Pricey but worth the cost of admission

Friend of the Devil hardcover: A Reckless Book
Image Comics
Creators: Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
Release date: April 2021

Welcome back for another great comics read recommendation. This time out I’m offering up the second hardcover original graphic novel to chronicle the adventures of Ethan Reckless, the latest invention of writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips. This creative team has my full confidence; they’ve produced a couple comic series that, while not among my absolute favorite reads, were still solid tales. But they have also produced titles like Scene of the Crime, Criminal and Kill or Be Killed, some of the best comics, in my humble opinion.

The new Reckless series is a little different than these creators’ past offerings. Instead of being released in single-issue format, then later collected in trades, these are full, done-in-one hardcover OGNs, a new one released every few months. That means these books have a little more hefty price tag than most of the comics and trades I usually buy. But again, this creative team has earned my trust, and so far, the Reckless series has not disappointed.

Much of the action in the stories takes place in the 1970s and 1980s, and the action is very reminiscent of television private detective fare from that same era, but told with a definite modern sensibility. So far, both adventures have gone in some very dark directions. This latest volume is more than the surface missing persons case it appears to be as Ethan Reckless follows the trail through various cultists, neo-Nazis and worse. If you enjoy shows like “The Rockford Files” or “Mannix,” then you will like these tales. But also, if you just like a good story that is hard to put down until you’ve finished it, then this still might be just the read you’re looking for.

Something a little different — snippets from my pull list

I’m going to take brief looks at six titles on my current monthly pull list, all released during this past month of April. While these six titles do not comprise my entire pull list for April, they are the lion’s share of it. My more limited finances of late have taken a definite toll on what I’m willing to plunk down for today’s comics. But I’d rather save my money for books I’m enjoying reading. That makes sense, right?

Titans No. 36 (DC Comics) — This is the final issue of the Rebirth Titans title. While the book has failed to recapture the heights of the Wolfman/Perez era of the Titans characters, I was one of the people who enjoyed Dan Abnett’s take with the relaunch. His version of the characters read true to their respective personalities to me; the stories just weren’t all that riveting, especially as the title was held hostage more and more by the overall DC Universe. The new mission for the Titans in the wake of the team’s forced break-up and then the events of “No Justice” just didn’t seem as strong as focusing on the bond these people share with each other. Add to that the loss of several key characters other writers had plans for, and this title just seemed doomed several months ago.

Fantastic Four No. 9 (Marvel Comics) — I like a lot of Marvel characters, but I’m sure it comes as no shock to regular readers of this blog that I collect a lot more DC titles. But I decided to give the 2018 relaunch of Marvel’s first family a try based on past writings by Dan Slott. So far, he hasn’t disappointed. His first arc was a bit *meh* for me, dealing as it did with where the FF members have been for so long. But the long-anticipated wedding of Ben Grimm and Alicia Masters, quickly followed by the latest face-off between the FF and Dr. Doom, which concludes with this issue, were both great reads. These books prove once again that comics can be fun. More titles should follow this example.

Justice League Nos. 21 and 22 (DC Comics) — This is one of those titles that is killing others like Titans. Believe it or not, I like more issues than not of the sweeping epic Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV are weaving with Justice League since its relaunch in 2018 following “No Justice.” I do. But there have been a few clunkers in the past 22 issues. And the problem with having your sweeping epic take over so many titles and story lines and months of publishing time without a resolution is that at some point, it becomes easier to simply ignore the entire thing than to keep up with it. I haven’t reached that point yet, but I think about it more with each passing month. Comics are an ongoing medium meant to continue ever onward, but individual stories are not.

Star Trek: Year Five No. 1 (IDW Publishing) — I have liked a lot of what IDW has done with its Star Trek license, including the Year Four series they did several years ago. This is only the first issue, so it is pretty early to judge with much accuracy, but this series debut seems like a good one. There are references to previous episodes of the television series to please the die-hard fans. The characterizations seem pretty accurate, and the premise, at least so far, seems well laid out for any newbies. I have high hopes for this title.

