Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Vertigo Title Review (R.I.P.)

So, thus far, I've enjoyed The Wake quite a bit! It's an interesting horror story that is a complex twist on the "Creature From the Black Lagoon", and that has thus far combined great tone / artistry with crisp characters and plot. Artist Sean Murphy is the real draw here, and he continues to simply knock every thing he does out of the park, following up on the industry highlight of 2012, 'Punk Rock Jesus'. Also welcome is that writer Scott Snyder is showing off the skills I know he has that made me sit up and take notice of him over the last few years. His most recent stuff at DC has been for the most part crap, with hints of greatness trying to shine through. Here, we see the better Snyder being able to showcase his skills without trying to conform to what he thinks a DC superhero series should be like.

Meanwhile, I also sampled Collider and really ended up liking the first issue. It's a definite punk-rock science type series, and it's funky and original enough to get me to want to see where it's going.

Trillium also looks like it'll be good, and Jeff Lemire desperately needs to do something that is good after the last year+ of total shit being produced by him. Let's see if his independent streak can bring out his quality again.

I read the first issue a couple of days ago and found it absolutely terrific! LOVED the flip-book format of this issue which helped us to get to know the two main characters and see how their worlds collide. Of the two, the female's story was especially captivating from a sci-fi angle. The idea of a sentient virus wiping out all humanity across the depths of space was original, and you could feel the desperation as the last vestiges seek out their last chance to fend off extinction.

The art was especially striking. Lemire's art style here compares favorably to Matt Kindt's work over on Mind MGMT with a similarly simple style. But what makes it really pop is the coloring style which resembles watercolors or oil paintings. That distinctive coloring style was striking and unusual in an industry with no shortage of innovative coloring techniques.

Hopefully, subsequent issues will live up to the standard established here. Presumably, they won't have the fun flipbook format to fall back on, but the core story we're introduced to here should be worth checking out to see where it goes.

Anyone else tried Trillium yet?

Despite a few "*Wink* *Wink* remember this?" moments of pandering, Sandman: Overture is off to a solid start. The art is amazing, and the idea of aspects of Dream being killed off is interesting. I don't normally like the idea of a foldout in my comics, but it was very pretty.

DC/Vertigo do need to work on their ad placement and house ad ratio though. I know this will be a huge seller and they're taking the opportunity to push their line, but having what seemed like every second page be a house ad, really hurt the flow.

On Trillium I think I might need more persuading after "Jeff Lemire desperately needs to do something that is good after the last year+ of total shit being produced by him. "

I forgot about Sandman. It will be my first DC book in a while. Glad it's solid enough. It would have been another sad moment if that franchise had been gutted too.

So, a few things Vertigo...

The long awaited Sandman: Overture started off great, though it's always bittersweet that it's just a mini. As usual, it's the total synchronicity between artist and writer that make the series, and Gaiman knows how to play to those strengths. The best thing is that it didn't let me down and my expectations are quite high.

Lemire's Trillium has been quite good so far! The fact that one creator is the sole voice really helps the series as the plot and characters are good, but the artistic delivery makes them great. And as Lardy said, the coloring is really fantastic here! Like so many creator owned books these days, the coloring is an essential part of the story that takes it to another level.

Snyder and Murphy's The Wake is good, if perhaps not great, simply because it feels a bit like it's dragging. Which is odd because a lot of tension exists in each issue, but I'd just like to get on with it. Murphy's art is terrific and he can really do no wrong these days. The series is worth continuing but it's not my favorite.

Coffin Hill started out okay. It needs to step its game up for me to continue, and make its purpose, plot and characters clearer. But there is a lot of really good stuff going on, including that fantastic scene of the coven summoning dark magic and waking up in blood and death the next morning. I'll give it 2 more issues and think it could go either way.

The former Collider, now retitled into something I forget (Bureau of Physics?), had a solid opening art. It's definitely high concept / complex sci-fi and that isn't always the easiest to get across. The artwork helped make the opening arc work for me. I'm wondering how the second arc will be, which will determine if I continue.

I couldn't take it any longer and dropped Unwritten. It was such a great series but I really feel like they had a terrific ending already and everything afterwards has felt unnecessary.

I'll continue to discuss Astro City and Fables in those threads, and only say both have shown a real return to form recently.

FPB (Federal Bureau of Physics, formerly Collider) is a good read for those interested in the stranger aspects of physics. The first issues focused largely on situations involving gravity and I picked up a few facts about that, so yes, comics are educational. The series also has at its core financial skulduggery, on the surface and behind the scenes, which grounds the fantastic physics in reality.

I read the first four issues in one shot; like most comics these days, it's likely much better read as a collection than as monthly issues. I should have seen the ending of #4 coming (there were hints along the way), but it was a surprise - and sets up a good base for future issues.

The recent HC OGN TT and The Ship That Sank Twice is really nice, though... it gives backstory to Wilson's plans for Tom in writing the first book. The first page is a cute nod to a Superman-type origin one of in his earliest attempts at starting his books as his son is conceived, both literally and figuratively. I liked it.

