Batman, Incorporated: The Deluxe Edition by Grant Morrison and others

Batman, Incorporated: The Deluxe Edition is an oversized hardcover collection containing Batman, Incorporated #1-8 and the one-shot ­Batman, Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes! along with a collection of bonus materials. The book itself is quite impressive looking, and I look forward to putting it up with the rest of my collector edition books once I find a way to make room for it.

The stories in this collection focus on Bruce Wayne creating an organized, international group of Bat-men and women who will stand against the coming threat of a terrorist organization known as Leviathan. During Bruce Wayne’s time traveling/death thing a few years back, following Final Crisis, he witnessed a future where the world needed protection from a coming threat, and so he begins to publically, financially back Batman (and Bat-people around the world). If that sentence made sense to you, good, because this book relies on your previous knowledge of recent events to really get the maximum enjoyment from this book. I, myself have only really followed these events through information gathered on the internet over the past few years, and so I knew just enough for me to not feel entirely out of place, though I do feel I would have benefited more from reading Grant Morrison’s previous work with the character. It would also help to really know your Bat-history, as Morrison seems thrilled to comb through the mythos of Batman to dredge up long forgotten characters to put the spotlight on once again. The supplement material found in the back of the book has Morrison explaining a bit of the history of each of these characters and why he selected them, so eventually you do get a broader view of the characters, but it would have been nice to know how they were connected before reading a story featuring them.

Every issue or two we are introduced to a new Batman, Inc. recruit, as The Batman visits each one and works towards solving a case. Some of these stories really shine, and some of them are the tangled mess of meta-storytelling that Morrison seems to favour. However, the issues that do stand out are some of the best pure comic superhero stories I have read. The first two issues reintroduce Lord Death Man, who is a villain I find entertaining- he treats the world as one over-the-top violent video game-esque experience where he goes out of his way to cause violence and mayhem-, as well as the Japanese Batman. The final page of the first issue is pure, zany genius, and I loved it. (SPOILER: Batman’s recruit rushes home to make sure his girlfriend is alright, and as he dashes up the stairs the land lady is complaining about a leak. When he enters the apartment, he discovers Lord Death Man has tied his girlfriend to chair sitting on a trap door. Events happen, leading to her falling through the trap door, and in the last page we discover that the apartment below has been completely filled with water, and a giant squid is preparing to devour the girl! It is the insanity that only Grant Morrison can come up with, and why, even though I don’t like everything he does, I know I will be rewarded with moments like that if I persevere.)

The other moment that really sticks out is the issue where we meet Man-of-Bats, a Native American who performs the Batman role on a reserve, helping wherever he can. The issue was an interesting look at justice on a small scale without glorified super-villains, (though Leviathan does show it’s a head a bit), and on a budget. There is a sequence where we see Man-of-Bats’ Bat Cave, which acts as an off-the-road-tourist area, and see low tech variations of many of the things Batman has in his cave. It is a moment that both echoes the mythos of Batman as well as being a touching moment, seeing the ideology of Batman represented in a place as poor as the reserve is.

Morrison has woven an interesting concept into a number of fun storylines, and while not every issue resonated with me, I can see why this series had so many people singing its praises. The building of a global Bat-army is a fascinating concept within the realm of comics, and truly fits the belief system of Bruce Wayne so well that I am surprised no one thought to do something like this long before. In that, I can see the genius of Grant Morrison and why he should be recognized as dynamic force on the medium. Yes, I do not feel that every story was great, and without a lot of background knowledge of some of these characters much of the impact that was intended was lost on me; however, there are still good stories to be found in this volume.

Drive directed by Nicolas Winding Ren

Drive, as I have been explaining it to my friends, is The Transporter for those who would rather watch Taxi Driver. It’s the thinking-man’s action film for those that are willing to classify a film as “action” even if it only has one or two short car chases instead of a parade of them. It is for people who feel that the action can happen in the quiet, tense moments between breaths, and are willing to forgo special effect laden shoot outs if it means that there are ten extra minutes of character development.

Director Nicolas Winding Ren has crafted a tense, gorgeous film in the anti-hero genre, and the film is a love letter, or a throw back at the least, to those films. Of course, he is aided immensely by the performance of Ryan Gosling.  Gosling’s portrayal of a nameless getaway driver is immensely powerful. The character says very little, but Gosling emotes so well during the silence that you can tell there is always something deeper going on behind Driver’s eyes. Throughout the course of the film, you learn nothing about his past, nor does he divulge any yearning or desire beyond protecting a young woman and child, and yet you feel like he may be one of the most fully formed characters cinema has presented us with in years. 

