[Comic Execution] 5/30 – ‘NIGHTBREED’, ‘TREES’, ‘DOCTOR SPEKTOR’

CAN WE PLEASE JUST GET A COMIC BOOK ADAPTATION OF ‘JERICHO’ ALREADY?

And no, I’m not talking about that one TV show. I think they already did a comic of that and that got cancelled too.

No, I’m referring to the video game ‘Jericho,’ written by Cliver Barker. It is seriously gut-wrenching stuff. I mean, it wasn’t a great game. But it would make a hell of a comic book.

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NIGHTBREED #1

Writer: Marc Andreyko
Artist: Piotr Kowalski

Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Price: $4 (Digital)

I’m the worst Cliver Barker fan in existence. I’ve literally only read one book by him (‘The Inhuman Condition’ aka ‘Books of Blood Volume IV’) and I’ve seen a grand sum of ONE movie based on his works: ‘Midnight Meat Train’ (‘Rawhead Rex’ doesn’t count). And yes, this means I’ve never seen ‘Candyman,’ though I’ve listened to the Philip Glass score hundreds of times so I’m honestly not sure the film itself can live up to what I’ve built in my head. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. Despite this, I consider him a superior artist to Stephen King, whose books and films I have consumed far too much of to be healthy. One of Barker’s lesser known films, ‘Nightbreed,’ has recently been re-released in a more complete form to much fanfare, so it’s little surprise a comic book adaptation has followed, since Barker’s works perennially get the sequential art treatment.

The writer of this adaptation is Marc Andreyko, whose work I’ve previously reviewed: ‘The Illegitimates’ was his and I was thoroughly surprised by how good it was, considering the pedestrian nature of the concept. Now, as I implied in the above paragraph, I’ve never seen ‘Nightbreed’ so I have no idea how faithful or quality Andreyko’s script is to the source material. Which means I’ve viewing it through pristine lenses; as a comic book, and nothing else.

Andreyko eases us into NIGHTBREED’s world via an enigmatic narrator whose philosophical segue is both mystical and insightful. Cleverly, it’s a ruse whose unveiling is quite the hook, immediately dropping us into a world that is clearly not entirely our own. This sets the tone for the next scene, one that’s delightfully short on dialogue of any kind, relying entirely on the intensity of a thrilling Bayou chase to hook the reader (as well as evoking Lovecraft). This is intercut with a seemingly unrelated scene following a Massachusetts senator that builds suspense as well as contrasts perfectly with the other narrative. As things go horribly wrong in Louisiana, the weirdness keeps getting deeper, the unusual nature of the Senator’s “liaison” hinted at with subtle, light-handed cues, all contrasting wonderfully with the violence elsewhere. When Andreyko gets to the payoff, it’s a powerful reveal synchronized with the grim results of the bayou showdown, evoking strange emotions in both cases; sympathy for monsters, a coda for the whole series in the first issue. Impressive.

One of my favorite ongoing titles, ‘Sex’, shares NIGHTBREED’s artist, so while I was a bit shocked at first to see Piotr’s distinctive lines in these pages, I quickly found myself appreciating the subtle alterations it brought. Where his ‘Sex’ work (hurr) is generally fast-paced, narrow and procedural, NIGHTBREED sees him being explosively expressive while still retaining precise control. Extreme closeups, skewed POVs, massive establishing shots and bold, full-page action scenes, they all get thrown into the mix over the course of this issue. The panels, while not as dynamic, are probably some of the most generous I’ve ever seen in the business; this is a widescreen comic that almost feels like it was made for a bigger format than comics. I’d also like to commend the unnamed letterer, who manages to make larger than life SFX seem invisible yet impacting, as well as giving monstrous voices a delightful texture. If Piotr’s doing the lettering and colors too, someone give that guy a raise.

I love Clive Barker and I’m really glad to see that his most underrated story is getting what appears so far to be a fantastic retelling, one that is both rooted in classical horror yet crafted with fresh minds and eyes. Between a riveting story and top-notch art, the $4 price tag is quite justified.

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TREES #1

Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Jason Howard

Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3

I was not going to review this comic. I have a history with both of the creatives involved. The writer, Warren Ellis, is a guy who inspires both my strongest passions and my most fervent anger. His ‘Transmetroplitan’ is required reading for comic book nerds but I favor his mid-career works such as ‘Black Summer,’ ‘No Hero’ and ‘Doktor Sleepless.’ Things went sour after Ellis left ‘Doktor Sleepless’ in limbo and abandoned cyberpunk in favor of pulpy retropunk. Seeking to capitalize on the steampunk trend, he launched a free webcomic called ‘FreakAngels’ (though, in his defense, it was more post-apocalyptic than steampunk) that led to another online collaboration with an artist named Jason Howard.

I’ve met Jason Howard, in person, a Project Comic-Con here in Saint Louis. It was a big deal for me because, at the time, he was neck-deep in one of my favorite comics, ‘The Astounding Wolf-Man,’ written by none other than Robert Kirkman, at the time only a year from the debut of the TV show based on his ‘The Walking Dead.’ Despite my misgivings about Kirkman (I’d never enjoyed the tragi-porn of ‘TWD’), it was Howard’s work that kept me coming back, month after month, so getting to meet him was a big deal, and he ended up being the real deal, very down to earth and professional and magnanimous. So I was a bit wary when Howard was announced to be working with Ellis on a new, online comic strip called ‘Scatterlands.’ Thankfully, with ‘Scatterlands’, Ellis seemed to have regained his old intensity, and he created a blazingly wild vision of a far future, with Howard’s capable renderings.