I'm less enthused about them carrying on Unwritten in the upcoming Unwritten vol2: Apocalypse:

So hold the fucking phone. There are 10 trades of Scalped? Shitballs!! I've just read 1-9 in 3 weeks, totally glued to it, allowing all other things to be secondary, on the edge of my goldarn seat...and suddenly hit the end of #9 (issue #55) and don't have the last trade?!

I'm gonna scalp every person I see until I get it!

Ps - contender for greatest series of all time, no doubt. Ranks among the very best. Ever. Period. I had already read the first 6 trades but doing it all at once and now finishing it...wow. It made me smarter, more ornery, cooler, more spiritual and my penis grew two inches. It made my marriage stronger, my job better and it cured my athletes foot.

I can't wait to really talk about it. But I need that last EFFIN trade!!!!

Vertigo's GOT to use this quote on the dust jackets of the inevitable hardcover collections!

You HAVE to get the final trade, Cobie! All the payoffs are glorious, It couldn't have ended any better! Perfection!

Cobie. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Lardy and I were all about this when it was running in real time!!!



Its probably one of the best books ever.

I was lying in wait Iike an anti-gay congressmen at an all male bathroom glory hole! About halfway through I read the first half and it was so good that I decided to wait until I could read it all at once.

I'm gonna try to snag it tomorrow. I just gotstaknow.

Are you talking about a book...or a glory hole?

btw concerning Scalped, I was like .. "one more arc? ... it had such a good ending ... and then I read the final arc and was like ... wow that was really good! Thanks Scalped!"


And like I said on LW before, I dropped Unwritten when the whale story line ended. I preferred to end it that way. Cobes, you are more loyal to your books than I am ... and that's pretty loyal!

Yeah, Unwritten had a perfect ending with the whale story. Continuing it did more harm than good.

Still have to get that final Scalped trade...

And yeah, I hate dropping books that used to really move me. It's a sucky feeling. Once I drop them once, they're basically dead to me forever. I won't even read reviews or articles about them. It's like I need a total divorce because I still feel betrayed.

So I've been rereading my Doom Patrol issues and I'm thinking of looking for a copy of Peter Milligan's Enigma, but I also wanted to mention that Rachel Pollack liked my Coagula sketch from Matthew Clark.

I really struggled to keep going with Doom Patrol after Morrison left. What were the highlights for you in the later issues?

Enigma is still a favourite of mine. I never did get the collected edition. I should rectify that some day.

Was Enigma the title where the protagonist had such a clear memory that reviewing an event took just as long as the event itself?

Random flashback there

I promised Lardy I'd give some initial thoughts on Bodies, the 8 issue mini by Vertigo, which I've read the first 2 issues of. Essentially: so far, so good. I'm still a bit unsure of where it's all going but there is enough there to make me want to see what happens next.

I put it on my pull list because I like the format, as I tend to seek out oddball structures and formats in comics to mix things up. It's 4 different detective stories each issue, in 4 different times, with 4 different artists. Overarching all that is a plot, though it's too soon to tell what it is. I like that thus far, it's a hard rule that the four stories do not mix order, as I feel it's too obvious if they start to blend.

Another reason I bought the series is amusing: I thing Si Spurrier was the writer, and he's impressed me on Crossed: Wish You Were Here (which I'm way behind on). To my shock, it's not Spurrier--it's a writer named Si Spencer, who I never heard of! Oops! Lucky for him I bought the issue and it was well written enough to interest me further.

What I like is that each era's story has an even further twist. The Jack the Ripper era detective is gay; the WWII era detective is a corrupt gangster; and the modern era lead is a Hijab wearing strong Muslim woman. (The future one I don't really know what the hell is going on yet).

The art is solid throughout. The one era I'm least sure about, the future one, has the best art with lush pencils and colors by Tula Lotay. But they're all very good, work distinct styles that fit, such as my boy Phil Winslade on the WWII one.

My favorite of the 4 is the modern era, mainly because there's a sexual tension between the lead (Muslim woman) and her partner (white male) that is not only complicated by their different background, which they won't talk about, but by the fact that they're coworkers. It's a modern twist on an ages old trope and it works because the dialogue is crisp and the plot is tight. I'd almost prefer a whole story with just them.

I guess it's still a bit too early to say on Bodies, but they're clearly doing something different and taking some big chances in story structure and characters. So for that, I'm glad to support it and see what happens.

Oh! I thought that was the new Peter Milligan book--now, I can't remember what that book was!?!?

Bodies sounds interesting...I remember reading a review or two and was intrigued. Chime in on future issues, and I'll get the eventual trade if it holds up!

Lardy, I just did a search -- the latest Milligan book is Terminal Hero from Dynamite.

Paladin, Milligan's latest Vertigo book is called "The Names", and Issue #1 is out and pretty cool. He also has "Terminal Hero" at Dynamite, which is on issue #2.

The Names is about a vast conspiracy behind the world economy. When an inside player tries to turn whistle-blower, he's killed, but his wife stumbles onto the evidence and goes out for some hardcore revenge. Milligan describes it as "Kill Bill meets Wall Street". It's got a great weird vibe to it so far.