In fact, almost the entire cast feels more rounded and real than most films, with only one exception. Ron Perlman, Bryan Cranston, Oscar Isaac and Albert Brooks all portray characters that have goals and motivations that stretch far beyond their small roles within the films and feel like they existed before the film started.  Ron Perlman gave a fantastic performance, and was a joy to see in the few scenes he had. The same goes for Oscar Isaac, who, while only have a few lines and limited screen time, gave a depth to the character through his performance that the script alone never could have given. 

Having such a collection of powerful performances accented the one weak link in the film, which was the performance of Carey Mulligan in the role of Irene. In the film she plays the love interest, and is the unspoilt flower in a world of grit, crime and greed. The problem was, she was given little room to be anything other than that, and it made her appear all the more one-dimensional because of it. This was sorely disappointing, as she is one of only two female characters in the film (the other, played by Christina Hendricks, gave a descent performance in a small role), and it gives the illusion that she only existed in the script to be an object of desire and something to be protected.  When everyone else is a strong, independent person with a reason to exist, Irene’s lack of true substance smacks of the director or actress not knowing, or not caring about, what to do with the character.

The film itself is a well put together piece of cinema. The introductory chase scene is a tension fueled hook that sets the tone well, and while the tension ebbs and flows throughout the film, it never truly goes away. This makes the film an engrossing thing to watch, as it never truly lets you go. Had the film been longer than its 100 minute length, it would have pulled me to the point of exhaustion; however, it ended up being the perfect length of sustained tension. 

It is clear, from both a technical standpoint as well as the performances that he brought out of most of the cast, why Ren won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival for this work. It is both a fascinating anti-hero piece of film making, and is a great showcase for some of the talent involved, with strong performances from the cast, a great soundtrack, and breathtaking cinematography of the part of Los Angeles that was once the focus of filmmakers everywhere that deserves yet another chance in the limelight. 

Drive is a film that deserves to be placed in the same echelon as the great anti-hero films of the past few decades and is fairly close to quintessential viewing.

The Massive #1 by Brian Wood, Kristian Donaldson and Dave Stewart

After a number of creator-owned projects of his winding up, Brian Wood is back with a new series, published by Dark Horse Comics. This time, he is looking at what happens to a group of environmental extremists (a la Sea Shepherd) once globe spanning ecological disasters completely reshape the world, both geographically and politically. It’s a series that is meant to be ongoing, and having read a fair portion of his last political/social commentary series DMZ, I expect only good things to come of this.

The book opens up by introducing a select number of crew members of the Kaptial, one of the two ships under the banner of the Ninth Wave oceanic activist group, searching for their sister ship The Massive in the Bering Sea. They are an eclectic group of individuals, each strong willed and passionate, and while we don’t get to learn much about them in this first issue, enough is revealed to make each character interesting and have the reader look forward to learning more as time goes on.

It is clear that Wood has plans for this story for the long haul, and is carefully setting the foundation for the story he wishes to tell, so it won’t be a surprise if the first number of issues are much more about creating the world and detailing the events that lead these characters to where they are than moving things forward post-haste. However, he carefully balances his exposition with exciting moments in this first issue. In it, we are thrown into a tension filled present, as the Kapital is moving through the fog and ice, with ghost blips on their radar, when they are set upon by a number of  unknown enemy zodiacs, and one of the Kaptial’s crew bravely goes on the offensive using one of their own inflatables. At the same time, through sepia-toned flashbacks, Wood details a number of strange ecological incidents that led to tsunamis destroying coastal areas around the world, killing millions and throwing the global economy into flux as world shipping grinds to a halt.

For me, this book has come out at a time where I am prepped to receive something like this. I have a friend who has been peppering me with information about ocean going ships and the number of strange things that have fallen off of cargo ships and moved about by ocean currents, (which I have found fascinating, and want to hear more about), and there are a number of images in this book that echoed these factoids back at me. Also, a few years back I watched a few seasons of the show Whale Wars, a reality show/documentary about the Sea Shepherd organization and their work to stop whaling. This comic mirrors many elements of that group, and while the show highlighted some of their occasional ineptitude in order to make things exciting, having a fictionalized, functional group like them will be something exciting to read month by month.

[ASIDE: I should mention, currently, Captain Paul Watson, founding member of Sea Shepherd, is being held in Germany on old charges that most other countries had decided were unfounded and politically motivated. He may face extradition to Costa Rica, where he risks being killed due to a large bounty on his head, or, at the least, jail time. Hopefully, some of the public negativity this action has caused will lead to his release.]

