Fat Pants March 2007
Lo, all fear the return of Fat Pants! Fat Pants is a Comic Pants feature in which we mull over the last months trades and graphic novels and let you know which ones we feel are most worth your attention. It is far from a comprehensive list of all the good reads to published in the past month, so please feel free let us know which trades and graphic novels came out in the last month that you, the reader, feel are most worth our attention. So, without further adieu, here are the books we think really stood out this month.
Weapon X Premiere Hardcover
D3 (aka David Martindale): I have some very fond memories of this one. It was one of the first books I read that fell outside of the bounds of regular, everyday superhero books. I think Barry Windsor Smith’s solitary vision for the series is what did that for me. Everything from the plot concept, to the art, to even the lettering really help carry the “stream of consciousness” tone of the book.
Nick: Brutal. Bloody. Brilliant. Like a uncharacteristically good horror movie that just happened to take place in the comic book world and star one of the most recognizable characters there is. I agree with D3 that Barry Windsor Smith really sold this book and to me, this is the origin story for Wolverine. There are no others.
D3: This is absolutely the only origin story that should have ever been done. Giving Wolverine a human origin, that the reader can relate to, was a mistake. In, Weapon X, Wolverine is given all the origin that the character needs. He was born of violence and nothing but violence. Anything more than that cheapens his struggle to be human.
Nick: Let me hear an AMEN! Also, I actually just realized that I had to be around eleven or twelve when I read this and really, this should have blown my mind to smithereens. Seriously, this is a really meta storyline with so much going on for a little kid to follow. Somehow, I did. Does that mean I’m a genius?
D3: Either that or a masochist. I prefer to think of myself as both. BWS paints some the most disturbing imagery I have ever seen in a supposedly superhero comic. The level of gore and violence is sold so well, that the reader really feels the animal level panic and bloodlust that Wolverine experiences.
Nick: Black blood. Really, BWS didn’t even need it to be red or crimson to get his point across, the violence spoke for itself. That’s actually saying a lot about his ability as both a writer and as an artist.
D3: He really did do some good work with the colors. Well, let’s jump from the most testosterone fueled book on the list to something a bit lighter.
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Vol 1 Oversized Hardcover
Nick: This book went way beyond what my expectations were. It’s a cute book, no question, but it also is an endearing one starring some really great characters. Sean McKeever sincerely understands them and no one can question Takeshi Miyazawa’s artistic abilities. I do have a question though, shouldn’t the book be called Mary Jane Loves Spider-Man? Or am I in fact just a crazy person?
D3: Mary Jane Loves Spider-Man fits the theme and tone of the book well, but I kind of imagined “Spider-Man loves Mary Jane” to be the sort of thing that MJ might doodle in her notebook instead of studying. Miyazawa’s manga sensibilities take the characters’ emotional drama over the top in the way that teenage girl drama demands to be, and Mckeever must have spent some time lurking in shopping malls to get his teen girl writing voice down, but the result is high school drama of the highest order.
Nick: You know, I’m in complete agreement with that, this is high school drama of the highest order. Still, probably the big selling point for me was the Miyazawa art. His stuff looks good in the smallish digests but this is BIGGIE-SIZED Miyazawa art and you really can’t beat that.
D3: One of the most interesting things for me is how we get to see Spider-Man’s battles from the point of view of a bystander. We have no idea why Spider-Man and the villain of the moment are fighting, how long they have been fighting, or who is winning. It’s just a flash of the fight glimpsed by a girl excited to see a superhero fighting in the streets.
Nick: And don’t forget the one-liners. To me, Spider-Man is all about the one-liners and even though in the core title he still does this, they don’t feel as natural or as funny as the ones McKeever creates.
D3: That brings up a good point. McKeever gives Spider-Man a strong individual identity, but he also gives Peter a strong individual personality. In fact, it almost seems that at a few points Peter behaves as though he is jealous of Spider-Man. The great classic Spider-Man characterisation may actually work even better for the high school drama format than it did for the superhero book.
