wrong, history is forever altered.

The stage is lit, the curtain rises, and the battle for the galaxy begins as we are all too familiar with. But, what is familiar can become unfamiliar in the the blink of an eye. You see, the future is made possible through a series of events, like a chain whose links are defined by the laws of action and reaction. Alter a single link, and the overall position of the chain is altered. Like the position of the chain, the future can be altered by simply altering one of the events that led to it.

On the desert planet of Tatooine, Princess Leia Organa, on a secret rescue mission to free Han Solo in the guise of Boushh the bounty hunter, barters with Jabba the Hutt for the bounty on Chewbacca’s head. When Leia demands “Fifty-thousand, no less,” Jabba angrily lashes out at C-3P0, knocking him to the ground with such force that his head detaches. Without a protocol droid to translate her attempt a Boushh’s native language, Leia is forced to remove her mask and reveal her thermal detonator.

Lando Calrissian, disguised as one of of Jabba’s guards, tries to stop Boba Fett from firing at Leia. He fails, and Fett’s blast hits Leia’s shoulder, accidentally activating the thermal detonator and sending it to the ground.

Events begin to spin wildly out of control as Boba Fett flees with the frozen Han Solo and Leia, Lando, and Chewbacca are forced to flee the palace without Han.

The delay of Han Solo’s rescue will result in the death of Yoda before Luke’s final visit to Dagobah, the capture of both Luke and Leia by Imperial forces, a desperate battle with Boba Fett over the fate of Han Solo, the loss of Han’s eyesight, and a final confrontation between a father and his children.

Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi will introduce you to a Star Wars that you never knew and never thought possible. George Lucas’s script only lasts for one page before Adam Gallardo slightly alters one seemingly insignificant event and ignites a radical domino effect, forever altering history as we know it.

The “What if?” concept has been explored by almost every comic series to date. It gives us a way to experience familiar characters and familiar settings in an unfamiliar way. Will the Empire be defeated? Can the mission to disable the Death Star’s shield succeed without Han Solo’s leadership? Will Darth Vader redeem himself, or will he sacrifice his own children at the will of his master? The possibilities are endless.

Related Reviews:

• Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope
• Star Wars Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back

Commander Skywalker, do you copy? This is Rogue Two.

Rogue Two, this is Commander Solo. Come in, Rogue Two.

Commander Solo, I read you load and clear. Are you okay, Commander?

Affirmative, Rogue Two. But Luke . . . Luke is dead.

Star Wars Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back is an adventurous and thought-provoking “What if?” tale by writer Dave Land and artist Davidé Fabbri. It begins in tandem with the original The Empire Strikes Back script, but when a hero of the Rebellion dies before he can fulfill his destiny, history is forever altered.

The stage is lit, the curtain rises, and the battle for the galaxy begins as we are all too familiar with. But, what is familiar can become unfamiliar in the the blink of an eye. You see, the future is made possible through a series of events, like a chain whose links are defined by the laws of action and reaction. Alter a single link, and the overall position of the chain is altered. Like the position of the chain, the future can be altered by simply altering one of the events that led to it.

On the desolate ice planet of Hoth, Luke Skywalker patrols the frozen tundra surrounding Echo Base for signs of an Imperial invasion, but little does he know that his own problems are more immediate. A hungry wampa has been following Luke. It suddenly rises before him, severely injuring him and killing his tauntaun. Held captive in the wampa’s cave, Luke manages to free his lightsaber and make a daring escape into the frozen wasteland outside.

Alarmed by Luke’s disappearance, Han Solo mounts a rescue, despite the rapidly decreasing temperature. His tauntaun freezes early on during his search, forcing him to continue the rescue on foot. After several hours, he finds Luke lying face-first in the snow, delirious and near death. Before losing consciousness, Luke orders Han to go to the Dagobah system, find master Yoda, and train as a Jedi Knight. He does not live through the night.