Nightwing No. 59 (DC Comics) — The Rebirth Nightwing title has been hit-and-miss with me, and I dropped it some time back. While some of the stories were good, many of them seemed to be re-treading ground already covered in the title’s previous incarnations. The changes to the title character since his being shot in the pages of Tom King’s Batman did not inspire me to pick the title back up. What did was the promise of Dan Jurgens coming onboard as the writer. I like both Jurgens’ writing and his art. I’m buying the next few issues hoping he will bring back the character I enjoy — one of my top three favorite characters, in fact. This is only the first issue and there’s leftover baggage to be dealt with from the previous writers. This issue wasn’t great, but I’ll give Mr. Jurgens a few more to win me back to Nightwing.

Criminal No. 4 (Image Comics) — No surprise here for longtime readers of this blog, I’m sure. I love most everything this creative team — Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips — has collaborated on from Velvet to Kill or Be Killed to Scene of the Crime to previous incarnations of this very title. This latest version of Criminal is more of the same, and I love it.

So those are some of the titles I’m currently buying. What are the rest of you buying? And have you thought about why lately? Sometimes reflecting on your buying habits from time to time can be a good thing.

Happy collecting! And come back in two weeks for some thoughts on a Batman comic from my youth!

Great characterization makes for a great narrative

Kill or be Killed Volume Four
Image Comics
Creators: Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips and Elizabeth Breitweiser
Release date: August 2018

 I have come to trust this creative team. Ed Brubaker is a great writer with a number of my favorite stories under his belt from Captain America to Detective Comics to Gotham Central to Velvet. He and Sean Phillips have also proven themselves an adept duo with past collaborations such as Scene of the Crime, Criminal, Fatale and Fade Out. And Elizabeth Breitweiser has also been an important ingredient in many of the above successes, adding nuance and mood with her colors. So it is no wonder I enjoyed Kill or be Killed, an incredible series by this creative powerhouse team.

But I’ve always been more of a story guy even though I certainly like the mix of words and art that comics provide. And as good as Phillips’ art and Breitweiser’s colors are in this series — and they are valuable contributions to the whole — the writing is what clinched the deal with me when I got and read the first trade collection of this series.

I liken Kill or be Killed to “Ozark,” a Netflix original series that dropped its second season a few months ago. In a nutshell, “Ozark” is the story of an accountant and his family caught up in working for a Mexican drug cartel and trying to stay alive while doing some truly horrible things along the way. Jason Bateman plays the father, and Laura Linney plays his wife. Neither were perfect people before they got caught up laundering money for the cartel they come to work with. There is validity in saying there are no likable characters on the show. And yet you find yourself rooting for various characters to succeed in what they are trying to accomplish. They are so well written, it is possible to see yourself in them just enough to wonder, “What would I do in that situation?” or “Would I be able to commit murder or have someone killed to protect my family?”

That is how Brubaker writes Dylan Cross, the main character in Kill or be Killed. Readers’ introduction to Dylan — before we even know his name — is of him catching not one but two men by surprise and killing them with a shotgun. This is on the first page. The next two pages show the masked gunman proceeding to kill several more people in the same office, home, we don’t know where. There is very little dialog beyond the startled shouts of the men Dylan kills and caption boxes with Dylan’s narration, spoken directly to the reader. Obviously, the pictures are showing a violent person committing horrible acts of violence. But that narration draws the reader in, shows them a friend who has a story to tell, a story they want to continue reading despite the violence depicted.

I liken Brubaker’s writing skills, at least in this narrative, to Stephen King’s. King does not always follow the conventional rules of writing prose. His sentences are not perfect. His structure is sometimes lacking. But King creates characters readers want to know, want to learn about. He creates characters people want to read about. Ones they relate to. That is part of Brubaker’s skill as well. Dylan doesn’t always do the “right” thing or the “smart” thing. He isn’t even that sympathetic a character sometimes. But you still care what happens to him.