This book is the beginning of something special. I am looking forward to reading it month by month and so far the premise and foundation that Wood has laid makes me quite excited. If it can capture the excitement of Whale Wars and depict a world that has suffered a global ecological shift well, I feel that this book will be something remembered for a long time after Wood wraps up his story in a few years’ time. The first issue is out today, (June 13^th, 2012), and will be well worth the $3.50 asking price if you choose to find a comic store to pick it up.

Daredevil: Yellow by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

Daredevil: Yellow is one of a collection of Marvel “colour” books that Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have done together, recounting some of the character’s early history in the form of a retrospective from the point of the view of the hero.  In this case, Matt Murdock reflects on some of the early events that shaped who he is, as he writes a letter to his now deceased lover, Karen Page in order to come to terms with her passing.

I am not a big fan of Daredevil, and really know very little about the character. Beyond the rare cross-over or guest appearance, all I have really read is Frank Miller and John Romita Jr.’s “The Man Without Fear.” This means I only have a passing understanding of his history. I know he is blind, his father was a boxer, and that he is a hero by night, lawyer by day. Therefore, going in, reading this book was not going to be a nostalgia trip, but would have to entertain me in its own right. To the credit of the creative team, they managed to weave a story that while mostly made up of isolated vignettes, is, at its core, a story about love and coming to terms with the events that affect our lives, making the themes of the story relevant to anyone regardless of their prior history with Daredevil.

Now, to be fair, I expected no less from Loeb and Sale. While I find Loeb’s work without Sale usually hit or miss (mostly misses), there has been very little that these two have created together that I did not really enjoy. They seem to have a strong, collaborative relationship, and they appear to have a similar understanding of the characters. Together they have done some great Batman books, and as I mentioned before, a handful of miniseries for Marvel, all based around the early years of a character. Of the colour books, I have also read Spider-Man: Blue, and loved it, although that story also uses the same thread of a message to a lost love, which for me, lessens the emotional connection as I feel like it has been done before and doesn’t really bring anything new to the formula.

Individually, Sale is an artist that I really love; he uses washes to create pages that look like they were done as watercolours once coloured, and he is a master of composition, be it panel, page or cover. The wash look he uses in this book sets the tone and gives a period feel that captures the 1960’s look that grounds the story in the silver age of comics. Furthermore, his covers for this series are all thematically excellent. Each cover features Matt Murdock at a certain point in his life –walking with his father, training at the gym, or in court- and hovering over each moment is an image of Daredevil. These covers skillfully represent what the book is about; the life of Matt as he learns who he wants to be, and who he wants to be with, and the persona of Daredevil, while always influencing his life, is never as important as those genuine, human moments.

There are a few moments in the interior artwork that really stand out to me as excellent examples of Sale’s work, and I wish I could scan them in as a demonstration. The first is a wonderful piece of composition for a double-page spread depicting Matt Murdock’s father, Jack Murdock, winning a boxing match that he was supposed to throw. In the ring we see Jack, standing tall yet battered on the left side of the ring, arm raised in victory with a look of bliss on his face. An overhead light casts a halo of yellow around Jack, giving him a saint-like quality, which intensifies the serenity and bliss that the man emits. On the right side of the ring is his opponent, beaten and defeated, collapsed in his stool as he is attended to by his coach. To balance the piece, Sale chose to place Matt Murdock and his friend, celebrating joyfully, Matt’s fist high in the air, on the right side of the page, so that they are paired with the defeat of the challenging boxer, and the bookie that demanded Jack throw the fight on the left, scowling at the rejoicing young adults as Jack stands triumphantly above them.  Jack is fully lit and coloured, while everything else scales to a dim-light blue hue as the eye moves away from Jack. This panel is lovely, as it shows the honest nature of Jack, who is surrounded by a halo of light, and shows the connection between father and son, both of them with arms raised in triumph.

The second piece that captivated me was one panel, in a sequence where Matt Murdock goes to witness the execution of his father’s killer. The image is left in grey scale wash, and is haunting in its depiction. Matt watches passively from behind glass with the rest of those who wish to witness the death, his black lensed glasses hiding any emotion that might appear on his face, to give him the appearance of an emotionless automaton, unmoved by the death of another. Cast against the wall, larger than life, is the shadow of the killer screaming in agony as an electric current is run through him; the wires in his hat appear as crackling bolts of electricity as they twist due to the man’s contorted position.  The haunting quality of this image is the only time you see a true lack of emotion from Murdock, as he channels his Daredevil mantra “the man with no fear”; it shows that even good men can be hardened.