Events begin to spin wildly out of control as a glitch in Echo Base’s shield allows a squadron of TIE fighters to accompany the Imperial invasion force and decimate Rogue Squadron.

Han Solo escapes with Princess Leia Organa, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2. His perilous journey to Dagobah will result in the death of Boba Fett, the destruction of Cloud City, a fateful reunion between C-3PO and his maker, the revelation of Luke Skywalker’s twin, and a final confrontation between father and daughter.

Star Wars Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back will introduce you to a Star Wars that you never knew and never thought possible. Dave Land’s intricate story immediately departs from George Lucas’s script as he begins to ingeniously focus on a series of small events whose alterations will have a profound effect on the original course of history.

The “What if?” concept has been explored by almost every comic series to date. It gives us a way to experience familiar characters and familiar settings in an unfamiliar way. Has the Empire crushed the Rebellion? Will Han become a Jedi Knight? Does he have the strength needed to save the galaxy from the Empire, or will he bow before it? The possibilities are endless.

Related Reviews:

• Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope
• Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi

The torpedoes detonated prematurely, your Highness. I only hope enough damage was done to buy us some time. Princess, you must get to a transport immediately! The future of the Rebellion depends on your safety!

Future? I’ve seen what that battle station can do, General. The Rebellion has no future.

Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope is an adventurous and thought-provoking “What if?” tale by writer Chris Warner and artists Drew Johnson and Al Rio. It begins in tandem with the original A New Hope script, but when a key opportunity for the Rebellion is lost, history is forever altered.

The stage is lit, the curtain rises, and the battle for the galaxy begins as we are all too familiar with. But, what is familiar can become unfamiliar in the the blink of an eye. You see, the future is made possible through a series of events, like a chain whose links are defined by the laws of action and reaction. Alter a single link, and the overall position of the chain is altered. Like the position of the chain, the future can be altered by simply altering one of the events that led to it.

The Death Star looms like the harbinger of death over the Rebel base on Yavin IV. In its equatorial trench, Luke Skywalker begins his finial attack run. He fires his proton torpedoes and retreats to a safe distance with Han Solo and the remaining Rebel fighters, but the expected explosion never comes. The torpedoes had detonated just short of the reactor and the Death Star is still operational.

The Death Star retaliates by firing its primary weapon on Yavin IV, but the Imperial super weapon had sustained some damage from the premature detonation of the torpedoes and only fires with enough power to severely damage the Rebel base. Princess Leia Organa and the remaining Rebels retreat to their transports, but are taken prisoner by Darth Vader.

Luke, distracted by a dogfight on the opposite side of Yavin, believes that the Death Star’s first salvo had destroyed Yavin IV, thus murdering Leia and the rest of the Rebels. Luke and Han escape to Dagobah to find Master Yoda and complete Luke’s training as a Jedi Knight.

Meanwhile, under the care and tutelage of Darth Vader, Leia is appointed to a position as senator in the newly formed Imperial Senate, which she believes will place the Empire on a path to peace. Luke’s destiny as a Jedi and Leia’s place beside Vader will eventually lead to a final confrontation between both brother and sister.

Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope will introduce you to a Star Wars that you never knew and never thought possible. Chris Warner’s story immediately departs from George Lucas’s script into a tale that is just as intricate and captivating as the original.

The “What if?” concept has been explored by almost every comic series to date. It gives us a way to experience familiar characters and familiar settings in an unfamiliar way. Has the Rebellion been destroyed? Will the Empire prevail? Will Luke become a Jedi Knight? Will he save the galaxy, or destroy it? The possibilities are endless.

Related Reviews:

• Star Wars Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back
• Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi

First off I’ll say that I’m generally not a massive fan of anything that Tokyopop comes out with. It seriously lacks most of the class that other companies that manga publishers have. Specifically I’m comparing manga fare brought as from the likes of Dark Horse and Viz. Two companies whom I put a lot of faith in at least 80% of what they decide to publish. On the contrary to that, we’ve got Tokyopop who seem intent on publishing absolutely EVERY that the Japanese market has to offer and filling the book stores with it. Their bread and butter seems to be the likes of 15 year old girls doing the Shojo (manga for girls, think pretty boys doing strange things). And then there’s Planetes.

