Wayne Markley

by Wayne Markley

I am going to take a look and review a few books I have read recently and really enjoyed. All of these are collections or graphic novels and not monthly comics. Most of these are collections of previously published material except for one book. Two of them are collections of Marvel’s black superheroes, which are an interesting contrast in terms of how race is part of the stories and the characters. The stories are to an extent stereotypes from films. Also interesting are the writers of the stories, a white woman and an African-American man have different yet at time very similar takes on the characters. Both collections are excellent in their own way, yet very different ways of telling a story and the stories themselves tend to be very different with similar themes at times. Also, it should be noted the stories are from about a decade apart which also adds to the differences. Overall, all four of these books are great and are well worth seeking out and reading in my opinion.

Power Man and Iron Fist Epic Collection: Heroes For Hire

First off we have the Power Man and Iron Fist Epic Collection: Heroes For Hire. This collection picks up right were the Iron Fist Epic Collection left off. Once again Chris Claremont and John Byrne continue their Iron Fist stories with Misty Knight and Colleen Wing and add in Luke Cage, DW Griffith and a variety of other street characters. It collects Power Man (formerly Luke Cage, Hero For Hire) issues 48 and 49 and with issue 50 it became Power Man and Iron Fist and Mike Zeck took over the art. It continues to reprint issues through #70 so the collection is almost 450 pages long and you definitely get your money’s worth. Claremont left the series fairly soon after the title change and Mary Jo Duffy took over writing the book with Mike Zeck at first and later Kerry Gammill on pencils. With Duffy and Gammill they get into a groove and the stories start to come together with a nice mix of the urban world of Luke Cage and the wealthy elite lifestyle of Danny (Iron Fist) Rand. These conflicts are explored and explained as both characters lives change. I point this out as the earlier Claremont issues tended to be Iron Fist stories with Luke Cage sort of there and Duffy was able to strike a balance between Luke’s world and villains and Danny’s world of villains. Duffy also threw in Bob Diamond from the Sons of the Tiger as a supporting character as well as adding a business manager to help the two heroes run their Heroes For Hire company, and to add some subplots. The stories range from a lot of urban drug dealers and inner city stories to clashes with the X-Men and the Living Monolith. Of course Sabretooth also returns. What I really liked about these stories is the balance between the two worlds and how the characters interacted. Iron Fist and Power Man are very different characters from very different backgrounds, and are almost opposites of each other, but they work together so smoothly in these stories. It is interesting to see how Duffy moves things so as to create the world of Heroes for Hire while taking the groundwork laid by Claremont in the Iron Fist Epic Collection and the previous Power Man stories. (The first volume of Marvel Masterworks: Luke Cage, Hero for Hire Vol. 1 comes out this week by the way). Overall I found this book to be a very good read, my only complaint is the art is a little un-even. After Byrne, the art is up and down depending on the inkers, some of them are great and sometime it leaves a lot to be desired, but the story pulls it through each time.

Black Panther by Christopher Priest: The Complete Collection Vol. 1

Black Panther by Christopher Priest: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 (collecting the work of Christopher Priest and Mark Texeira with a fill in or two by Joe Jusko). This was a series that was done under the Marvel Knights banner and is one of the most original Black Panther stories in a long time. Priest and Texeira are able to take the angry and political Black Panther from Jungle Action and re-focus the character as a king, warrior, and a very interesting hero. There is a great mix of the politics of the first run and urban drama as the opening story finds T’Challa exiled from his home and living in New York. This series also sets up what David Liss would later do in his run on Daredevil/Black Panther Man Without Fear series, which is also an excellent read. This first volume collects the first 17 issues of the series and it is a great. Most of the stories are told from the perspective of a government agent names Ross who is assigned to help the Black Panther with any of his needs and ultimately lands up in a number of undignified situations that the Black Panther has to bail him out of. The stories are original and fast paced that tell a nice mix of action and story with neither outweighing the other. There is also a fair amount of humor thrown in here. Of course there are the traditional super-villains such as Kraven the Hunter and Mephisto thrown in. Plus other superheroes guest-star at times, such as the Fantastic Four, Avengers and the Hulk all make appearances. My only complaints, and these are minor, is at times the printing is very dark and it is hard to make out what is happening in the art. I am unsure if this is a print issue or the art was just very dark to begin with. Secondly there is very creative panel design that can be difficult to figure out at times. It is nice and different, but not always clear. I would not let ether of these criticisms though detour you from buying this book as it is excellent.

Veda: Assembly Required

Veda: Assembly Required is by the creative team of Samuel Teer, Hyeondo Park and Kelly Fitzpatrick and is part of Dark Horse young adult line of books. I can say without question it is one of the most charming books I have read in a very long time and is one of my favorite books of the year so far. The basic story is about a young girl who lives in a factory (where the whole story takes place) in hiding with her mother who works there. As she is alone during the days while her mother is at work she learns to talk to the machines around her. Most are simple machines that do cleaning and manual labor. After her mother is killed in a work accident the machines take over her world as her friends and comrades. The girl and the machines are not alone as there are also gremlins in the factory constantly trying to disrupt the machines and their work. Throughout the story Veda (the little girl) grows up and her allegiances change but with age she sees the light. This is full of charm and a great book for all ages and I cannot praise it highly enough. The art and story are a perfect mix of kids of all ages. (It would make a wonderful animated movie).

Imperial

Imperial is written by one of my favorite writers, Steve Seagle and is beautiful drawn by Mark Dos Santos. The book describes itself as a rollicking romantic comedy but it is so much more. It is a mix of superheroes and romance and a lot of humor. The lead character, Mark is about to get married when he is chosen to replace the world’s greatest hero. Can he make his relationship work while learning to be a superhero? Can he plan a wedding while in training to be Earth’s new Champion? Does his fiancé still want him after this new career path? This trade collects the complete story all in one very nice trade with great design (and the monthly book also had great sense of design to it). A wonderful read that I would highly recommend. (And while I am at it you should also check out Steve Seagle’s Red Diary, another remarkable book).

That wraps it up this time. These are just a few of the books I have read lately that I really enjoyed and I am guessing most readers missed out on. All of these books are great, in various degrees and for different reasons. Everything I have written here is my opinion and in no way reflects the opinions of Westfield Comics or their employees. Have you read any of these books? Why not? If you have please let me know what you think. I would love to hear from you. I can be reached at MFBWAY@AOL.COM. As always,

Thank you.