Clerks (2001, Image Comics) *1/2

W: Kevin Smith A: Jim Mahfood, Phillip Hester, Ande Parks.

Two convenience store clerks get up to hi-jinks variously involving Star Wars merchandise, comic books, and corpses.

Smith brings his Clerks characters to the page for more in these three stories, but overly wordy scripts drown out some fine cartooning with sheer verbosity.  See the first film instead, then quit.

El Diablo

I have a confession to make. A few weeks ago a friend of mine put me in touch with Jai Nitz, scripter on DC Comic’s El Diablo limited series. I agreed to write a review. I read the comics, stuffed them in an envelope and forgot about them.

The review crossed my mind a couple of times, but I put it off. Perhaps part of my problem was that I told Mr. Nitz I would provide a positive-focussed review, but I found issues with the comic’s violent content.

Sometimes it’s difficult for me to separate my role as a critic from my role as a censor. Both are necessary. I review books and comics. It’s my responsibility to equip readers with the information they need to make an informed decision.

But I’m also a husband and a father – a morally conservative one. It’s my responsibility to control the flow of media in my house. I find it difficult to recommend a book I wouldn’t normally read myself.

El Diablo is a six issue series from DC Comics, telling the story of gangster-cum-vigilante Chato Santana. Jai Nitz, who has also written issues of The Batman Strikes!, Blue Beetle and Marvel Comic’s X-Men Unlimited, provides the script. Phil Hester and Ande Parks provide the art.

El Diablo #1 opens with Chato caught in a crooked deal gone bad. There’s lots of violence and excessive amounts of blood, but not anything too unusual for DC’s current line of comics. Chato finds himself under police custody in the hospital, unable to walk.

When he refuses to turn state’s evidence on his former associates, the police leak a rumor guaranteed to get him killed. He is saved from death by an ancient and mysterious man and rises from the hospital bed to claim revenge.

Chato makes a deal with Hell to be its assassin and sets out to battle demonic spirits. But the hunter is also the hunted. A possessed man called Vorpal seeks El Diablo to enact his own revenge.

The story is well plotted and makes good use of the history and setting of the DC universe. There are plenty of twists and engaging characters to hold the reader’s interest.

The art – if you can get past the gore which worsens as the issues progress - has a gritty feel to it which seems to cross modern reality with the darker fare of old westerns. The varied settings, from the city streets to the desert of the American Southwest, create a fitting backdrop to the conflict within Chato Santana.

This comic is definetly not for the kiddies. A previous El Diablo series was published under DC’s Vertigo imprint for adults. Perhaps this one should have been as well. I supppose those of us who don’t like it can choose not to read it, but it’s not the kind of thing you want to leave around the house.

Jai Nitz’s writing shows promise, and I want to see more of his work in the future. I hope he’ll forgive me for being slow in reviewing El Diablo. All six issues are now available. To find a comics retailer in your area visit the Comic Shop Locator Service.

A special shout-out goes out to frequent visitor and commenter Mat W., who lent me a generous stack of graphic novels he thought that I would enjoy. Any comic reviews I post within the next month or so are likely borrowed from his collection. He’s going to be a dad soon, which is great. People with good taste in literature ought to breed. Congratulations to Mat and Jay on the impending spawn!

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Review

I was never much of a comic book or graphic novel reader until I started college, so there are still popular characters and stories that I’m still catching up on. The idealistic and unapologetically liberal Green Arrow, for example, is one of them, and I thought that Kevin Smith’s lovingly snarky interpretation of the “hot-headed motor-mouth” (142) in Green Arrow: Quiver was a grand introduction. Smith has always displayed a talent for dialogue, and the almost parodic opening exchange between Batman and Superman sets the action-comedy tone for the entire work.

The story involves Oliver Queen – alias Green Arrow – mysteriously re-appearing after being presumed dead in an explosion…ten years ago. His former Justice Leage of America teammates, ex-flame Black Canary, and son Connor Hawke spend most of the series racking their brains and pooling their resources to try and understand how a man who literally evaporated before Superman’s eyes could now be standing before them. What’s more, he has no recollections of ever having died in the first place. It’s a tight story that dovetails nicely with the title, with no panel or segment going to waste. The plot is simple and straightforward without becoming trite. Sometimes that method is preferrable to narratives that twist and turn in on themselves for no reason other than to add extraneous devices. Because Smith keeps things manageable, we are treated to a story that wraps everything up with no major plot holes or glaring, obvious questions.

Much of the humor stems from Green Arrow’s status as a “walking anachronism” (93). His mannerisms and attitude reflect what one would expect from a man who has missed out on an entire decade. Add in his already characteristic wisecracking as penned by one of contemporary cinema’s preeminant masters of snark, and you have an entertaining read that is as hysterical as it is adventuresome. Any given scene where Green Arrow shares panels with Batman crackles with sly comedic energy and provides some of the most witty banter in the book.

Phil Hester’s and Ande Parks’s dynamic, colorful artwork complements Smith’s script quite well. It simultaneously caters to both the comedy and the action elements of the dialogue and story, involving bright colors juxtaposed with angular shadows. Hal Jordan’s postmortem incarnation as The Spectre is especially striking.

Bibliographical Information

Smith, Kevin, Phil Hester, and Ande Parks. Green Arrow: Quiver. New York: DC Comics, 2003.