I have no idea how this little gem of a comic got through the Viz and Dark Horse net to be honest because it is easily one of the best manga series I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot of manga series. I guess I should be confessing that I have a mild and unhealthy obsession with outer space. This is easily realised in the types of books and movies and TV series I choose to watch. I can’t get enough of the big black void of nothingness.

I remember clearly picking this book up. I knew absolutely nothing about it but I was intrigued by two things. The first was the name, Planetes. That’s basically planets in Greek. The second was the absolutely haunting cover. An astronaut in full detail looking directly at me with the earth as the backdrop. I didn’t even read the back cover to find out what the story was about. I didn’t need to. One flip through the book confirmed to me that the artist on the inside was the same one that had created the cover artwork.

So let’s talk about the artwork a little bit. Yes this is a black and white book, like most manga are, however as I’m starting to realise, the really exceptional manga also have several pages that are painted by the artist. It’s like when you pick up a book and the creator/writer/artists have thought about the world so much that they’ve created a map for this story, it’s a similar feeling I get. It’s really all in the details to be honest. Everything looks and feels completely plausible, while the character’s body language and expressions are simple and yet completely believable and extremely expressive.

Of course my conceptions were completely shattered as I thought the story would be a second citizen to the first class citizen of the artwork itself. I was more than pleasantly surprised to find that the actual story stood on equal ground to the high quality set by the artwork, if not higher. This first volume (there are 5 volumes in total is split into 5 chapters, each tells a separate tale. What’s very interesting is that it takes a good long while before the reader finally starts to realise who the focal point or heroes of this series actually are. That’s actually a very refreshing approach, since it’s not predictable in any way. Without a doubt my favourite story is the very first one, which concentrates on the character of Yuri, who is part of a team of orbital garbage men and women, it’s a great tale that ends on an emotional note. You’d be forgiven for thinking that this was just a collection of stories however, because each chapter ends on a great note. One that brings about a certain sense of resolution. As though the characters have moved forward. However it’s not until the final chapter that it becomes apparent that there is more to this than meets the initial eye. It’s slowly building, putting in the layers for a much larger arc. As with most manga it’s taking it’s time to get there and allowing the story to breathe as the creator explores this world he’s created.

Planetes is most definitely one of those rare manga series where the reader finally understands why this medium works in Japan. What I mean by this is that Manga in Japanese culture is a respect artform. It’s a respected medium of expression as an artist. American and British (and many other nationalities) have tried to recreate this lightning in a bottle phenomenon that is called the Japanese Manga industry. The truth of the matter is that while Planetes is a science fiction story, it is all about people. Their interactions with one another. Their relationships and their faults. It’s a story with heart. It’s a story about humanity as it tries to reach for the stars and reach for other planets.

So I’m in the store yesterday and I’m picking up Brian Azzarello and Jim Lee’s Superman trade and Josh Middleton’s Shazam book (neither characters really do it for me but all creators attached are superb in every meaning of the word) but I wasn’t saticified with just these two books. So I started looking around and there I see it, Ministry of Space. I’ve been wanting to buy this mini-series by Warren Ellis and Chris Weston for a good long while.

When it first came out a couple of years ago I was really very excited about it all and couldn’t wait to read it as a trade. It was three issues so it’s short, sweet and to the point. This was back when I was just starting to move away from reading my sequential stories in 22 page pamphlets and concentrating on the trade paperbacks. So I waited, and waited some more. It was one of those series that was supremely delayed due to a number of reasons, writer falling back, Chris commiting to something else, and so when it finally was announced it was going to be collected into a trade paperback (a couple of years after the first issue was released) you can imagine my glee. However for some reason which I can’t understand Image Comics (the official publisher of the book) really screwed it up. Here in the UK is practically impossible to find the damn book for ages.

