Top of the Pile - 10/23/2013

Velvet #1
by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting
Image Comics

Ed Brubaker, with his new book Velvet, is writing spy fiction now. Like his hugely successful noir book, Fatale, Velvet is his attempt to tell a tale of espionage from the heyday of the cold war, the early 1970s. Velvet is the name of the main character, Velvet Templeton, who is the secretary to the head of the most elite spy group, ARC-7.  But as the book starts, one of the most experienced agents gets murdered while on assignment in Paris and as  the investigation into how such a thing happened to a highly trained agent, Velvet gets a little too close to the truth and ends up in a very touchy situation.

I’ve liked Brubaker’s work for years. Initially with his run on Daredevil and Iron Fist, and later his crime/noir books, he is one writer I always look for. He is able to adapt his style to whichever genre he is writing. With Velvet, we hear the inner monologues of Velvet as she pieces evidence together. The dialog isn’t anachronistic to the time period he is writing. And the pacing is at a good clip here we are introduced to all the characters.

The artwork by Steve Epting is also very fine. And as it turns out, I’ve been enjoying his work for a while also. Most recently from the Fantastic Four and FF books. His take on the spy story is interesting. There are many great novels and movies with spies, but some of them from the 70s could be really campy and silly (think Matt Helm meets Modest Blaise). But instead of going all pop-art and platform shoes, he and Brubaker go for a more realistic, darker tone. Almost every page is full of shadows. Dark offices and rain filled streets are where most of the action in this book takes place. And with Velvet’s streak of white hair on an otherwise raven do, she comes across as a super femme fatale. Really cool.

I really like this book so far and will definitely continue picking it up. As for the library, I would certainly consider purchasing the trade paperbacks. If the story continues to maintain its quality, I would recommend it highly to our patrons who like our spy books.

Kick Butt Graphic Girls

One of my colleagues is selecting and ordering some graphic novels in her larger selection area of recreation, creative and performing arts. However, she doesn’t really like comics and when she receive them, she floats them to me (knowing I love comics) to examine and evaluate. And recently we received a book called “Over the Wall” which tells the story of a normal girl who is strong and goes on a quest and overcomes insurmountable odds to succeed. And this made me think, we have in our collection several wonderful graphic novels that show strong girls and women taking names and kicking butt.

“Over the Wall” by Peter Wartman is set in a mayan type village and it starts where a girl writes a note to her parents explaining that she’s going to search for her missing brother. The boys of the village, when they turn 16, are sent to enter the old, abandoned city where demons are caged. And as the girl entered the city, her wit, quick actions, gumption and help from a no name demon, allow her to prevail. Wartman’s art is very good too. With purple hues, there is very little color used. But I think this style makes the designs he created stand out a little better than if they were in full color. Also, his characters are very expressive. With large eyes and great expressions, the emotions of the characters is easily read.

As I was reading “Over the Wall”, I was thinking, “this is just like another graphic novel, ‘Zita the Spacegirl’”. Created by Ben Hatke, Zita is a story about a girl and her brother who get teleported to a strange alien planet with strange alien creatures. Kind of like the cantina on Mos Eisley, you can tell Hatke had fun with the unique designs of everything. In the story, Zita’s brother is grabbed by some tentacle monster with a diving bell head. And for the rest of the book, she is on a quest to reunite with her brother and get back to Earth. The style of this book is vastly different than “Over the Wall”. With vibrant colors, the alien worlds and creatures are super interesting. And the action he shows is very fast paced and dynamic.
 

Another new graphic novel recently came across my desk with the same theme of a kick butt woman called “Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant.” By Tony Cliff, we meet first the Turkish Lieutenant, Erdemogul Selim, describing to the Sultan a woman they have captured and all her outlandish claims. With extensive training from all over the world along with a flying ship, she plans on stealing valuable works from the Sultans library. From there, the action becomes fast paced and two fisted. Selim is dragged along, first unwillingly and eventually  whole heartedly, as Delilah travels and plunders from dangerous characters. With its exotic settings (both geographically and chronologically), any fan of adventure, young or old, would do well picking up this book for a fun read.

Other great graphic novels with kick butt protagonists:

Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead by Steve Pugh

Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi

Batwoman: Elegy by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III

Top of the Pile - 10/9/2013

Three
Writer Kieron Gillen
Artists Ryan Kelly and Jordie Bellaire
Published by Image

Every comic fan knows the battle of Thermopylae from the Frank Miller story 300. Spartans holding off Persian hoards, protecting the nascent Greek city-states from being conquered. But in the afterward of this comic, Kieron Gillen, who mentions Millers work, explains that he wanted to tell the story of the Spartans that were living behind its citizens. The Helots, who were the peasants or serfs of Greek society and were the lowest caste.

So in this first issue, we learn how barbaric the citizens were as they hunt and murder helots as they work in the fields. And we meet three individuals who seem to rise above their station in life. Klaros, a crippled, bitter man. Damar a woman who seems sympathetic to Klaros’ plight. And Terpander who is best described as a type of malcontent. I assume we’ll get to follow their paths as they try and survive and thrive is a society where they are basically outcasts.

The artwork for this book is very good. The orange and black cover is striking and caught my eye on the shelf at the comic shop today. Inside, the artwork is broad and strong. The colors and inking stylistically are thick and dark making for a powerful narrative. The character designs and good too. The helots are gaunt and emaciated while the Spartans are muscley and buff. We feel for them.

I will continue picking up this title. I like Gillen’s work and think he’s a fine storyteller. And the historic subject of Ancient Greece is very different and pretty cool. As of the first issue, I don’t see anything objectionable for a library collection. Certainly not for the juvenile section, but so far, it’s fine for the YA area.