Markley’s Fevered Brain: A Super Magician in a Black Swamp
by Wayne Markley
I am returning to reviewing trades this time out as there have been a number of really good collections over the last few weeks. Two of these are collections of 1990s series (both of which currently do not have ongoing monthly titles), a classic French graphic novel back in print after 30 years, and a brand new original graphic novel. A nice mix and all excellent reads.
Black Panther By Christopher Priest: The Complete Collection Vol. 2 continues the complete reprinting of Christopher Priest’s run on Black Panther. As with the first volume, this volume is excellent. I love the writing and the art tends to be uneven but I think that is for reasons other than the artists. The art improves over time but it did not thrill me and at times I was a little confused by the storytelling. That aside, the overall story is breathtaking. The bulk of the art is by Sal Velluto and Bob Almod. There are also contributions by Kyle Holtz, Eric Powell (long before The Goon), Jim Calafiore, M.D. Bright, Norm Breyfogle and others. Also, the paper stock is glossy and white which I suspect is a detriment to the art as it was originally done on low grade paper and the coloring on that paper of the time (late 90s) does not translate well to this much nicer paper stock. Also of note is there is an interesting afterword by inker Bob Almond talking about their run on the series, which is filled with interesting background on what Marvel was like, politically, at the time.
This trade features a long (over 12 issues) arc that is political intrigue and spy craft with a touch of superheroes thrown in. The gist of the story is there’s an orphaned child that the Black Panther wants to protect from the Deviants who want her, but due to treaties with Atlantis, the Sub-Mariner and Dr. Doom get involved in the stand-off due to political allegiances and this leads to war. The story is so much more than this brief description as there are twists and turns on almost every page. On top of that, when you throw in Klaw (yes, back from the dead), there is hell to pay. It is interesting that throughout this run there are numerous references to villains coming back from the dead.
Also included in this trade that reprints Black Panther #18-35 and Deadpool #44 is a three part crossover with Deadpool, which is very funny as well as a great flashback story of T’Challa’s father meeting Captain America in World War Two. There are also guest appearances by the Avengers, Defenders, and Storm (continuing the Black Panther/Storm story from Marvel Team-Up #100, and later continued in the next Black Panther series). Villains include Mephisto, Man-Ape, Klaw, the United States of America, and much more. Overall a great read that is a real page turner that left me wanting more. I cannot not wait for the next volume of this proposed four volume set.
The Magician’s Wife is a Franco/American Graphic Novel that was first published almost 30 years ago. Dover Publications just reprinted this long out of print story by American writer Jerome Charyn with beautiful art by Francois Boucq. I really liked this book because of the beautiful art by Boucq (who is known for Humanoid’s hardcover Bouncer with Alexjandro Jodorowky). I also really liked Charyn’s story that spans over sixty years telling the story between a young girl who grows into a beautiful woman and her relationship with a Magician. It is part mystery, part character study, and part erotic thriller. It is hard to accurately describe this book without giving too much away, other than saying the two are destined to be intertwined and the story takes a number of twists and turns to places I did not see coming. It reminds me a lot of an Alexjandro Jodorowky storytelling which is one of the highest honors I could say about an author. Well worth reading as it is a cult classic, for good reasons.
Swamp Thing: Darker Genesis is the second collection of Mark Millar’s run on Swamp Thing collecting issues 151-160. Phil Hester and Kim DeMulder continue as the main artists on the series but there are fill in issues by Jill Thompson and Phil Jimenez. The book opens with a multipart story called River Run where Swamp Thing travels to various parts of the Mississippi River in various alternative timelines where the Swamp Thing is trying to stop or correct mistakes from his past. The story starts and ends with a young woman writer who is looking for meaning in her life and has a great unfinished book which she thinks Swamp Thing is the missing element of. These make for some very odd and at times gruesome stories that both reflect the history of the character of Swamp Thing but also point out to very dark aspects of humanity. One of the stories called Swamp Dog is easily one of the most twisted stories I have read in many, many years. In fact, it will likely haunt me for years to come. Overall the stories were very good and creative. The art is good but not my favorite style. I will point out that the cover is probably worth the price of the book as it is a “photo” of Swamp Things head as the center of a meal.
Superman: Earth One Vol. 3 just came out in paperback and it is almost as good as the first two volumes in this series. It is once again written by J. Michael Straczynski but the art this time is by Ardian Syaf and Sandra Hope. This continues to tell the story of a young Superman but the story is told as if it is the real world that we live in and this story reflects how quickly politicians are to react to an issue without taking into account the facts as they are just trying to impress their political base. Zor-El come to Earth and kisses up to the world’s governments while pretending to be Superman’s buddy from Krypton. This leads to an epic battle between Zor-El and Kal-El and the world’s governments not trusting either person, so Superman lays down the law to the United Nations. The story is not as preachy as I have described it, but it is a bit heavy handed. It is quite obvious by the way the story unfolds this is how our politicians would react to the perceived threat of Superman and Zor-El but at times the story seems to be overly dramatic. I loved the first two volumes of this series, but this one was a step down from the first two. Still very good, but I missed Shane Davis’ art and the story was just a tad below the normally excellent Straczynski.
That wraps up my blog for this week. I do hope you take time to try one of these four books. They are all very different from one another but they are all excellent. Everything I have written here is my opinion and does not reflect the thoughts or opinions of Westfield Comics or their employees. I welcome your thoughts and I would like to know what you thought of these books. Did you enjoy them as much as I did? I would like to know. I can be reached at MFBWAY@AOL.COM. As always,
Thank you.
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