Bin Fodder - Transformers G.I. Joe

Welcome to another edition of Bin Fodder!  This week I’m discussing an old tale with a new twist, Transformers and G.I. Joe.  Over the years these two grand franchises have generated a wealth of comics.  The now-defunk comic company Dreamwave, well-known for its licensed properties, produced Transformers and G.I. Joe before it shut down.  This book is absolutely, hands-down, the BEST of the bunch.  It was written by John Ney Rieber with art by Jae Lee.  This visually dynamic representation of the Transformers and Joes shades them in a view never before seen.

The story starts off in fall 1938 with representatives of Cobra doing something rather common for them: killing people.  But this time they’re actually killing with a purpose, something not-so common.  Their purpose?  Ultimate power.  Cobra Commander had, by ways not discussed in the story, discovered the existence of the Decepticons and sent his forces to awaken them for his own vicious purposes.

The story then jumps ahead to summer 1939 and to the creation of the G.I. Joe corps.  All your classic favorites are there including Duke, Flint, Snake Eyes, Lady Jaye and Scarlett.  As the Joes assemble for their first briefing Scarlett and Lady Jaye are just returning from Europe.  They were taking recon photos in a top-secret new aircraft called a Jet.  The photos show the complete destruction of nearly every major city on the continent.  Two scary things are brought to the forefront.  First, the speed and power needed to cause the kind of destruction that has been wrought.  Second, the fact that there are no bodies: the people are simply gone.

The Joes are charged with invading the Cobra stronghold located on the “Fera Islands”, a location named the “Terrordome” (one can only imagine that Cobra Commander named it himself, being clever as he is).  Their drop in is meant to be under cover of darkness; silent and deadly.  But things take a turn for the worse almost immediately and more than half the squad is cut down.  The remaining members of the two strike force squads set out on their missions.  This does not, however, apply to Snake Eyes.  He is confronted by Storm Shadow and they are immediately entrenched in an epic battle.  As side-stories built into a mini-series go, few have ever reached the level of this one. Rieber clearly had an appreciation for the hatred these two characters share and it comes off the page in palpable fashion.

Some of the remaining Joes stumble upon a repair and reconnaissance drone which awakens and restores the Autobots.  The Autobots, led of course by the incomparable Optimus Prime, are initially not on board with joining the fight.  But after seeing the evil deeds set forth by Cobra, such as the discovery that the missing people are in fact slaves of Cobra and are being used as human war-fodder, they quickly decide that the Joes need their help.  Unbeknownst to the Joes, Destro and Starscream have teamed up to created a hybrid Decepticon called Bruticus, a mindless terror set loose upon the world.

The end battle is intense but rather short lived with several disconnected stories all tying together.  In the end, Snake-eyes destroys the Matrix thus cutting off the power of every transformer, killing Decepticon and Autobot alike, for the good of all mankind.

Now, it should not be ignored that many of your favorite evil characters make appearances in the series such as Baroness, who is of course sleeping with Destro behind Cobra Commander’s back.  There’s Dr. Mindbender who attempts to break the will of the captured Flint.  Also making appearances are Zartan, Major Bludd and the Dreadnoks. 

Thankfully lacking in this story is the over-done battle/standoff/epic conversation between Optimus Prime and Megatron.  Too often any comic, or for that matter any movie, feels compelled to include this event and all it serves to do is remind the reader that nothing ever changes.  But Rieber shakes things up.  The only true downfall of the series is that it seems like it was a twelve-issue storyline compressed into six issues.  Some have criticized the style of the art, calling it murky.  I favor the style; it adds a grittiness and intensity that the story really calls for based on the era it is set in. 

If the story had been able to fully develop and be more linear and comprehensible this would definitely have been a five-star story however it's still a very good read due in large part to the quality of the art, the excellent snake eyes/storm shadow battle scenes and the overall coolness of the story’s original idea and setting.

Until next time,

This is Bin Fodder Guru Tim Blacksmith signing off!

Bin Fodder - Ultra Comic Review

Welcome to another edition of Bin Fodder!  This week I spotlight another Image Comics book, Ultra: Seven Days, written and created by the Luna Brothers.  The Luna Brothers are possibly the best (if only) Asian brother duo in comics.  Other books they’ve created are Girls and Sword, which are both Image books. 

The book is probably best described as a cross between Superman and Sex and the City.  You have the hero everybody loves, Ultra, and her two best friends Aphrodite (the slutty one) and Cowgirl (the innocent girl, daughter of the mayor).  But don’t lose hope, men, there’s plenty of eye candy to keep you into the story if you somehow fail to realize that you’re actually reading an excellent piece of writing.  Each issue ends on a cliffhanger of one kind or another.  It compels you to turn the page or buy the next issue.

