The Outfit

Le husband and I dropped in the library after lunch yesterday to snag several graphic novels -- I was peering through the volumes for a friend while H was pocketing whatever suited his fancy.

We came away with a dozen assorted comics, including stories about Spiderman (for the friend), Batman (for me) and Iron Man (for Husband), along with some miscellaneous stories.

I decided to give one of Husband's books a try -- it was adapted and illustrated by Darwyn Cooke, who we both admire for his 60's style drawings (He also wrote/illustrated The New Frontier, which you should definitely check out -- there are two volumes, the second of which you can find here).  He wrote four graphic novels about Parker, adapted from stories by the author, Richard Stark (a pen name of Donald Westlake).

While I don't usually go for noir storylines, The Outfit was a solid heist story with wonderful illustrations.   The antihero main character is a James Bond type (on the wrong side of the law) who learns that someone from the past wants him dead.  He hunts them down, hitting where it hurts (here's where the heists come in), pairing up with old friends to pull off the robberies with seeming ease.

The story is dark, but the drawings keep it from being too gritty.  One reviewer on Amazon disliked the book because Parker didn't really have too difficult of a time taking down crime bosses and pulling heists -- but I think this story is more about WHY you don't mess with guys like Parker.  Because they're ruthless and they will .  It's more a cautionary tale than anything else.

If you enjoy heists, noir, crime, or pulp fiction, you might want to give this one a try.

It IS Volume II of the Parker graphic novels, so for background, read the first novel, The Hunter.

I'll be seeing you on Write Wednesday with an interview, and an update on my writing progress.

Keep reading!

4 Mini Reviews -- Graphic Novels

Review No. 1 -- Batman/Grendel by Matt Wagner

Thoroughly enjoyed this, mostly because I'd read a Grendel collection last year and found it fascinating.  And Batman is my favorite superhero.

I don't want to spoil the story (told in three parts), so I won't delve into the details.  But it's a solid read with beautiful artwork.  This was probably my favorite of the ones reviewed in this post.

Review No. 2 -- Nightmares & Fairytales, Volume 3: 1140 Rue du Royale by Serena Valentino

Thoroughly despised this book.  There is a way to revenge the death of poor souls who were cruelly mistreated, but a creepy comic book is not one of them.  (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a much, MUCH better book that does something similar)  This book was disturbing, but not because of the subject.  It was more akin to a horror story (and I really don't like much horror), which didn't give value to the deaths, it just added grisly detail.  Yuck.

Review No. 3 -- Catwoman, vol. 6, "It's Only A Movie" by Will Pfeiffer

Not bad.  My favorite Catwoman story arc (the only one I really love, actually) is the six-issue mini series "When in Rome" which ties in with my favorite Batman story arc, "Dark Victory".  This story has a fascinating villain, movie references (always a hit with me), and a surprise.  Pretty good.

Review No. 4 -- Daredevil, Vol. 1 by Mark Waid

Probably my second favorite of the bunch.  This had a solid story, an intriguing superhero, and great artwork.  Also a suspenseful ending, which was awesome.  Having only seen part of the lackluster Daredevil movie, this was surprisingly great.  I'll have to read more.

More graphic novels to come, but I think my next review might be a book.

Also: Finished my ScriptFrenzy project this morning!  Which means I've now won ScriptFrenzy three years in a row.  Woohoo!  Maybe after another three years I'll actually publish something.  ;)

What are you reading these days? Do you have a list of books you ONLY read in the summer?  Or do you read whatever strikes your fancy all year long?

Frey by Joss Whedon

And so continues my glut of comic books -- I've read a half dozen -- Batman: Faces, Serenity: Better Days, X-Men Noir, Axe Cop, Frey and The Cleaners.

Axe Cop you can read about below.

The others were good but I don't feel like they all *need* a review.  So I'm picking the one I really loved -- Joss Whedon's Frey.

I'm an unabashed Whedonite -- so I can't believe I didn't know about this comic book before (although I have not read his Buffy Season 8 comic -- which will soon be remedied as I am borrowing them from a friend this week).

Frey is set in the Slayer 'verse, years and years and years after Buffy's time.  It's an even weirder universe, crowded with monster mob bosses who live underwater, people scarred by radiation (missing limbs, etc.) and "lurks" (the new word for vampire).

I didn't expect to love it as much as I did -- and I'm not really sure why.  I think it might be because I wasn't sure how he would translate his amazing characters, witty banter and awesome fight scenes into comics.  Well, I shouldn't have worried.  Joss knows what he's doing.

The main character, Malaka Frey, is full of personality -- Joss made sure she wasn't just another big-chested fight machine who manages to somehow be mostly decent while scantily clad.

I felt like she was a real person -- albeit a real person who lives in crazy-land.  She had to figure out what was going on, make tough choices, and make a few mistakes.

Of course, Joss also pulls a typical Joss-y thing: killing off characters you actually liked.  But it made sense with the story, so I guess I can handle it (just hand me a tissue).

While wondering what Joss was going to do after Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers (both of which I am ecstatic about -- going to see Cabin in the Woods next week!!), this was a good reminder that whatever he does, it's going to be AWESOME.

Axe Cop (Volume I) by Malachai & Ethan Nicolle

I went on a comic book binge at the library on Sunday and came home with a treasure trove: some X-Men, Green Lantern, Batman, Grendel, and...

AXE COP.

If you miss the amazing brilliance of Invader Zim (which was written by comic book writer Jhonen Vasquez) or if you are a fan of the new and hilariously zany show Adventure Time, get your butt over to the Axe Cop website and enjoy.

Written by Malachi Nicolle (who was five or six when this all started -- he's now eight) and drawn by his older brother Ethan (who is in his 30's now), Axe Cop is the type of webcomic that makes your entire life better.

What I love about Axe Cop is that Ethan may ask Malachi questions, but the stories are entirely from the mind of a kid -- who loves unicorn horns, dinosaurs, policemen, and poisoning the bad guys (while also chopping their heads off).

In a world full of rules, boredom and adults that can be (if not always) stifling, Axe Cop is a wave of kick-butt awesomeness that is sure to overturn the darkest of days (like Tax Day).

There's so much to love about this webcomic -- the fact that Axe Cop looks like he's from the 80's, Uni-Baby (a baby with a unicorn horn), and the phrase, "It was a secret attack."

I think I giggled through the entire thing last night.

My favorite part of Axe Cop is the "Ask Axe Cop" (questions Ethan poses to Malachi from readers) section -- do yourself a favor and get in some laughs today.