Well I got my copy and I’ve ripped through the book in less than an hour, however I’ll be going back for more. As I’ve said the book collected a three issue mini-series published by Image Comics. It was part of Warren Ellis’s drive at the time to write, create and own all his properties. He’s since gone back to the monthly grind of working for the Man, but he did try and he does have a serious volume of work that is creator owned so you can’t really fault the man, he’s just trying to earn a living. It’s just a shame that he can’t earn one just writing Ministry of Space stories because I’d buy it in a second.

The story starts at the end of the Second World War. Britian has taken actions to ensure that the German scientists behind the V2 rocket engines now work for the British Empire. Churchill gives the green light to John Dashwood to create the Ministry of Space, to lead Britain’s space programme. Sandwiched inbetween this backstory of grasping for the stars there’s another plot running through the series that follows a much older John Dashwood. The series combines a great sense of the time and the characters, although have limited time on the page (it’s a short story), do have very distinct voices which Ellis is very good at doing. While all of this is happening Ellis provides some a clear political message in all of this, which I’ll be sure to try and uncover some proper discussions about this series because that last panel deserves some more attention.

What I love about this series is the fact that Ellis and Weston make it all feel real. This alternate reality could have come to pass, if the stars and moons were aligned. It’s an exceptionally difficult thing to suspend my disbelief to such a level that I could actually see this world that these gentlemen have constructed be the real deal. The character dialogue is always crackling in a way only Ellis knows how to pull off to such a great degree.

The real star of the show in my eyes however is Chris Weston. It’s clear from all the pages that the man was having an emmense amount of fun creating this book. There’s a great deal of love and attention to detail on every single page, and I for one would have paid for this book if it was illustrated by Weston and written by a monkey (which Ellis most definitely isn’t). If only all short mini-series were drawn as well as this.

Laura Martin is without a doubt one of the, if not the best colourist in the business. She gets colours better than anyone else. None of her work seems forced and none of it gets printed off incorrectly. She understands what it takes to enhance a book, and Ellis is very smart to make sure all his books have her wonderful palette finish everything off. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that Planetary/Authority has the same writer/colourist combination.

Generally speaking I tend to shy away from Titan comics as I see them as complete leaches. They take a book that costs $9, repackage it for unknown reasons to me, slap their logo on it and raise the price to £9. If that’s not bad enough they used to slap a sticker on the back of the actual book and raise the price accordingly as well, which used to fuck me off something cronic. For the first time I actually recommend buying the Titan version because it’s actually got better production values, which is crazy in my eyes. Image have been doing this for a good long time, how they dropped the ball on this series is beyond me. It truely deserves better treatment, as it’s easily one of the gems in it’s library, and in fact on anyone’s library. The book has also been released as a hardcover as well, but if you can’t find it, don’t fret, just buy this book, you’ll be glad you did.

In preparation for the release of Volume 2 of the Authority storyline this week, I’m going to reprint the original review I did on Broken Kode regarding the first volume. Expect the review for the second volume here later on this week.

It’s been a while since I read a proper Authority story. Last time it was the one issue found in the Coup D’etat mini-series which effectively sets the scene up for this story. Just finished reading Volume 1 of The Authority: Revolution (the mini-site also provides a little video interview with Dustin the artist of the book, more on him later) The Authority now control America and are making a better world, or so they would like to believe.

The Story - Ed Brubaker
The book is written by the supremely talented Ed Brubaker. Part of me is very disappointed that Wildstorm lost this guy to Marvel, as he’s proven that he’s a person who truly understands and appreciates the history of the Wildstorm Universe, with his brilliant Point Blank and Sleeper series

Unlike many people out there reading comics, I’m much more an Image boy, rather than a Marvel or DC boy. That’s not to say I will buy everything by Image, but explains my reading habits. I hunt down stuff by creators, and not a company, with the sole exception of the Wildstorm Universe. It’s the one set of books that has always been one step ahead of the rest. I doubt I’ll ever do work for hire (although never say never) but if I did it would have to be in the Wildstorm Universe and with a writer that actually was a fan of the Universe, as Ed Brubaker so clearly is.

