Kinda Sticking The Landing: Spider-Gwen #3

Well, it might not have been what I wanted, but it wasn't terrible. Weird how that could apply to most comics these days.

But anyway, let's look at Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #3.

The Evil Gwen story is brought to an end, with Spider-Gwen finally confronting the grieving (and now mad) Gwen Stacy of this unnamed dimension. The thing Spider-Gwen has been searching for for three issues is finally realized, and she can finally rejoin all the other Spiders in last summer's Spider-Geddon for some end of maxi-series punching.

First off, I liked that they took three issues to tell this story. It could easily have been done in one, but I appreciated the space Seanan McGuire was given to give some flesh to the characters. I also liked even in this last issue, no one really comes off as totally wonderful. Spider-Gwen just wants this shit dealt with. Peter and MJ just want their Gwen back, and will manipulate Spider-Gwen to do just that. And even Evil Gwen, once cured, isn't all sweetness and light. When handing Spider-Gwen the goober that will allow her to return, she pricks her hand with it to get her DNA to trigger said goober. The following exchange really summed up the character interplay in this story:

Spider-Gwen: "Ow!"
Not Evil Gwen: "Sorry."
Spider Gwen: "You don't sound sorry."
Not Evil Gwen: "Oh, because I'm not."

This was a story about loss and fear, both with Peter and MJ's concern for their Gwen and having lost that dimension's Spider-Man, and with Spider-Gwen's fear for her friends. It's also telling that when MJ got her Gwen back, she hugged her. When Spider-Gwen was hugged by Peter for agreeing to help, she didn't like it. It's interesting how even the most common expression of warmth sets Spider-Gwen off.

The art was also okay, but did look rushed in places. Lack of detail in some panels gave things an emptiness that felt distracting. The colorist employed full colour blocks to hide this lack of detail, and was used way too much. I did like the New York night time scenes as Spider-Gwen and MJ swing across the city--some nice light effects were employed there, which I enjoyed. But overall the book felt like it needed just a couple of more weeks.

The cover art was good, and it might be nice to see this artist tackle an entire issue.

So, as I said, it might not have been what I wanted, but it wasn't terrible. But even with a good writer, this comic showed the rushed approach I see too much in Marvel Comics these days. Maybe this whole idea of monthly comics needs to be scrapped, but that's a discussion for another day. At least it was a decent read.

Skullcrack City

I am not a fan of the term 'bizarro fiction'. Perhaps authors like it. Maybe there are people out there who gravitate towards that because they dye their hair purple and live on the edge. To me, it seems somewhat insulting. As if there is an expected level of imagination in any work of fiction, and if you go beyond that mysterious set limit, then look out! You're entering bizarro country! Things are going to be whacky!

Somedays, I just fucking despair.

Skullcrack City has been labelled bizarro. If there is an imagination governor out there, then this book exceeds it. But I would simply call it a horror novel, and leave it there.

The novel tells the story of a drug addicted bank worker S.P. Doyle, who finds himself discovering a conspiracy that he feels compelled to bring down. Forever masturbating and worrying about his turtle, he takes very drastic, career altering,  actions towards this end. As things become even more strange and more horrifying, Doyle finds out that there are far more evil things lurking in the world than simple conspiracy.

Johnson creates a world that seems just a bit removed from our own. This is a world where people are fascinated with reality shows about horrific body modifications, and where government surveillance is just a bit more crushing than in our own. There are also giant gorilla like creatures that like to eat people's brains after cracking open their skulls. So, you know, a bit different, but not by much.

I found the first bit of the novel to be a little too pedal to the medal crazy. It makes sense since the protagonist is blasted to the gills on Hex, the evil drug at the centre of this story, and we're seeing things from his perspective, but I was beginning to wonder if this meant the author could just go off the rails without somehow tying things together at some point.

Fortunately, Johnson does, and the story settles down into a far less frantic--but no less horrifying--story about secret organizations and unbelievable evil. I don't want to sketch out everything that happens, but the second half of the novel puts the first into far more a far more comprehensible light.

I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, but it at least makes about as much sense as the rest of the novel. Which isn't a criticism--Johnson takes great pains to explain how things work in this world, and the ending is just as well planned. I'm just not sure it's the ending that I wanted to see.

Skullcrack City is the work of a mind that isn't afraid to take an imaginative leap off any preconceived tower. It's also a work that isn't being weird just to be weird: there is a story here, and there are characters to care about, including the aforementioned turtle. Who, I will say, is my favourite character so far in 2019, bizarro or not.

Stuck In The Middle With You: Spider-Gwen:Ghost Spider #2

I was a little troubled by how little I've been enjoying Marvel Comics of late.  I've been hearing a lot of people on YouTube talking about 'the decline of Marvel', and I was chalking that up to Internet Gotta Bitch, but....maybe there's some truth in that. There really is a definite slide in quality with many of the books I've read.

Domino, Uncanny X-Men, X-23...all of these recent issues have been somewhat lacking, in terms of art and in slapdash storytelling.  And so I'm relieved to find a Marvel book that I found little to complain about.