Dylan’s story — mixing elements of crime fiction and commentary on social ills, mental health issues, relationships and life — grabbed my imagination, and I had no hesitation in ordering the second, third and fourth volumes as they were solicited. I did not know the fourth volume was the final arc until a few weeks before it hit the stands. I avoided spoilers, but I saw an article that indicated the series had ended with issue No. 20, as planned, and that the forthcoming fourth trade would contain the final issues. That only added to my anticipation of reading the final chapters. That fact, combined with the long six-month delay between trades, made me decide to re-read the first three trades right before reading the final one. I wanted to refresh my memory of all the parts of the story as I read the ending, and the earlier portions were a quick but enjoyable read the second time around.

A lot of writers mess up the ending these days. Television programs leave loopholes for future story possibilities in the hopes they get renewed. Limited comic series merely lead into the next limited comic series. And I understand the profit motive behind that mentality. But it makes us afraid to end a story, to put a final period on something. That doesn’t happen here. Dylan’s story has an end. And it is a good, solid ending. One well worth reading.

It's Criminal ... With A Twist

Fatale 1-3
Image Comics
Ed Brubaker, writer
Sean Phillips, artist
***mature content warning***

This is the same creative team that produced Sleeper in 2003 and 2004 from DC Comics and the more recent Criminal stories from Marvel Icon. Like Criminal, this story focuses on a collection of ne'er-do-wells with nary a cape or superpower in sight. In fact, the story so far focuses on three distinct time periods' worth of folks -- the first in a contemporary framing sequence story, the second events from the 1950s which preceded the modern occurrences, and the third, and so far area where the least has been revealed, a fictional manuscript written by one of the players from the 1950s drama and discovered in the modern sequence of events.

So what sets Fatale apart from the other Criminal story arcs produced by this pair? The addition of a supernatural element to the story, not limited to but certainly focused on the character of Josephine, the titular femme fatale, who plays a role in all three settings so far.

The modern hero is Nicolas Lash, the godson of recently deceased crime noir author Dominic Raines. Lash meets Josephine at Raines' funeral, and in less than a day, Lash finds the previously hidden manuscript and has his life threatened multiple times, each time being saved by the mysterious Josephine, often in ways Lash cannot explain.

The flashback sequences to the 1950s focus on Raines' early life as a journalist, newlywed and soon-to-be father. Raines is trying to bring down a pair of corrupt police officers and enlists the help of one of those officer's girlfriend -- you guessed it -- Josephine. Raines becomes involved with Josephine romantically, though he isn't certain why, and though she is helping him to bring down the corrupt officers, one gets the sense it is more for her own benefit than for justice.

Mixed in with all of the noirish crime-drama, however, are a trio of enforcers who seem to appear out of thin air. They answer to a boss they refer to as "the bishop," who has oddly glowing red eyes, has promised one individual a cure for his life-threatening cancer, and seeks to control Josephine.

I opted to try this series based on the Criminal work by Brubaker and Phillips. I am intrigued enough to continue with this series even though it isn't quite the same flavor of story. The supernatural elements, at least so far, have been downplayed somewhat, and I'm enjoying the mystery of what exactly is going on.

Everything(in this miniseries)'s Archie

Criminal: The Last of the Innocent 1-4
Marvel Icon
Ed Brubaker, writer
Sean Phillips, artist
***mature content warning***

This is another series I picked up based on the strength of previous work by these same creators, and once again, I was not disappointed. I've enjoyed Brubaker's and Phillips's Criminal titles and hope they return to that world before long. As with previous outings from this series, the pair showcase a world in which few of the characters are "good" people, but I still find myself empathizing with the characters and rooting for them to triumph despite the often long odds against them. The particular twist in this four-issue story arc is that while the names of the characters are not at all familiar, it is not much of a stretch to see them living out very nearly the same lives in a little town called Riverdale.

Brubaker tells the story both in the present and with flashbacks to the characters' childhood days. To further the mental connection with another gang of high school characters, Phillips uses his usual gritty, realistic style for the contemporary sequences and a style similar to that found in Archie Comics for the flashback scenes. Kudos to this team as they knock another one out of the park.

Check back Tuesday for another review!