DAISY KUTTER: THE LAST TRAIN #3-4
Written and Drawn by Kazu Kibuishi
Published by Viper Comics

One of my favorite unheralded gems of the past few months comes to a close with these two issues, and defying what seems to be all-too-normal these days, it delivers an excellent and earned payoff in the end. Daisy discovers the real reason that the wealthy J.C. Winters hired her to rob his own train, and it’s so obvious when you read it that it stuns you that you didn’t think of it before. And needless to say, I get a happy feeling when something like that happens.

The action climax in issue four is a winner as well, bringing the classic shootout in a deserted frontier town to comic form brilliantly. As much as I was enthralled by Kibuishi’s story through the four issues, it was his expressive and dynamic art that really had me hooked from the start. Nothing else on the stands quite looks like it. I’d also add that Kibuishi is an artist whose work is greatly enhanced by presentation in black and white with greytones. I don’t think that DAISY KUTTER would be nearly as effective or interesting in color.

There’s a trade paperback of DAISY coming this spring, so if you haven’t checked out this book yet for fear of not being able to find all the issues, you’ll be out of excuses. It’s unique, entertaining, and well worth your time. Grade: A

SIBAM?

I wasn’t sure until I read issues three and four and saw how they played out, but I have no question that DAISY KUTTER would make a terrific feature film. Its “futuristic western” set-up gives it the appearance of being a summer popcorn flick, but budget-wise, it wouldn’t break the bank to put it into production. And with the long overdue resurgence in appreciation for Virginia Madsen (thanks to SIDEWAYS) I have no hesitation about telling you that she’d be a damned perfect Daisy. Come on, smart producers… $40 million and an Oscar-caliber actress smells like a winner, doesn’t it?

LUCIFER’S GARDEN OF VERSES VOL. 1: THE DEVIL ON FEVER STREET
Written and Drawn by Lance Tooks
Published by NBM

This is a surprising little book, another in a list of audacious experiments from NBM. This is the first of four planned volumes from Tooks, each focusing on The Devil, not in a religious way, but as a reaction to his archetypal standing in the world. In this book, he is called to begin his mission of bringing about Armageddon, but decides to get into the swing of things by trying to seduce and darken a virtuous soul, the gorgeous Black Lily. However, Lily is pretty sharp and instead turns the tables on Old Scratch, making him actually fall in love with her. And that sets in motion a race towards tragedy and a dark, dark moment that gives you a good punch to the head. Tooks’ art is very simple and unaffected, flowing like jazz through the intimate moments of the story. Good stuff. Grade: A-

DORK TOWER VOL. 7: THE DORK SIDE OF THE GOON
Written and Drawn by John Kovalic
Published by Dork Storm Press

I have begun to truly feel as though John Kovalic will never run out of stupendously painful puns for naming these volumes. He he’ll be hard-pressed to beat this one, that’s for sure. DORK TOWER remains a book that I have an enormous soft spot for, as I recognize way too much of my teenaged self in the book’s sci-fi and gaming enthused protagonists. The latter half of volume seven represents a period of growth for Kovalic as a writer and cartoonist, as he slowly moves DORK TOWER away from being a gag-centered book to one that weaves the gags with a stronger sense of character movement. I think that’s essential for the book to survive and go forward as the marketplace becomes even more cutthroat. Grade: B+

RETURN OF SHADOWHAWK #1
Written and Drawn by Jim Valentino
Published by Image Comics

Wow. You lose track of a character for a while, and all sorts of wacky shit can happen. Last time I checked in with Shadowhawk, he was a dude living with AIDS who went out and broke bad guys’ spines. Apparently since then, we’ve found out that being Shadowhawk is something that’s been passed down through the centuries. Now he’s apparently a teenage boy, and he doesn’t leave people paralyzed. The story itself didn’t do much for me, as it doesn’t get very far and feels a bit wordy. On the bright side, though, Hawk creator Valentino offers up a full seven-page recap of every appearance of the character and what’s gone on previously at the end of this issue, allowing for easy assimilation for the newbie reader. Smart guy, that Valentino. More people should follow his example. Still wish the new kid would pop a vertebrae, though. Grade: B-

SAVAGE DRAGON #119
Written and Drawn by Erik Larsen
Published by Image Comics

Dragon beats the Hell out of George W. Bush, but it turns out to be a shape-shifting impostor. Larsen even has fewer underdressed women with over-sized tits than normal in this issue as well. I can’t remember the last time I felt so let down by a comic book. Erik? Erik? I thought... I thought we had something special. Something meaningful. Why would you do this to me? To us? I never thought you'd be this way. What will I tell the kids? What will I tell Mom? Grade: made the baby Jesus cry.

WILDGUARD: FIRE POWER #1
Written and Drawn by Todd Nauck
Published by Image Comics

Nauck’s melding of reality TV and comic books returns in this mini-series. I didn’t read the first go-around, but Nauck makes it easy enough to figure out who the characters are and what happened before, which is nice; if I had felt lost at any point, I would likely have bailed. In this issue, Nauck addresses what was likely the most important lingering question from the first series, which is what do you do when your readership has stuck you with two characters with basically the same powers, and how do you justify keeping them both in the book at the same time. Nauck’s explanation works, and allows for a little character development as well. I’ve liked Todd’s work since his outstanding stint on YOUNG JUSTICE, and this looks to be worth keeping an eye on. Grade: B+

INVINCIBLE #18
Written by Robert Kirkman and Drawn by Ryan Ottley
Published by Image Comics

INVINCIBLE had been sliding a bit as of late, getting a little thick and impenetrable, but this issue gets the book back on track a bit, taking most of the story away from the ongoing subplots and setting up a nifty “one and done” scenario that addresses human space travel in the superhero universe. It also does a nice job of re-establishing the awkwardness of being a young boy trying to keep a normal civilian identity when your life can call you off to escort a space shuttle to Mars at any time. When Kirkman sets his mind to keeping it simple, he writes some of the best superhero comics on the market, and when he doesn’t, it gets painful. This is one of the good ones. Grade: B+

ULTRA #5
Written and Drawn by The Luna Brothers
Published by Image Comics

ULTRA enters its last half as our heroine discovers that her supposed new boyfriend has taken his story about sleeping with her to the tabloids. Needless to say, this causes more than just a bit of an uproar, not to mention a whole ton of embarrassment for poor Ultra. I’m of two minds about this issue, really; on the one hand, the going to the tabloids subplot is actually rather clever, and easily something you could see happening in real life. But on the other hand, Los Bros. Luna seem to be having more and more trouble keeping the women in the cast believable, particularly with an absolutely stupid final page, one that reads straight out of adolescent fantasy instead of smart storytelling. ULTRA continues to be one of the best looking books on the shelves, and I still am enjoying it, but this was a disappointing direction to take. Grade: B-

See you all in seven.

Review materials may be sent to: Marc Mason, P.O. Box 26732, Tempe, AZ 85285. You can also find me at Happy Nonsense and The Comics Waiting Room

E-MAIL THE AUTHOR | ARCHIVES