And now they’re doing this; TREES. Again, my deep connections with both the creators here initially steered me clear of any interest in reviewing this series but it’s also perfect for this column and, with a shortage of other books to review, I submitted to the inevitable. Page one of TREES struck me with a strong feeling of familiarity, witnessing Ellis at first treading old ground, as ragtag resistance fighters fled from high tech oppressors in Latin America. But then; TREES! Their introduction is one of those indelible sequences that’ll hold tight in your memory for a while after you’ve witnessed it, thanks to Ellis’ sleight of hand in flipping the whole story within a few panels. From that point on, Ellis paints in both broad and intimate brushstrokes the story of a world both completely different, yet eerily similar to our own.

One of the things I love about Ellis is how unafraid he is to mix politics into his stories and TREES is not exception, which is kind of a surprise, as it’s hard to imagine what is essentially an alien invasion tale having a strong political component. Yet he makes it work, selling us on this post-invasion bureaucracy because, really, that’s one thing that never really changes. The large chunk of the story takes place in a new city in China, and Ellis introduces us to it through the naive eyes of a young artist, contrasting sharply the perspectives to this point. This part of the book seems to be an enthusiastic rendering of emerging cultures that might form around the Trees, while lending Warren Ellis a beautifully poetic voice to speak through. There’s some much appreciated touches of comedy and one truly eye-opening bit that I don’t think I’ve ever recalled seeing in a comic before, all smoothly tucked into one pearl of storytelling. Almost as an afterthought, Ellis unveils one more mystery about the Trees, one that hints at a twistier future for both alien and Earthling. Despite only being 21 pages of comic, Ellis packs so much into them that it feels much longer and denser.

Jason Howard is also to blame for how rich and epic TREES is. His style with this book is considerably less comic-booky, seeing him rely on heavily textured lines and dense hatching to convey shading, which works quite well, lending the whole book a dense, dark feel. Howard expertly portrays people and settings from all over the world with comfortable realism while still being able to zoom out into breathtaking vistas that, while lacking finer detail, effectively pack a wallop regardless, thanks to Howard’s ability to distill imagery. His panel dynamics are the same; not flowery but retaining a subtle dynamic that gives the narrative a potent immediacy. It would be an insult to say that Howard is economic but I think most artists would have a hard time matching his satisfyingly robust work without going overboard.

Special nod to letterer Fonografiks for the bold, sparse letterwork. Blocky, powerful establishing titles work wonders for making their respective scenes feel big. By letting the visuals speak for themselves, the story feels more intense. The unique script used for the internal voice of the Chinese artist is perfectly chosen but my favorite part has to be the ridiculously square, heavy, crimson red font used to frame the map panel of Blindhail Station

TREES is a great return to form for both Ellis and Howard that uses the enigma of the Trees as a springboard to imagine a human (yet alien) world that is both very exciting yet not very unlike our own and that’s what’s the biggest relief about this comic; it’s about people first, not the trappings of the sci-fi genre, despite its grand concept. And being an Image title, it’s also a measly $3 so it’s a great, cheap debut that also manages to burst at the seams with larger-than-life storytelling. Given how well the creators have worked together in the past, I bet it’s going to be a new hit for Image. Hell, I could even see this being a pretty fantastic TV show, given the chance, and I rarely find myself wishing for that when it comes to reading comics.

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DOCTOR SPEKTOR #1

Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Neil Edwards

Publisher: Gold Key Comics
Price: $4

The Gold Key Comics relaunch has visited us previously in the form of the excellent ‘Turok’ reboot, only one of the four first-wave premieres for the revitalized publisher. I haven’t paid much attention to ‘Magnus,’ despite being penned by Saint Louis comics mastermind Matt Kindt but I did pick up the new ‘Solar’ recently and was very impressed, so when I saw this new occult-themed DOCTOR SPEKTOR I figured, why not? Especially since it’s written by Mark Waid, who is two-for-two with Comic Execution right now: ‘The Rocketeer & The Spirit’ plus ‘The Fox.’

Well I have no idea what to make of DOCTOR SPEKTOR. It’s definitely Mark Waid, for sure, complete with all his quirkiness and precarious self-awareness. To a certain extent, the opening sequence feels like I’m reading a parody, rather than a serious comic; the vampire that Spektor challenges looks straight from a Universal Pictures joint, and not in a good way. Sure, the vampire’s comeuppance is really clever and the inclusion of a reality TV element is a great way to set Spektor apart from, say, Constantine (despite predating that character by a decade). But when we discover that the rambunctious Spektor is struggling with depression, the atonal shift is dissonant. At first I thought maybe Waid was introducing us to a bipolar hero but there’s nothing so forward-thinking going on here; apparently Spektor pines for an unknown woman lost to him. But that’s not important; what’s important is CROSSOVERS! Yes, it turns out the first issue of DOCTOR SPEKTOR is Gold Key’s first attempt at tying together the worlds of ‘Magnus,’ ‘Turok’ and ‘Solar’ by having one of the robotic foes from ‘Magnus’ inexplicably manifest and cause havok, though Spektor’s mysterious woman also shows up. That’s about as far as the story goes, and frankly, no amount of Waid’s trademark wit can patch up that kind of a narrative mess.

Artist Neil Edwards does a solid job of illustrating Spektor’s misadventures, his realistic style immersing but still flexible enough to capture all the weirdness. That said, it also doesn’t feel like Edwards is doing anything above average here either.

DOCTOR SPEKTOR is not the comic I was hoping for, not in the least. It’s mediocre and seems to exist entirely as a springboard for Gold Key’s premature crossover attempts. If I thought they were trying to ape the success of Valiant Comics recent relaunch, I’m convinced now, but they’ve also jumped the gun here. By unnecessarily shoehorning the crossover into this issue, they’ve taken away valuable character development and failed utterly to invest me in the rest of this series, and at $4 an issue, I’m executing this one on the spot.