Ultra is set in a world where superheroes are commonplace, so much so that they have representation (agents) and do ads for things like “Cool Cola” or “Levy’s Jeans”.  The story of Seven Days centers on the main character Ultra. (insert picture of Ultra)

She’s reached a crossroads in her life as a person and as a superhero.  A random encounter with a fortune teller, forced upon her by best friend Aphrodite, sets Ultra on reluctant search for true love.  Don’t worry though, there’s still plenty of action and sexy undertones throughout.

Ultra, whose real name is Pearl Penalosa, has a chance encounter with a guy whom after an awkward, cut-short-by-superhero-y-things conversation, she agrees on a date with.  The situation ends badly for Pearl in a thankfully unpredictable way.  The man, who seems genuine and even likable in his awkward and self-doubting way, ends up taking pictures of himself in bed with the sleeping super heroine all covered in bruises and sells the pictures and his tale to a sleazy tabloid.  This ruins Ultra’s previously untainted persona as the squeaky-clean heroine. 

As Pearl tries to recover from the public outrage against her she turns to friend Cowgirl, Jen, for a relaxing lunch and talk about life at the top of an under-construction skyscraper (ya know, a normal place to have a nice quiet lunch).  It’s here that Jen decides to express her concern for Pearl’s well being and express her love for her with a kiss.  

The admission that her best friend is in love with her does nothing to help Pearl’s situation, but as a super heroine the job never really stops. The next day she is forced to deal with a new ultra powerful super villain, a pyrokinetic.  During this fight Ultra is nearly killed and when she wakes up the hospital she starts to realize how short and fleeting life really can be.

In the end Pearl realizes that being Ultra isn’t the end-all, be-all of her existence and she decides to leave the business. 

I’d definitely consider this a book for everyone.  It’s got pieces for men and women alike.   

Until next time,

This is Bin Fodder Guru Tim Blacksmith signing off!

Bin Fodder - Phonogram Comic Review

Welcome to this week’s edition of Bin Fodder.  Today I’m spotlighting a personal favorite of mine (as opposed to the previous installments, hah!) called Phonogram.  It was originally sold as individual issues but I picked it up in trade form at a convention at one of those “50% Off All Trades” booths.  You are no doubt familiar with them.  It was probably the best random ComiCon purchase aside from all twelve issues of this gem.  But I digress, Phonogram.

It’s a tale of music and magic and how they are intertwined.  The story follows a “phonomancer” named David Kohl.  Since no one in the whole of Internetdom has taken the time to define and explain what a phonomancer is I will do so here.  A phonomancer is a person whom, through magic, engenders power to music.  That’s possibly the most complicated definition ever, but it’s the simplest.

The world of Phonogram is England with much of the story focusing on the lost state of Britpop (which is curiously a real word…never would have figured that).  Phonogram was written by well-known English writer Kieron Gillen, who is possibly the most worthy writer I’ve spotlighted to be called a Geek.  The artist Jamie McKelvie is less well-known but not for lack of talent.  His style is solid and his shading in this black & white comic is outstanding.  It was not uncommon for me to lose myself in the art as I was reading the story.

So what is the story about?  I’m glad you asked.  It’s a philosophical exploration of how music can impact the lives of everyone who listen to it.  It all starts when a very powerful phonomancer witch named The Goddess tricks Kohl into attending a club event geared towards women, knowing that a wealth of musically challenged, indie-loving, singer/songwriter chicks would be too much for him to pass up.  She attacks and subsequently curses Kohl. setting him on a quest to discover who is messing with Britannia.  Britannia is an idea.  She is rooted in Britpop in its two most well-received formats, the sixties and the nineties.  She also was the phonomancer who created Kohl.  I don’t want to give too much away but I do want to give some insight into the story and character of Kohl.

Courtesy of Image Comics

Phonomancers use magic in different ways throughout the story.  For instance, a basic ability that every phonomancer seems to have is to be able to sense the band that any person loves most of all.  Kohl uses this power on more than one occasion to score with a pretty young thing.  He isn’t a bad guy…or, well ok, he kind of is a prick as is emblematic in this excerpt right from the first page of the story:

I look in the mirror and I like what I see.  Sure, image is the first dogma of the Faustian process – but I’m all too at home with that.  Buzzcut like a squaddie on the town.  Glasses like an existentialist poet.  Black.  Black.  More black.  Still thin enough, just.  And a tough extra, especially for this evening’s festivities.  A bootleg pop-icon t-shirt [black and silver Superman] I picked up on a festival site because it was too damn cold.  Plastic coat packed with silver fluid.  Artificial enough to make you think it’s filled with Chernobyl waste.  Toxic and make.  Utterly noxious.  Totally perfect.  This evening I’m not a man.  I’m a mutation.  A genetic dead-end.  I’m a monster with a tumour hanging between its thighs.  I’m a white man in clitoris palace.  I’m…such a cock.

