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Mini-Reviews: A Decent YOUNGBLOOD?!? Really?
Thought I'd share these few mini-reviews, especially the Youngblood one, because I'm still picking my jaw off the floor after reading a good Youngblood book!
Fast Breaks for 1/09
posted on 
January 15, 2008
Cory Doctorow’s Futuristic Tales of the Here and Now #4: Nimby and the D-Hoppers
By Dave Baxter
Yet another fantastic installment in what’s proving a necessary new series, a booster-shot of literary finesse in an otherwise staling world of sci-fi comics, Nimby and the D-Hoppers is the weakest of the four Tales thus far, yet still it makes for an unforgettable read. The premise: in much the same theoretical way in which the first time machine should unleash an uncontrollable barrage of time travelers among us, so too does Nimby follow the invention of a trans-dimensional suit and the dimension-hopping chaos that ensues.
The most memorable aspect of the story also proves its greatest weakness - too much too fast, idea after idea after idea, until the deluge overpowers. This may be a fault of the adaptation or the original prose story itself (I can’t say, being unfamiliar with the source material), but either way, scripter Dan Taylor (Super Hero Happy Hour) isn’t able to bring the elements into clear enough view. There’s a world of "refuseniks", living in a purely organic/biological town of seed-grown buildings and a technology-free environment, plus multiple dimensions, multiple versions of different characters, a lot of hinted-at politics, and oh so much more. My gut says the prose story may have made more sense, having more time to introduce and develop the pieces, but what Taylor does manage to showcase is well handled, definitely exciting, and followable in at least a general sense.
Taylor’s usual partner-in-crime Dustin Evans handles the art, and while I’m pleased as punch to see him here he may not have been the strongest choice. His style leaves a mark, and his pages in Nimby are a package I won’t soon forget, but the complexities of the story could have been strengthened by a more detailed, cleaner sensibility. All in all though, a highly worthwhile issue to a series collecting some mind-opening work by a leading author in the literary field.
Dan Taylor (W), Dustin Evans (P), Dustin Evans (I), IDW Publishing, $3.99
Gene Simmons’ Dominatrix #6
By Dave Baxter
The first story arc comes to a close, the wrap-up of Dominique’s origin, in which she and her nemesis, Happy Jacq - recently revealed to be an alter ego of the homeless girl named BJ (the sexual subtlety here being non-existent) - duke it out in a no-holds-barred throwdown; a battle of two super-tough women that ends in a singular tragedy, which in turn leads to Dominique’s ongoing status quo.
Color me impressed: Dominatrix consistently surprises, shattering all expectations (or complete lack thereof) by putting forth entertaining issue after entertaining issue. There’s nothing extraordinary here, nothing boundary-breaking though it can be occasionally be thought-provoking, but what writer Sean Taylor and artist Esteve Polls truly succeed at is penning an unpredictable and disarmingly charming comic book pulp adventure, the likes of which hasn’t, honestly, been seen in quite a while. The innocence of its flavor mixed with a constant salvo of severe themes (death, sex, conspiracy, derring-do) makes Dominatrix the pulpiest pulp on the stands today, capturing, oddly, the authentic sensibilities of that old-school style.
Taylor’s script is sometimes awkward, though his pacing keeps things captivating. Polls’ pencils are detailed and classic, reminiscent of Steve Leiber (Whiteout). This final chapter offers one big action sequence followed by a believable series of consequences that set-up the conceit for the rest on the ongoing. A strong finish to a strong start to what will hopefully be a series that, in the spirit of its title subject matter, never weakens.
Sean Taylor (W), Esteve Polls (P), Esteve Polls (I), IDW Publishing, $3.99
Youngblood #1
By Dave Baxter
Well…it’s about goddamn time somebody wrote a decent Youngblood book. Even better, Joe Casey writes an utterly, flabbergastingly perfect Youngblood book! Think of a much more lucid Automatic Kafka or a completely non-homage-laden Gødland and Casey is at the tip-top of his game. Seriously, this may be the best book he’s ever written, and that is surely saying something.
The team returns, though only a few: Shaft, Badrock, Cougar, Die Hard, Doc Rocket, and Johnny Panic. Suddenly manageable in numbers, the book also at long last finds a focus: a new team balancing the need to be constantly chronicled celebrities and authentic, effective super-heroes. That shtick’s been done before, visited in Noble Causes, New Warriors (Volume 3), Wild Guard, amongst others, but those have been more fanciful, tongue-in-cheek, or the celebrity status part a mere piece of a larger conceit. None have handled the media/super-hero dichotomy as intelligently, carefully, or as thoroughly as witnessed in Casey’s Youngblood. And yes, there’s even plenty of action to keep old-school fans glutted.
The art by Derec Donovan allows the series to "click", to work as a final product - it’s everything Leifield’s work is not: contained, delicate, nuanced, expressive. The density of Casey’s script translates entirely via Donovan’s layouts and lines, and the end result is a Youngblood book that looks like it’ll last, the real deal, an ongoing that will indeed go on beyond this opening chapter. A perfect Youngblood, a near-perfect comic; this is a hell-has-frozen-over moment in comic book history, to be outdone only by a dramatic change that is never changed back. I cannot wait for Casey’s re-scripting of the original mini now; I am officially, for the first time ever, a loud and proud super-supporter of Image’s founding flagship title—more Youngblood, please!
Joe Casey (W), Derec Donovan (P), Derec Donovan (I), Image Comics, $2.99
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