The last image is a simple, full page panel of The Thing sticking his head through the window of Matt’s law office. It is a close up shot of The Thing, one eyebrow raised questionably, as he leans on the sill, asking which lawyer is which. It is a great example of Sale’s ability to draw expression. The Thing’s face, beyond its questioning expression, is one that is meant to be comedic. The tip of the head, angle of the jaw, and the haphazardly raised eyebrow all come together to make a look that brings a smile to a viewer’s lips. It’s a wonderful mix of ugly and enduring; which is a look that The Thing really deserves to have as a character. The fact that Sale can pull it off so well, with what appears to be with ease, is impressive, and showcases his talent.

Overall, I spent more time focused on the art of this book than the story, simply because it is so good. The story just could not live up to the images that were used to create it. The first issue, learning about Matt’s father, was the highlight of the storytelling for me, and while it was great to see his first interactions with the woman that his letter shows he clearly loved dearly, the nature of stringing the individual events together did not really make the story anything more than the sum of its parts, (although I can tell a lot of time went into ensuring the transitions were as seamless as possible). That being said though, the story is well told, and uses some strong core thematic elements to give the narrative a solid backbone to at least keep the reader involved and interested. For those who read the old Daredevil stories, I’m sure there is something about seeing old events retold in such a beautiful fashion, but without knowing the history, some of the impact was lost on me. I do recognize this as a good book, and the art will keep me coming back, but as a whole, it does not declare itself as a must-read title for those without a love of Daredevil, although there are a lot of great elements to be found within it if you do choose to read it.

Spider-Man: Fever by Brendan McCarthy

On a “I guess I’ll take a chance with this” whim I picked this trade up at BMV in Toronto for seven bucks, and in exchange, I got a psychedelic fever dream of Steve Ditko proportions. Spider-Man: Fever is a three issue limited series that Marvel published in 2010, and was clearly created by Brendan McCarthy as a tribute to the great designs of Ditko (the artist/co-creator of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, among others). He weaves an oddball tale full of magic, eccentric characters, and mystical dimensions inhabited by demon spiders. There is nothing ordinary, normal, or otherwise about this book. It’s a kaleidoscope of insanity wrapped up in a Marvel wrapper. And I think I love it.

The book starts with Dr. Strange mulling over an ancient portal but quickly switches gears to Spidey relaxing on the side of a pigeon-poop stained building before being attacked by the Vulture. As much as the book is mimicking the Ditko style, it’s here that we see some Stan Lee shining through as well. As the Vulture and Spidey grapple, Spidey says “Gotta knock this crazy old bird off of me. He’s heavier than I thought. We’re swinging wide of the wall!” For some reason, that phrasing ripped me back to memories of the early Spider-Man stories, and from there on in I was hooked, even though this adventure was going to be nothing like I’d ever read before. With the end of the Vulture fight, we are torn away from the standard super hero fare, and quickly McCarthy’s story opens up the bizarre. Spidey is rendered unconscious and a multi-dimensional demon spider captures Spider-Man’s soul and takes it away to his own dimension to be eaten. Dr. Strange is privy to these events and sets off to rescue Spider-Man from this horrible fate. Along the way we meet a number of eccentric characters, including a man who has been turned into a fly, two sad and constantly eating dogs, and an Australian Aboriginal woman with a personality similar to that of Tank Girl’s. There is also a clearly non-canonical explanation of how the radioactive spider that bit Peter Parker came to be. As you can gather, this isn’t a book for those with a zealot-like passion for the traditional Spider-Man.

I’ve already hinted that the art is uniquely captivating -it reflecting a hippie’s acid dreams- however, it requires more discussion than a simple line or two. McCarthy’s art is strangely beautiful. His lines flirt between wispy and bold, and his choice of colours accentuate the mind-bending quality of his inks. He is no traditionalist in his cartooning, yet he draws one of the best Spider-Men I’ve seen, right up there with Ditko and John Romita Sr. You can tell by looking through the book, that he was both influenced by and influential to the progs of 2000 AD; his style is a grandiose mixture of future shock, psychedelic, and fantastical. His comfort with playing around with the Marvel flagship character and having no problems with placing him in gonzo situations speaks to the faith he has in himself as an artist. Clearly, this man knows how to harness his talents. Any apprehension I felt about picking up this trade was clearly unfounded, and I feel a level of guilt in originally thinking this book might barely be worth the measly seven dollars spent.

I, for one, think this might be one of the best Spider-Man comic books I had never heard about. It’s a wondrous mash-up of American comics with British subversiveness. As well, it is a great throwback to the days when American comics could do anything, and a fantastic riff on Ditko’s surreal stylings.