The comics I’m currently buying on a regular basis…
Posted in reviews | February 19th, 2007People who know me personally , know that I love comics and that I buy them on a regular basis. But few people, except my girlfriend and the guy I order the books from (thanks Mike!), know what those books actually are.
Like most people my age who still buy comics, I’ve been through a superhero comic phase in highschool and into college. My interest in superheroes steadily dwindled into nothingness by the time I was about 22 though. I was still picking up issues of Wolverine and Ghost Rider and outright cancelled these. I had every single issue of the former until that point. That’s not to say I haven’t kept these. I never got rid of any comics since I started buying them about 18 years ago. Most of them are conserved inside a defunct freezer at my folk’s house. All the comics I came to love, the indies, undergrounds, horror and sci-fi titles, are at my place, neatly categorized behind glass doors in my studio.
From my old days of Infinity Gauntlet, the Image comics genesis, the chromium covers and arrogant comic shop clerks, my tastes have shifted to b&w anthologies, splatter comics and old undergrounds, but here’s what I’m into these days and what I actually buy on a regular basis, series-wise (please note that this is a short list: I simply cannot afford indulging in much more than this at this point!)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 4
Like most people, I was first exposed to the commercial version of the TMNT when I was younger. One day I came across some old Mirage issues in my favorite shop (Crosstown Traffic in Ottawa) and got a kick out of the gritty art. I tracked down as many issues as I could and was a fan of Casey Jones. Still not sure who my favorite turtle is…Leo or Raph? Anyway, Jim Lawson is an amazing artist whose work I admire for it’s style and originality. He’s the best man for the job, along with Talbot’s awesome interpretation of the Turtles and of course Laird and Eastman. I immediatly reserved the first issue when it was announced a new series would be published by Mirage. I didn’t like the Image run for it’s radical distortion of the original storyline. My one peev with this new series is the fact that the Turtles have become public figures, in a new world open to extra-terrestrial visitors and immigrants. I can see the paralel with our own multi-ethnic struggles, but I prefered the secretive Turtles, with Mike dreaming of one day walking among humans without getting funny looks. I can deal with the death of Splinter though, because he still makes spiritual appearances once in a while…
Tales of the TMNT
Any true fan of the TMNT should get these. Every issue features a self contained story taking place anywhere in the TMNT timeline, revisiting old friends and foes or discovering new ones . Guest artists in every issue, sometimes guest writers when Murphy ins’t at the controls. This series presents a great diversity of styles for every taste…as long as you’re into the Turtles that is. Look out for issues 9 and and 15 where I contributed artwork!
The Walking Dead
This is Image Comic’s , if not all of comicdom’s, most popular zombie apocalypse series. There’s nothing revolutionary about this series, this is classic “humans surviving in a world overtaken by zombies” kind of book. The concept works and this version happens to be very well written, with detailed, believable characters. I love stories where humans make do with what resources are available to survive, which is why I’m such a post-apocalyptic fiction nut. The artwork is also well executed in a realistic style. Gore fans might be dissapointed though, as this is not the focus of the book. This is rather a more realistic kind of drama. Highly recommended!
Deadworld
Now we come to the best stuff. This is more gritty zombies stuff, complete with all the satanic stuff that makes horror comics good. Back when I discovered independant b&w comis in the early 90’s, a friend told me about Deadworld, a comic series illustrated by the guy who did the Cannibal Corpse cover art. I snatched up every issue I could get from the original Arrow and Caliber runs, including both ‘tame’ and ‘not for wussies’ cover variants. I was hooked! But some of the issues were more dissapointing than others and the storyline became confused in the end. Spin-offs varied in quality but I still picked them all up. Everyone seems to agree that Deadworld isn’t the same when original artist Vince Locke isn’t illustrating the book, and I agree. His style made the book both gritty and cartoony at the same time, giving it a truly underground style which pulls you right into the story, setting the right mood. When I heard Deadworld was coming back via Image Comics, featuring the return of Locke himself, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Unfortunately, he didn’t stick around beyond the 3rd issue, as he is enjoying a better job at DC Comic’s Vertigo. The writer, Gary Reed, is still wirting the book however, as I I still love it. The new artist is doing a fine job, keeping the right mood. By the way, what makes this new series different is that instead of picking up where the last one ended, it is a new take on the original series, reintroducing the original cast, but with an updated storyline, keeping some of the old key elements but introducing new twists. Watch out King Zombie!!!
So that’s all for now, I’ll probably do a few other mini-reviews sometime soon. Check out these comics, there’s more to guys in tights , autobiographical comics and manga out there!