In the latest trade paperback in the Authority series (Volume 7 apparently, I’m thinking 2 for the Warren Ellis run, 2 for the Mark Millar run, and 2 for the Robbie Morrison run), is easily back to the exceptional form established by the first 2 creative teams. This is some of the best Authority fare, where each issue has got memorable moments, dialogue and artwork. The structure is very different to previous incarnations. Previously Ellis and Millar structured their stories into groups of 4 issue arcs. Brubaker is doing a 12 issue mini series.

What I love about this story is that it allows the characters to grow. The status quo is not stagnant; the structure and details are constantly being questioned. For anyone thinking that everything remains the same throughout the life of the story to preserve the status quo is dead wrong. It’s playing out in a very unorthodox fashion, one I’m very keen on following through to with the next book.

One thing I’ve noticed however is that the first half of this story is a Midnighter story, while the second half will be a Jenny Quantum story. You can tell this is who Ed’s favourite is, and to be honest he is the coolest member of the team. In previous incarnations of the book it was more of team book, and all the characters got equal airtime, however Ed doesn’t seem to balance that. This isn’t so much a criticism as I like the fact that he’s concentrating on a few characters and giving them time to grow and develop. He does provide key moments for the other characters, however he is playing to his strengths as a writer.

The Wildstorm Universe has always had a single writer who defines the direction for many of the books for a given period of time. We’ve had the Brandon Choi era, followed by the Alan Moore era, Warren Ellis took over not long after that and set the tone for things to come for a while, then Joe Casey tried his hand, but he didn’t really get the Universe in my humble opinion, and now we’re slowly drawing the curtain on the Ed Brubaker era. I’ve enjoyed the Ed era the most (after the Alan Moore era). Ed has a complete understanding of the history of the WS universe and gives all faithful readers lots of gratification as he links in characters and situations perfectly. He provides continuity, while masterfully making it completely accessible for people that haven’t read the stories before. He has a respect for what’s come before which is very rare in the current comic book market. The twist he’s provided in the 5th issue however will have to be properly explained, but it’s an explanation I’m really looking forward to.

Like I said it’s a shame that it will also mark the last work that Ed will have done for Wildstorm (as he’s completed Sleeper which is the other must read book of the Wildstorm Universe).

The Art - Dustin and Rich
The art is provided by the dynamic team of Dustin Nguyen and Richard Friend. I remember when Dustin first broke onto the scene. He got lambasted on the WS message boards, which I thought was supremely unfair and defended him, we had a few email conversations after that, and to say I’m not slightly biased towards the guy would be a lie. The fact that he’s got talent however is no lie. Since his early days he’s handled Batman, Wildcats and The Authority several times. The design of the book and the covers has dropped in quality significantly since the Wildcats 3.0 series. The difference with that series was the fact that we had the amazing Rian Hughes on the book design. Each cover was a lesson in how to be innovative in design and art. This series lacks that design edge. Dustin however makes his mark by giving Jenny Quantum her own special look.

Side note, I love Jenny Quantum. She’s easily turning into my favourite character right now, and I can see her becoming more and more prominent in future Authority stories.

His carrier interiors are very consistent and his designs for the Sons of Liberty were exceptionally well done.

So to recap if you stopped reading The Authority after the Millar run, do yourself a favour and pick up Revolution, you’ll remember why you liked these characters in the first place.

Dark Horse has provided one of the most perfect packages of a licensed product in a very very long time. In fact I can’t remember when I thought a licensed story had so much going for it. You see this particular 3 issue comic book actually matters in the grand scheme of things that are Serenity and Firefly based. It’s not a filler story. It bridges the gap between the end of the Firefly series and the beginning of the Serenity movie. You find out what led Book to decide to leave Serenity, how Inara landed on that pleasure planet.