Nick: Another plus for this edition is the bonus material at the back. Not only were there a few character sketches and some other stuff but there was a walk-through on how to color a cover image by the fantastic colorist Christina Strain. I’ve never seen such a thing appear in a book and I applaud the inclusion of it.
D3: I tend to think of myself as moderately photoshop savvy, so I decided to folow that walk-through. Turns out you need more than just photoshop; you also need talent.
Empowered
D3: Our next book is from the mind behind Livewires, Adam Warren. Adam Warren has very manga influenced style and it comes out in full force on this one.
Nick: You know, in all honesty, I might have liked this one more than D3, but that’s just because D3 hates all things that have to do with comedy. He’s in fact a Comedy Nazi. And that’s what this book was for me: Comedy. It follows in the style of The Tick, where the story being told is a parody of the superhero genre following a single hero by the name of Empowered. Only with this parody, it happens to bring with it a ginormous amount of sex and implied nudity.
D3: Actually, I found it pretty funny for about the first thirty pages or so, but by then I had grown tired of the same themes being used over and over again for every joke. My other big complaint would be the rough sketchy quality of the art. I enjoy Warren’s art style quite a bit… when it’s finished out and inked. I know this is what the finished product was intended to look like, but an unfinished quality is the impression I got from it. Having said those things, it is a perfectly enjoyable, well-drawn book.
Nick: Read between the lines, people, he hates it! I do agree slightly that some of the jokes were used over and over again, but the running gag bit was funny to me and sort of the point. Also, there were other things to laugh at. Come one, who doesn’t find the idea of a super team called the Super Homies funny? As for the sketchy quality to the book…Okay, I guess it could be called unfinished to some degree but the energy that’s drawn from it really worked in favor of the book.
D3: The kinetic energy level of the art is impressive. Warren absolutely nails action on pretty much every outing. The manga style he uses is very well suited to that as well as being well suited to characterisation. His facial expressions and body language are exceptionally emotive and carry the story well. If you are a fan Adam Warren or if you are a fan of both western superhero comics and manga, you should certainly give Empowered a look.
Nick: Also, it is funny and therefore you must buy it.
Daredevil by Frank Miller Omnibus
Nick: Five pounds of Frank Miller. Five pounds of some of the best Daredevil stories ever told, with some of the best artwork that Frank Miller has ever contributed to the world of comics and in true Marvel ingenuity, it’s another addition to the books that could be used to kill a person. At $99, I don’t know about you but I’m sold.
D3: As I look back on some of Miller’s artwork in the omnibus, I’m reminded of how well Miller can do action. Some the coolest, most fluidly told fight scenes I have ever seen in a superhero comic are in this volume. In fact, there a lot of things in Miller’s Daredevil run that can be easily taken for granted. A lot of the darker tones and creative use of panels are average fare these days, but Miller was one of the men who made them the popular choices that they are today.
Nick: Not only were his usage of panels and darker stories fantastic, but his characterizations of the characters were fantastic. When I think of classic Daredevil stories, my mind immediately goes to the ones included in the volume. Daredevil playing Russian roulette with Bullseye, Elektra biting the big one and Black Widow and Daredevil taking on the Hand. You really can’t be ‘em.
D3: The title of the book is Daredevil by Frank Miller Omnibus, but this is actually one of the more truly collaborative projects out there. Miller starts out the volume as the penciler and ends up the writer by the close of it. In between he wears several hats: he is the penciler and co-plotter; he’s the breakdown artist and the co-plotter; and he’s the writer and penciler. Roger McKenzie and Klaus Jansen should get a bit of the credit too, as they were the full-time writer and the full-time artist at some point respectively.
For a Few Dollars More
D3: …you could try out some other books that almost made the cut. First up is Shadowpact: The Pentacle Plot. It’s a rather large trade dealing with an arc that was split in two by a stand alone issue. If the excellent Blue Devil stand alone issue (the best issue of the series to date) hadn’t been excised from the volume, it would have almost certainly made the cut.
Nick: Yeah, I’m a sucker for the magic scene of the DC Universe and the odd members of the group, people like Detective Chimp, get the recognition that they deserve. That said, I completely agree with D3 that if issue #4 hadn’t been left out, this would have been on the list.