I've enjoyed Seanan McGuire's Rosemary and Rue, an urban fantasy novel about a faerie private detective. Yes, that may make you roll your eyes, but I found it to be a good story about loss, suffering, and modern day magic that didn't make me roll my eyes. She is a very good writer, and when I heard she was on Spider-Gwen, I wondered if she could make the transition to comic writing.  Not every writer can--it's a different format, akin to writing a screenplay, and you have to shift gears. Sometimes ego doesn't allow for that, or an editor won't step in with a much needed red pencil. (I am--believe it or not--a playwright, with one show to my credit. I can attest to how difficult it can be.)

Anyway.

I needn't have worried.

This issue ties in with last summer's  Spider-Geddon event, with Gwen having been dropped into yet another alternate dimension after a battle with the Inheritors. Desperate to get back to her friends, she runs into this dimension's version of the Green Goblin, and later, a very hurt and desperate Peter Parker.

She doesn't get on with either of them. She fights Goblin, and when she meets Peter, has to impatiently endure his tragic retelling of the origin story of this dimension's Spider-Man and Goblin. Gwen's anger is barely hidden, and her feelings towards Peter turn hostile when he begins to manipulate her to help save the Goblin, who--this being comic books--is of course this dimension's Gwen Stacy.

Neither Gwen or Peter come off well in this exchange. Both of them are worried about loved ones, and are short with one another. If there is nobility here, it's buried deep. Gwen may be a hero, but she is not always heroic. When Gwen hears of the selfish reason Goblin Gwen became a hero, she can see that selfishness in herself.

It's a good story, with no real promise of a happy ending. Had this been any other Marvel comic, I would assume everything wraps up perfectly in the next issue, but this is Seanan McGuire, and I'm not sure she really believes in happy endings.

My only issue with the story would be the art looking a little rough, but the page composition and storytelling are well done. I also think Marvel should stop trying to re-brand Spider Gwen as 'Ghost Spider' or what other generic name they think suits her better. Spider-Gwen is both a nod to Spider-Man's history, and it's just kinda stupid, which makes it the perfect comic book hero name.

It's an issue that deals with a lot of characters reacting to crisis, with everyone being real shitty to everyone else. In this age of Marvel characters either just shouting or making pop culture comments, it was very refreshing.

I'm curious to see how this story wraps up.

Another Bad Day: I Am A Hero Volume 2

Remember when The Walking Dead was a must read? Seeing how Rick and his family could survive in the zombie apocalypse was something I couldn't get enough of. And then, somewhere, it stopped being good, or I'd just had enough. And I haven't watched the show or read the book in years.

This is my fear with I Am A Hero. I don't want it to not be good. But at least I can say the second omnibus volume is even better than the first one. Where the first volume spent a fair amount of pages giving us an idea of just who Hideo Suzuki was, there wasn't much in the way of zombie horror...until there was, and it just didn't stop. With the second volume, that horror becomes relentless.

This second volume continues with Hideo's first day, his horrifying first night, and the beginnings of his second day of Everything Going To Hell. We see his perilous escape from Tokyo on public transit, culminating in his collapsing at night in the Suicide Forest beneath Mount Fuji. As with the first volume, Hideo must also deal with his own mental illness as well as the horrific violence surrounding him.

This volume also introduces a new companion for Hideo. Her introduction is a masterclass in unsettling. Hiromi Hayakari is a teenage schoolgirl with an old soul. Her intense degree of empathy is one of her  strongest characteristics, one which may not be the best key for survival in this new world she and Hideo find themselves in. As the attacks continue, the two of them form an odd bond--Hiromi looks to Hideo as an adult with all the assumptions of wisdom and self control that term brings, even if Hideo is clearly not that person. Hideo finds himself uneasy with Hiromi, both because she's an attractive (much younger) woman and because he's still barely holding it together himself.  The growth of their relationship under fire is well done, as they both discover who the person is whose hand they're holding while being pursued by monsters.

I Am A Hero Volume 2 continues to be a terrifying horror story. Long may it continue.

A Different Type of Hair Band: Yui Kamio Lets Loose

You may think you've seen every incarnation of the Jekyll and Hyde trope by this time in your life. If you are a man of letters like myself, you've undoubtedly read Stevenson's original novel, you've seen the television series Hyde, and you've read years of The Incredible Hulk and nodded to yourself, going Hmmm, because you know the source material and can't help feeling pretty damn smug about yourself.

But how about a Jekyll/Hyde story where a hair band makes the difference?

That's the premise of Yui Kamio Lets Loose, a new serial starting in Shonen Jump.  It's set in a high school (surprise!) and details the life of a teenage girl with an odd relationship with her hair. The first chapter illustrates the personality differences between the two sides of Yui--when her chain hair band is in place, she's blonde, caring, gentle, dressed in white, and everyone adores her. When the chain slips off--or as in this chapter, gets caught or something, like a knife coming for her face--Yui becomes a brunette in a black dress and unleashes hell on those she believes deserves her vengeance. And these aren't comical beatings. One guy is so physically and emotionally scarred he hunts her down, for all the good it does him.