So what would you have to do to make this project special? The simple answer is get the creator of the series involved directly. Luckily Joss Whedon is an UBER comic geek, so he’s got a vested interest in this series as well? Even though he doesn’t write it all, he’s credited for co-’story’ing the book, Brett Matthews does a wonderful job of keeping the voices of theses characters true to their television and cinematic versions. None of the characters speaks out differently, everyone acts the way you expect them to. Remarkably this 3 issue series reads exactly like an episode, down to how everything was resolved (or not in this case) and leading you to the next adventure.

The story begins with Mal, Jayne and Zoe on another backwater planet as they’re about to steal some cash unfortunately another group of outlaws are interested in the same loot as well. Guns get fired, people get stabbed, Serenity is used in weird and wonderful ways to give our heroes a narrow escape from an angry mob (we’ve seen this setup before many times). Mal goes to investigate what went wrong and why their informant/supplier of information stiffed them. Meanwhile the Alliance is not being idle as they recruit one of their old operatives that’s got a thing against Mal (yeah who doesn’t) to take him out. Like I said this reads like a very good episode.

Will Conrad is a new name to me (I only know of a Kevin Conrad, who used to ink Tony Daniel). His work is very solid. He doesn’t cheat on the details, he tells the story very solidly and he’s aided in no small way by the wonderful colours of Laura Martin (best colourist in the business). His work can only be described as a rougher, cruder version of Bryan Hitch. This is a big compliment I know, but I honestly believe that if he refines his work ever so slightly and makes things slightly tighter he’s onto great things in the future.

How exactly do you make this package even more special? You might as well get Nathan Fillion to write the introduction to the series. It’s a great little touch and one that I’m sure all Serenity/Firefly fans will appreciate greatly.

After everything I’ve said, would you believe that the story and internal artwork isn’t the star of the show? The cover artist roster assembled for this book is truly spectacular in every meaning of the word. Adam Hughes, Joe Quesada, Bryan Hitch, Leinil Francis Yu, Joss Middleton, Sean Phillips, John Cassaday, Jo Chen, Tim Bradstreet, JG Jones; I swear they had me at Adam Hughes. Apart from the front and back cover, all the internal covers were shots of the main characters with white backgrounds. Very striking stuff as everyone put all their efforts into making the character poses and details really matter. It’s a great collection of covers, easily one of the best I’ve ever seen.

My main gripe with the series are the ‘action’ scenes. In most cases these are the scenes that I generally get bored of to be honest, however in this particular book they’re integral to resolving the story(which I won’t be explaining) however I will be talking about the Book scene. At this stage if you know you’re buying this book based on what I’ve written before you can stop reading, come back later.

Spoiler Warning

Anyway for all those who have read the book, I’m supremely unconvinced by the Book hitting Mal scene. This is effectively the reason why he left Serenity. This is why he wanted off the ship. It makes sense, however I honestly thought they should have drawn this scene out a lot more. Put more words being exchanged between the two characters. Draw the scene out over a couple of pages more, build the tension up. Also it’s amazing how book moves from one end of the table and lands Mal a punch he didn’t expect. This to be honest is partly the art’s fault, and Will Conrad’s only real failure in my eyes throughout the entire book, that he gave so much energy and authenticity to. The other side of the coin is that the page count just didn’t allow for this sort of thing, however I’m sure that if the story called for it then they could have bumped up the page count, so the other fault is landed on the writer’s feet.

I do wish this sort of quality can be maintained if they do decide to continue the stories of Serenity through our favourite medium. Fuck television and Hollywood, let there be more Serenity stories told using this medium. I know I’d buy it and so should you.

Witers: Joss Whedon & Brett Matthews
Artist: Will Conrad
Colourist: Laura Martin
Publisher: Dark Horse