D3: CSI: Dying in the Gutters was a fun little story full of insider jokes and well known real life personalities in the comic industry. The premise is that Rich Johnston, an out-spoken critic, is murdered at a comic-con, and the list of suspects is a collection of comic writers, artists, and execs. Good murderlicious fun.
Nick: Ex Machina Vol. 5: Smoke Smoke is quite possibly the best arc of the series so far, which involves a serial killer running around dressed as a firefighter. The book not only collects that but also manages to publish the stand alone issue that focuses on the Mayor’s security officer, Bradbury. It’s a thrilling read with some seriously awesome art by Tony Harris.
D3: Ragdoll, Madhatter, Vadal Savage, Dr. Psycho, Deadshot, a redheaded lesbian from another world, and more! It would be near impossible for Secret Six: Six Degrees of Devestation to miss the mark, but it does in the slightest. Fortunately, a slight misstep with this collection of characters and this author is still a hell of a romp. Gail Simone may very well be the funnest writer working in mainstream comics. Check out the latest issue of Birds of Prey to get more of this team of misfits.
Nick: Gorgeously collected for the first time in hardcover format, Grendel: Devil by the Deed, is one of those books that should be savored like a fine wine. Matt Wagner’s interpretation of the anti-hero genre, done in a prose meets comic book style, is complex, engaging and entirely satisfying. Don’t even get me started on the artwork, since Wagner’s work almost in and of itself would sell the book even if there were no words. And for $12.95, this book is a steal.
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What really impressed me about Empowered, aside from the strength of Warren’s pencils, was that it had a message. The T&A is there as eye candy, certainly, and I’m not gonna say I don’t like that once in a while, but I want there to be a reason for it. Warren provides that with Empowered’s easily tearable super suit. He also uses it to explore a theme of low self-esteem, and poses the question of who is truly brave, the hero with major powers or the one who loses her powers every time she tries to help because her suit rips, but keeps trying? Sure, its a funny, sexy book, but there’s a lot more to it, and that’s what I really liked.
02 Apr 2007 at 4:24 pm
QuoteHm, gotta check out Empowered. Saw it in the shop, and it looked kinda ugly. Still, sound likes fun, coming from you guys.
Some recent trades I read that should be read:
303 - I harped on this in a Top Five Fridays, and I think it came out in Feb. actually (maybe). It’s a story of a Russian soldier fighting a British squad in search of the unknown contents from an American plane shot down in Afghanistan. The second half deals with the Russian acting on those contents in America, and the ending is unsettling and uncompromising. The implications in the story are a bit extreme far-left for my tastes, but thought-provoking nonetheless. Jacen Burrows’ art is attractive, though a story like this would have been well-served with some ‘grittier’ art. Throw in some great Ennis-action (like we’ve seen in the Punisher or Midnighter) with his military sensibilities (like we’ve seen in War Stories), and you’ve got a damn fine read. From Avatar.
Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse - again, I’ve mentioned this before, but a nice trade just came out from IDW recently. I really love Templesmith’s art the more I see it - it’s just so pleasing to my eyes, in a way I can’t quite explain. Obviously, not everyone feels this way, coughRandycough, but if you liked his work in Fell or 30 Days of Night, you’ll probably enjoy this. There’s also some great, dry humor which really clicks with me. And I can’t fail to mention how nice the trade is (ooooh, embossed cover!) - you wouldn’t expect less from IDW.
I recently got the Mary Jane HC in the mail, and while I haven’t read it yet, I was pleasantly surprised at the isue selection. When the solicits said ‘first 13 issues’, I assumed it meant of the ongoing series, and not the 2 minis. This is great for me, because I started reading with the ongoing, and haven’t read the minis yet. Here’s hoping to a second volume.
Phew.
02 Apr 2007 at 6:38 pm
QuoteActually, Dave’s much more the Templesmith hater than me. I can enjoy his art from time to time, and really like his work on Fell. In fact, I was going to give Wormwood a look, based on general good vibes and an interesting concept, but when we got the book in, Dan bought it right up… so it’ll have to wait for later in the week when there’s a new copy available.