Running around behind Yui is her friend, Nao, whose purpose in life is to make sure that hair band does not come off. She is not that great at her job.

This being a comedy manga, of course one of the bullies her dark persona smacked up is attracted to the blonde Yui, and is horrified to learn her secret, especially after he told her his darkest secret of wanting to be a veterinarian. Which isn't something cool people want to be, apparently.

It's a fun, light read, offset by the violence Dark Yui can unleash. Yui Kamio Lets Loose is an odd mix of shoujo and shonen, which has been noted by many other more knowledgeable critics than I is perhaps a route Shonen Jump is leaning towards.  Regardless, I was more engaged with this than with the last few American comics I've read, so that's something, I guess.

Chaos! Shouting! Mutants! Uncanny X-Men #9

I've recently started reading Uncanny X-Men again out of nostalgia, so you can guess how good that's going.

As a teenager, I loved this book. Written by Chris Claremont, it was the perfect angsty soap opera to clutch as you navigated adolescence in the Eighties. Now, many years later, you can't help but see the book in a much different, some would say cynical,  perspective.

The first difference I noticed was that instead of one writer, this issue has three: Matthew Rosenberg, Kelly Thompson and Ed Brisson It's a group thing! The story this time is another part in a long-running storyline called Disassembled, which seems to be about the end of the world, or maybe the X-Men. I really wasn't sure.

This issue hits the X-Men checklist fairly well. A powerful mutant wanting to remake the world and only the X-Men can stop him? Check. Anti-mutant sentiment wanting all mutants gone? Check. The government perhaps taking steps to take down mutants because they hate them, too? Checkity check. Lots of shouting in a confused battle scene where you have no idea what's going on? Cheeeeeck. Does Kitty Pryde save someone who hates her because that's what X-Men do? Well, check that one, too.

The big bad this time is X-Man, who I thought was Cable, but maybe this is a different Cable from (sigh) another dimension. I don't know. The book never told me. He's somehow in the mind of Legion, who we are told is an Omega Level mutant, which means look the fuck out. There is huge, rather clumsily staged fight between X-Man's support team (including a brainwashed Storm) and the gaggle of X-Men on site. Jean Grey is leading the team now, in a very catchy blue and red outfit. There was no sign of Cyclops or Wolverine, although Nightcrawler was there, but now with a beard.

It was a nostalgia twang to see Jean psychically calling for help with a To me, my X-Men, which used to be Professor X's thing. Oh, he wasn't here, either.

So the issue ends with more X-Men arriving for next issue's big battle.

As an X-Men comic, it was okay. Yildiray Cinar's is fine, with some clear attention to faces, and the page set up worked, with the exception of the battle scenes, which were cluttered and way too busy.
The comic had the feel of an X-Men book, but one from the Nineties. I fell in love with the quiet character interplay back then, but this was just a lot of shouting. (To be fair, I did like the focus--as much as this book was capable of that--on lesser known X-Men like Armor, especially with her stupid but brave attempt to solve a battlefield problem.)

So, a shrug, I guess. I already knew you could never come home again, so at least that wasn't a surprise.

Insert Heart To Continue: Hi Score Girl

I knew nothing about Hi Score Girl when I came across it on Netflix, and took a chance on the first episode. I finished the final episode in Season 1 today. I'm glad I found this little gem.

Based on the manga Hai Sukoa Garu by Rensuke Oshikiri, the story takes place in 1991 Japan, centering around middle school student Haruo Yaguchi, who is more interested in the arcade scene than his schooling. While hanging around the arcade, he comes across Akira Ono, a sheltered rich girl who finds comfort from her regimented life by playing arcade games. The two strike up an odd friendship, with Haruo oblivious to his feelings for Akira because he can't stop thinking about games, and Akira being so tightly wound and silent that her emotional outbursts always seem to involve violence. Along the way Haruo encounters another girl, Koharu Hidaka, who finds herself drawn to the oblivious Haruo, and learns to appreciate games by being around him.

The Japanese gaming scene plays a large role in this series, with Haruo and Akira playing Street Fighter and Darkstalkers, Ghosts and Goblins and many other games from back in the blessed day.  The differences between Japanese and American arcades are made quite clear, with the prevalence of Versus machines and arcade cabinets being set outside liquor stores. Having spent a large part of the Eighties in North American arcades, I found this fascinating. I can't imagine a Street Fighter game surviving staying outside in a Canadian winter.

But back to the story. The first season extends over a few years, with the three main characters moving from middle school to high school as the gaming scene evolves alongside them. There were some very heartfelt scenes here, ones which surprised me. I wasn't expecting to be caught up in the story as much as I was.  I found myself caring for these three characters, especially as their own personal worlds accelerate around them. For a show about old video games, there is a surprising amount of tenderness here, delivered quietly through lingering glances, barely repressed tears, or sighs of quiet resignation.

I look forward to Season 2.