Before you outright decide to hate the character he does redeem himself throughout the story through acts that may appear at first to be selfless but are really quite selfish.  So where does the redemption come in?  That I’ll let you find out for yourself, but it’s there.  Buried deep in the undertones of the story.  Another version of a phonomancer is a “retromancer”.  A retromancer is someone who uses “classic” music, usually within a club setting, to feed off the memories that the music envokes within the people involved in the setting.  The retromancer gains power, youth, and vitality through magic.  There is a moment where David, who truly despises the retromancer culture, counters the spells of one such phonomancer whilst in a club causing the retromancer to wither.

I recommend this title highly because it’s an extremely smart book, which is saying something in the comics industry.  It gives you insight into a world most Americans aren’t at all familiar with and manages to do so without an overbearing amount of jargon too often found in British titles.  You may be wondering, however silently or loudly, why should I be interested in a story set in England dealing with crazy magic and crazy music references?  To quote someone I can’t remember, the question is the answer.

Music is an extremely powerful entity and this story explores the possibility of people actually using music to sculpt the world.  How cool is that!?  As you read through this potent story you are bombarded with references to bands and songs you may not have ever heard of much less understand or be able to define.  Never fear; the writer doesn’t leave you hanging.  The trade contains a comprehensive list of the bands and songs referenced, each with a brief synopsis of the band or a depiction of the importance of the specific song.

Take it from me, Phonogram is very much worth your dollars and time to read.

So, my friends, go Bin Diving and find this and other gems!

Until next time,

This is Bin Fodder Guru Tim Blacksmith signing off!

Bin Fodder - White Picket Fences Comic Review

This is the first in a series of Bin Fodder throwback reviews.  Several years ago I started writing comic reviews on a site and now I want to share them with my core audience: you lovely folks!  I will be publishing these on a fairly regular basis so keep an eye out for them!

Welcome, once again, to another installment of Bin Fodder.  This week I’m spotlighting an indie comic that has been critically acclaimed for its original mini-series and has new issues hitting shelves starting in July 2011.  White Picket Fences is written by Matt Anderson & Eric Hutchins with art by Micah Farritor and is published by Ape Entertainment.  Much the same as with my article last week on Blue Monday, it would not surprise me if you had never heard of this title or even the publisher for that matter.  But Ape Entertainment has had its share of reputable titles such as creator owned properties Athena Voltaire and Subculture and licensed properties like Shrek and the upcoming series Kung Fu Panda.

Courtesy of Ape Entertainment

White Picket Fences is classic 1950s sci-fi meets Leave it to Beaver.  It takes place in Greenview, a typical middle-America town and follows the escapades of three young boys: Charlie, Tommy, and Parker.  In this world anything is possible and things we would think very odd are simply accepted.  For instance, not only are there Martians and Venutians, but they had a war and Earth was involved.
The first mini-series centers around a piece of technology kept, in secret, by Earth after it was supposed to be destroyed on instructions from the Martians.  As was a staple in many of the 50s sci-fi masterpieces, namely The Day the Earth Stood Still, humans cannot be trusted with high-technology because of our propensity for willful destruction.  The main character, Charlie, stumbles upon the “controller” for this weapon while exploring an old barn on the outskirts of town and decides to take it.

In typical child-like fashion Charlie is fiddling with the controller and accidentally activates the weapon which fires a beam of energy into outer space.  This action brings to town American government officials in the form the Army as well as a Martian official.  Remembering that this is a story meant for all ages that is not trying to take itself too seriously, the writers don’t forget bring the funny.  The exchange between the American General Whitman and the Martian official is pretty hilarious and results in Mars launching its forces at the Earth, spoiling for a fight.

I won’t ruin the ending but…the boys live and the world isn’t destroyed.  Ok, maybe that does ruin it.  My bad.

In the follow-up, double-sized one-shot (jeez, that’s a lot of hyphens) the boys are once again facing serious and dangerous ordeals.  The first part, written by Anderson, engages the boys in a bit of exploration of the “creepy” house in town.  As it turns out the house really is creepy where the mad scientist Dr. Vincent Niemann has created a werewolf, a mummy, and several other ghoulish creatures.  You’ll have to pick up the book to find out what happens next!

The second part, written by Hutchins, brings a much larger scale to the exploits of this quiet Midwestern town.  And by large I mean giant…as in giant beetles!  In what can only be considered a “government experiment gone wrong” giant beetles are unleashed on an unsuspecting American public and against all odds they end up Greenview.  This issue introduces a new friend to the group, Ken.  As it turns out he is able to help save the town in a most…extraordinary manner.

As independent comics go, this one is top-notch.  The art is amazing; Farritor knocks it out of the park.  The writing is top-class; Anderson and Hutchins hit their beats strong and make you want to turn the page and see what happens next.

So, my friends, go Bin Diving and find this and other gems!

Until next time,

This is Bin Fodder Guru Tim Blacksmith signing off!