On Empowered… I read it, and quite enjoyed it. Not as much as Dan, but more than D3 and maybe Nick. It takes a turn for the better about midway through when it becomes less about the jokes and more about the relationships between Empowered, her new boyfriend and Ninjette, who is basically her gal pal. It’s nowhere near as good as Livewires, in my opinion, but if Warren does another one, I’ll pick it up without hesitation.
Oh, and I got the Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane and Daredevil Omnibus hardcovers this month, and both are absolutely worth it. Daredevil in particular was richer, more action-packed and denser than I remember it being. I’ve read those stories two or three times, and there were still story elements and whole issues that I’d forgotten, and it was nice getting to re-acquaint myself with them in such a deluxe format.
02 Apr 2007 at 8:28 pm
QuoteI checked out both of these, and while I very much agree with you on Wormwood, 303 didn’t do it for me. I actually liked the first half of it quite a bit, but the shift in focus in the second half and the story it told just left me cold. The art was quite good throughout, though.
02 Apr 2007 at 9:19 pm
QuoteOk, Nick and D3 have once again shown me they know what they are talking about and that I should trust them implicitly. I now know that I should have caved and bought the “spider-man love mary jane” HC. I was very skeptical and bought the teeny tiny digest of the first four issues. Of course now I am hooked and want to know what happens. Of course, I “know” what happens but I really dig seeing the events thru mary janes eyes. Well that and the art is outstanding, even in the itsy bitsy digest. I will suck it up and buy the HC eventually, while wearing sunglasses and a ski cap so as to not admit I love it. Perhaps I will buy something very manly with it, such as that Weapon X HC. Good call guys.
02 Apr 2007 at 10:34 pm
QuoteDon’t worry Chris, it’s safe to buy the Spidey Loves Mary Jane HC in the store… every single one of us loves the book and can’t call you out without revealing our own girly-man tendencies.
03 Apr 2007 at 12:34 am
QuoteI really want to check the Weapon X HC out. When I got some of the old Conan trades Dark Horse put out I was blown away by Barry Windsor-Smith. I briefly remember reading somewhere he had done a Weapon X series but I had forgotten about it until I read this, so thanks for the head’s up.
03 Apr 2007 at 11:07 am
QuoteMarvel’s hardcover branding confuses me. There’s Masterworks, Omnibus, Premier Hardcover, and . . . ??
03 Apr 2007 at 12:55 pm
QuoteMasterworks- $54.99 gets you 10-12 issues worth of Silver Age/Golden Age material on high quality slightly oversized paper stock. Can easily be compared to DC’s Archives.
Omnibus- 75-100 bucks gets you mega-oversized, mega-high quality paper stock, of a good chunk of a character’s history. In the cases of the $100 HCs, you’re looking at 30-40 issues worth of material; in the $75 HCs, more like 19 issues worth. Letters columns, bizarrely enough, are included.
Premiere- started last year, I have no idea why they do this- regular comic sized hardcovers, like DC puts out, collecting 4-6 issues worth of material for 20 bucks.
Marvel Premiere Classic- Same price as Premiere, only collecting beloved Marvel storylines like Kraven’s Last Hunt and Wolverine Origin. The big difference is Masterworks quality paper stock.
Oversized hardcovers- collections of usually 12 issues worth of material, in a nice big thick package. Sometimes this is also used for smaller projects, such as Beyond! or big bookstore HCs like Moon Knight: I’m So Insecure About Still Liking this Character I’ve Got to Make Him a Deranged Homophobic Bloodthirsty Maniac Who Hallucinates and Hits His Girlfriend.
03 Apr 2007 at 2:25 pm
QuoteI can definitely understand that. The book’s biggest flaw was the shift in setting, tone, and purpose in the second half, which really came out of nowhere too. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the book a lot. Ennis is perhaps my favorite writer, and The Boys hasn’t exactly been my favorite, so this was a very pleasant surprise for me.
Dan C. - that’s funny about Moon Knight. I really did NOT like that book, and it didn’t have to do with the fact that I hate Finch’s style.
