Various new series reviewed

Some more short takes:

ART OPS #1: So, art is real and the people stuck in art are alive. It’s up to the Art operatives to free those people from their prisons. That is the basic premise of this great new book from Vertigo. Shaun Simon writes a great book with a killer bunch of unusual characters. And when you let Michael and Laura Allred handle the art, you either love it or hate it. I am a longtime fan of Allred’s work, so guess which way I lean? This was just plain fun and has a nice origin story that has enough holes in it to get me coming back for more. Remember: this is Vertigo, so it’s gonna be weird. But I recommend it!

A TRAIN CALLED LOVE #1: As we have learned, when you let Garth Ennis loose on a book, anything can happen and usually does! This book is no exception. With artist Mark Dos Santos in tow, Ennis gives us a caper title filled with all kinds of wild, quirky characters. The art is okay but the dialogue and characters more than makes up for those shortcomings. If you’re a fan of unusual titles and killer dialogue, this is the book for you. It’s only a four issue run, so it’s not like your investment is that long.

CLEAN ROOM #1: Did you have read a comic and ask yourself “what is this thing about”? Did you ever then say “I don’t know why, but I love it”? Welcome to the newest work from Gail Simone. The book, with art from Jon Davis-Hunt, jumps from Germany to Florida and revolves a self-help organization that may be behind a series of weird, sometimes deadly incidents. It is a creepy book in the tradition of some of the new horror titles like HARROW COUNTY and I really don’t know what it is all about, but I LOVE IT! There is just enough plot to make you come back for more and just enough gore to satisfy that craving. This was a ball to read and I want to see where it goes from here.

G.I. JOE : COBRA WORLD ORDER PRELUDE: In case you’re not aware, G.I. JOE is still going strong after all these years and still has a pretty rapid following. And longtime scribe Larry Hama is still cranking out the action. This book is the Prelude book that will lead into seven-part story that will run through issues #219-225. It’s been an earth shaking few months for the Joes, complete with the death of the original Snake Eyes and this book, with art by S.L. Gallant fills in some gaps and puts in enough plot devices to satisfy both newcomers and old time fans. Looking for a change of pace? This may be your fix for the next few months!

THE HANGMAN #1: Michael Minetta is a nice family man who is actually a hit man for the mob. He’s about to execute someone when The Hangman shows up and executes him and then elevates to the next place. What? Okay…this was a foul mouthed, gritty tale with a lot of violence and colorful words. When the “hero” finally shows up, it’s quick and painless and then that ending. This title, by Frank Tieri and Felix Ruiz, is the weakest of the Dark Circle title to be released so far.  Hopefully the second issue will explain much of this and give us a ton more plot than this one did.

IAN FLEMING’S JAMES BOND 007 #1: Just in time for the new movie, Garth Ennis and Jason Masters bring us their take on this classic secret agent. The book looks great and Ennis does his usual thing-writes a killer story. The fact that we can get through the first 8 pages without a single word and still be able to tell a great story is a credit to the abilities of this creative team. Cool twists abound here, including turning M and Moneypenny into dark sinned folks as opposed to their usual white characters. This is a fun first issue and I look forward to see where this is going from here.

I HATE FAIRYLAND #1: Oh my god! Image has let crazy Marvel artist Skottie Young run wild!  Once upon a time, a little girl named Gertrude wished she could go to Fairyland and, unfortunately for her, she did and breaks her arm in the process. Now it’s 27 years later and Gertrude is pretty pissed off about things. She blows up things, cannibalizes others and generally causes more trouble than you can imagine. This is DEFINITELY not for kids, as one could tell my the F**K FAIRYLAND variant cover! Put your tongue deep into your cheek and jump onto this wild ride!

JUGHEAD #1: First off, you have to be told that the new reboot of ARCHIE and JUGHEAD is not the Archie and Jughead you or your parents grew up with. Sure, it has the same characters we know and love and even some of them have the same traits. Take Jughead: he’s still Jonesing for hamburgers. And we get appearances from Archie, Betty, Mr. Weatherbee and a bunch of the rest. In fact, Mr. Weatherbee is put out to pasture in this issue! What we do get is a whole new level of writing and art courtesy of Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson and it’s a whole ton of fun. Not as dark as AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE and not as drama filled as ARCHIE, it’s just a fun read. PLUS, you get a story from the original JUGHEAD #1 from 1949!

PAPER GIRLS #1: It’s 1988 and 12 year old Erin is introduced, along with some of the other neighborhood paper girls. There’s a spaceship, aliens, mystery, and an Ipod. This is a great looking book, thank to Cliff Chiang. His lines are nice and clean and Matt Wilson’s colors enhance his great work. The whole thing is from the mind of Brian K. Vaughan and it goes into a great number of places. Setting it in the Eighties means he can throw in some nice cultural references, like the MONSTER SQUAD poster in Erin’s room and the misconceptions about AIDS. I love the story, the cool little American Newspaper Delivery Guild back-up, and the way that this is a Science Fiction story UNDER the main story. This is a great little book!

THE SHIELD #1: The Shield has lived throughout history and continues to do so today. This book kind of feels like ASSASSIN’S CREED meets ALIAS. Adam Christopher and Chuck Wendio write a fun little book which takes the character and twists it in some cool new ways, especially if you read the original Red Circle series. Drew Johnson’s art is really sharp there are a couple of two page spreads that are really beautiful. This is another chapter in the Dark Circle line and it fits in nicely with the rest of the line. If you have read any of the other series and liked them, this will fit your bill.

SURVIVOR’S CLUB #1: Six people with mysterious pasts come together in this horror story that features a demon-summoning video games. This is a weird book by Lauren Beukes, Dale Halvorsen and artist Ryan Kelly and I can’t quite recommend it yet. The characters, who have all had something happen to them in 1987, are all a bit quirky and we only get a back-story on a South African girl who had an experience with the previously mentioned video game. But we also get a an insect attack and a girl named Alice who gets to switch with a doppelganger. Again, I am intrigued by the whole thing, but rather confused as to the direction and connections. I will give it another read, but I want more than I got in issue #1. On the plus side, Kelly’s art is dynamite!

THE TWILIGHT CHILDREN #1: Gilbert Hernandez is the legendary LOVE AND ROCKETS author/artist known for writing about the town of Palomar. Darwyn Cooke is a legendary comic author/artist who has been responsible for turning out some amazingly beautiful work in his career. This title brings the two of them together with Hernandez turning out a mysterious tale set on an island, complete with romance, sex and missing children. As always, his characters are clever and cool and his dialogue is amazing. I have always put him in with his brothers Mario and Jaime and Terry Moore as far as being able to deliver some amazing believable dialogue. Cooke’s art is his usual amazing work and hearkens back to his work on THE SPIRIT, CATWOMAN and of course, THE NEW FRONTIER. When Vertigo announced a number of new series/mini-series, this was the one that made me sit up and tale notice. I’m glad to see I wasn’t disappointed. Realize that this is NOT a hero in tights book. If you want a beautiful written and equally beautifully illustrated comic this is it.