Comic Review Bites

Mystery Society by Steve Niles and Fiona Staples

A sexy couple with the means and the motivation to solve some of the more unusual crimes are recruiting members for their new Mystery Society. Conveniently, a ghoul named Secret Skull and Jules Verne's brain encased in a quirky robot body apply for the job. Add the atomic twins that Nick Mystery rescues from Area 51 and we have the makings of a really fun team.

Unfortunately, in spite of Fiona Staples' fantastic artwork, this great concept falls flat with sub-par plotting, sub-par subplotting, a lack of mystery, an annoying antagonist and rather lame attempts at wit and humour. This comment is very negative, but I'd like to think that it's a negative with a lean to the positive. As in, I can see a lot of potential for good old fashioned tongue-in cheek mystery wagon fun with this book, if it can stop trying so hard and just relax and enjoy itself.

2.5 of 5 stars

We3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

Three lost pets are turned into war machines but as prototypes, their phase of the test program is complete and WE3 are set for termination. Their chief handler disapproves of this and gives them the means to escape their fate. Out in the world, they deal with their hunters with brutal precision that reflects their individual natures but in their hearts and minds is a single word: "home."

I think a true animal lover will find this book even more gut-wrenching than I did, but I can definitely appreciate the emotions attached to it, especially with the lost pet posters that begin each chapter.

This was recommended to me when I asked for a good Grant Morrison story. The story idea was really good and I liked that there was not a lot of dialogue and exposition. Morrison truly allowed the art to speak and Quitely delivered admirably. I loved the way the visuals begin from a pet's eye view and I loved the unique splash pages, particularly the one that separated the page into a mosaic of frightening violence.

3.5 of 5 stars

X-Men: Magneto Testament by Greg Pak and Carmine Di Giandomenico

The best thing about this series is that it is not about a superhero/villain or mutant, but about a very human boy forced to become a man during the Holocaust. We've always known about Magneto's past, but we've never seen it. Not like this. I kept wondering if and when his powers would manifest, as we've seen in various other incarnations of his story, but the harsh reality is ... painful.. and educational.

4 of 5 stars

Comic Review: Saga vol.2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Saga, Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan

Giant troll scrotum aside, this was an incredibly heartwarming and heartbreaking read.

If you’ve made it this far in the series, nothing should shock you. If you haven’t read Saga yet, then you may have heard about the crazy and even the controversy surrounding issue #12. Let’s just say that when my husband picked up the copy of volume one that I had lying on my bed, he flipped through a few pages, said “Uh.. I found the robot sex…,” then he put it down and backed away slowly.

It’s difficult to describe Saga without commenting on the uninhibited (but purely contextual!) fantasy space sex and nudity, but underneath the shock value is a fantastic story. Honest! So put just your prude down for a few minutes and pick up this series.

The last volume set up the science fiction falls in love with fantasy and makes a baby story of two enemy soldiers who will do anything to protect their new little family from the various parties who want to see them thoroughly dead. A classic Romeo and Juliet tale, but with way more kinky and weird and a lot more heart.

At the end of volume one, Markos’ parents have appeared aboard the rocketship carrying the little family to the planet Quietus to meet the author of Alana’s favourite book. The bounty hunter known as The Will is intent on rescuing a six-year old girl from the slave trade. Prince Robot IV has figured out where the fugitives are headed and is determined to finish his job in order to get back to his pending fatherhood. And baby Hazel’s incorporeal babysitter, Izabel, has been zapped.

Volume two jumps right in with the absolute best disapproving-but-utterly-loving-mother versus headstrong son and understanding father versus headstrong new daughter-in-law interactions I’ve ever read. I can’t speak more directly on why I loved these interactions so much without spoiling the moments of pride, amusement, joy and tears that I felt as everything progressed.

Meanwhile, The Will, still mourning The Stalk, gets an unexpected partner, whom he convinces to help in his effort to save the slave girl. And Prince Robot IV continues his read through of Alana’s book – which I now desperately want to read myself. I love how important this book is to the story, initially as a clue to the fugitive’s whereabouts, but in volume two, we learn how it brought the lovers together.

Baby Hazel's narrative interruptions are more common in this volume, serving as a constant reminder that she survives this ordeal. That means the story will eventually have a happy ending, right? I’d like to hope so, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to get a lot of heartbreak and loss on the way there. I am most definitely in this for the bittersweet long haul.

5 of 5 stars