03 Apr 2007 at 6:08 pm
QuoteI haven’t read 303 yet but it’s somewhere on my list of things to read. That list is pretty long at the moment but I do agree with you that Ennis is one of those writers that when he’s on, man is he on. Kiel, you may have answered this question in previous posts but have you read any of Ennis’ Punisher Max stuff. That’s probably my personal favorite of his, only trumped by his Preacher which I just re-read and found to hold up very well.
03 Apr 2007 at 6:41 pm
QuoteOh, have I read Ennis’ Punisher. Back when I got into comics about 6-7 years ago, Ennis and Dillon started their first 12 issue series. I was reading pretty much exclusively X-men books, but I read that and loved it. He’s pretty much written almost every Punisher story since, and I’ve loved them all. His Marvel Knights stuff was great fun, with an occasional serious story that was just as effective, and his MAX run is even better. Even when I quit comics for a year or so, I still bought Punisher. Loved it that much.
Like I said, he’s my favorite writer (certainly in my top 5), and I’ve read almost everything he’s done that’s out in trades. The only major work of his I’ve never read is Hitman. Most of those trades are out of print, but maybe I’ll track them down on Amazon or Ebay sometime soon. I hear it’s pretty great stuff, too. There are still some other works I haven’t checked out, most notably his Hellblazer run, but I’ll get there eventually.
In fact, The Boys is probably the first thing from him I haven’t really enjoyed as much, and I don’t even completely hate it like folks around here do. It’s a bit TOO mean-spirited, but I can still enjoy it to some extent.
Also, a bit random, but JRJR is supposed to do a Punisher book with Ennis sometime in the next year or so, and I’ve very excited about that - he’s one of my favorite artists, and he draws a great Punisher. I just wish he and Dillon would some more work together soon.
03 Apr 2007 at 7:34 pm
QuoteAlthough, weirdly, not in the Daredevil Omnibus. Which was actually kind of sparse on extras in general.
I think you just answered your own question.
They’re following a successful trend from DC, which lets them tag an extra $5 or so onto a smaller collection, sell it at premium prices for a limited time and then get the softcover out for long-term shelf life. It’s a practice similar to the book market, and it’s one I really dislike. I’d rather be able to choose whether I want hardcover or softcover, not be forced into hardcover if I want to read the book without an additional 6 month wait.
Seek out Hitman. It is, to my mind, the best thing Ennis has ever written. And his Hellblazer stuff is pretty good too. In fact, in order, my favorite Ennis stuff is probably:
1. Hitman
2. Preacher
3. Hellblazer
4. Punisher MAX
Like you, I’m excited about the possibilities of Ennis and JR JR on Punisher.
03 Apr 2007 at 9:06 pm
QuoteI just noticed that Runaways #25 comes out today (April 4) and the last softcover of BKV’s run hasn’t shipped yet. Major bummer. I thought it was scheduled for last week (March 28). Cause I’m a sucker, I’ll buy #25 and just wait until I get my hands on the last BKV digest.
04 Apr 2007 at 7:34 am
QuoteI enjoyed the Shadowpact, Ex Machina, and Secret Six books when they came out as monthlies and definitely recommend the trades for people that missed out on them.
As far as other stuff, I would recommend the recently released Conan and the Songs of the Dead trade. I had become somewhat bored with the regular Conan series, but I really enjoyed this series. If you’re looking for a fresher take on the character, be sure to check this out. Lansdale and Truman should be doing a regular book together.
04 Apr 2007 at 4:02 pm
QuoteI’m interested in getting into Grendel before the new mini comes out. Can ayone recomend a good single trade of Grendel?
05 Apr 2007 at 10:58 pm
QuoteI honestly don’t know what’s in print from Dark Horse… the hardcover reviewed above, while an illustrated prose kind of thing, is probably a really good intro, as it covers Hunter Rose, the first Grendel and the one who is going to be featured in Wagner’s new mini.
Or, if you want a sampling of the character with some great short stories and a wide variety of great artists, check out the Grendel: Red, White and Black trade paperback.
06 Apr 2007 at 12:08 am
Quote