Further Reading

Even though it clips by at an uncanny breakneck pace when compared to Green Arrow: Quiver, Warren Ellis’s Nextwave series are the only graphic novels I’ve read who not only match, but exceed, Kevin Smith’s run with the viridian archer in terms of manic energy and rapidfire dialogue. It’s considerably more absurdist in tone, but still embodies the very same satirical love for the older source material.

~Riot

By Ed Brubaker and Ande Parks (Writers), Chris Samnee (Pencils and Inks), and Matt Hollingsworth (Colors)

If you were hoping for Daredevil #107 this month, prepare to wait another 30 grueling days. It’s been replaced by this fill-in issue, which is a bit out of current continuity, but serves as a follow-up to last year’s Daredevil annual featuring the Black Tarantula. This one-shot focuses very tightly on the Tarantula as he struggles with his life as an immigrant and a vigilante.

Daredevil plays a minor role in this book, acting as the Tarantula’s conscience and backup for when things get nasty. As crime on the street begins to pick up once more, the Black Tarantula takes it upon himself to make brutal examples of criminals – stringing them up with chains, stealing their money, and using it bribe cops into looking the other way. Aside from giving the money to cops and charity, it’s subtlety hinted that he uses the drug money to pay for his bills too.

There’s definitely a fine line this character walks, and if we were given more of his situation, I might be more empathetic to his cause. But from the little that Ed Brubaker and Ande Parks gave me on the Tarantula’s background it was hard for me to care about this character at all. Yes, the bad guys he eventually confronts are pretty cruel, but this story felt soulless to me. There’s a reason why the Black Tarantula’s a B-List character and the creative team here hasn’t done enough to elevate his status. All this issue did was make me miss Daredevil. And seeing old horn head in just a supporting role was a bit disappointing. They should have just called this The Black Tarantula – Guest Starring Daredevil! At least I’d know what to expect.

I honestly can’t recommend this book. Ed Brubaker’s an excellent writer, Samnee’s art is fine, and the muted/washed out colors of this book are very reminiscent of the Criminal 2 series, but this book ultimately lacks heart. And without a heart, there’s no life. And that’s what this book was to me: Lifeless. (Grade: D)

- J. Montes

A Second Opinion

This issue is pretty much the sequel to last year’s Daredevil Annual, and therefore a must if you read it. In the annual, Black Tarantula decides to become a vigilante to protect the streets, similar to Daredevil, but he is also ready to kill if necessary. He’s essentially a cross between Daredevil and Punisher and this issue shows him attempting to do what is right before his past comes back to haunt him. When this happens it becomes a fight not only for his life, but for his forgotten, deserted family, and for the safety of the streets of New York. Obviously, since this is a Daredevil title, Black Tarantula goes to Matt Murdock for help.

This issue was a great crime fighting, butt kicking, violence-filled spectacle, and Chris Samnee’s art is perfect in conveying the action. To anyone who was disappointed with the last issue of Daredevil, whether because of the lack of action, or the horrible art, this issue should appease your appetite. Matt Hollingsworth’s colors also maintain the muted tone that has been present in the last several issues of Daredevil, so this feels completely within the core Daredevil storyline. I’m surprised this issue isn’t simply numbered Daredevil #107. (Grade: A-)

-M. Staples

By Rick Remender (writer), Tony Moore (pencils), Ande Parks & Rick Remender (inks) Lee Loughridge (colors)

Fear Agent’s done something I never thought would happen: It actually moved me. Collecting issues #12-15, this third trade paperback, titled “The Last Goodbye”, steps away from the outrageous action and follies of Heath Huston. It takes us back to a time just before the war on Earth started, exploring the full origin of the alien attack and the Fear Agents themselves.

At first I thought I was reading the previous trade because some of the original pages of Heath coming home and spending time with his family (right before the alien attack) were reprinted. But soon enough, we actually get into the devastating events of the war and it’s not pretty. Forced to hide underground for months, Heath nearly goes insane before finally coming up to the surface to see what’s become of the world. The Earth has become a battleground between two races of alien armies – neither seems friendly to Earth’s natives.

Taking the rest of the survivors and finding a few jumpsuits along the way, Heath forms a resistance of sorts to take the fight to the aliens. Eventually, they find a way to eradicate one of the alien races by sending a doomsday bomb to their homeworld. There’s definitely some huge morale implications to be considered here, but Heath, driven by vengeance, is rendered completely blind to the situation. He follows through on his plan only to find out the race he killed, well, I’m not going to spoil it for you.

There’s plenty I’ve left out about the synopsis, because I urge you to pick this book up. If you’ve never read the series, go buy the trades now. The first two are pulp science fiction fun, loaded with Silver Age concepts, lots of action, and pure scoundrel attitude. But this latest trade tilts the series on its head, showing us just how tragic our protagonist is and what drives him. Rick Remender also shows us that he can write more than just science fiction hi-jinx, as well. And Tony Moore? He gives us nothing but brilliant pencil work. (Grade: A)

- J. Montes

Inspired by last week’s little debacle, my new interview column is now up:

We’ve all faced them before and most of us will face them again. Some of us love them, some of us hate them, and some of us are eternally torn. But one thing’s for certain: anyone planning on being a writer (especially a comics writer) is going to face a career full of them.

They’re DEADLINES. As in, “Cross this line and you’re dead.”

Featuring a full 8-page comic from creator extraordinaire Felipe Smith as well as wisdom and horror stories from Christina Weir, Ande Parks, John Rogers, Richard Starkings, Andrew Cosby, Matt Fraction, Jason Aaron and more!

Also, my new pick of the week is up. Go see why you should be reading more Scalped.