I think one of the most graphic books to be found on bookstore shelves is the Bible. You can’t go ten pages without murder, sex or miracles resulting in some truly crazy wackiness. Regardless of your own stance on the message, the actual stories can be pretty intense. A. David Lewis, mpMann, and Jennifer Rodgers decided to add another layer of graphic-ness by illustrating a version of the book of Exodus, the story of how Moses and Aaron freed the Jews from Egyptian slavery. However, it’s told more from the point of view of Ramses the Great, pharaoh and adopted cousin/arch-enemy of Moses. The cliché is that “history is written by the victors” so the Bible is a bit one-sided in its portrayal of this particular character. That’s what makes The Lone and Level Sands so good. Much of the action fits between the moments told in Exodus. The creators had to use outside research, a particular Charlton Heston movie, and their own imagination to tell this tale, so that even if you know the story this book will show you a different interpretation of it.

Ramses isn’t an awful guy; he’s a ruler with a lot to cope with. Running an empire is difficult. It only becomes more difficult when his estranged cousin, Moses, shows up. With the power of a foreign deity behind him, Moses starts reeking havoc on Ramses’ kingdom, while at the same time demanding the realease of its entire workforce. Politics, economics and emotion are all accounted for in the ways Ramses has to deal with these problems, which is a refreshing re-portrayal of someone who could easily be labeled one of history’s great villains. The ending of the story is obvious to most, so the climax occurs not with Moses’ victory, but with Ramses realization that he is a cog in the machine of fate, destined to lose everything and everyone in his fight with Moses. Initially saddening but also heartening, because thousands of years later he gets his day in literary court, to show his side and earn as much sympathy as can be mustered for an unrepentant slaveholder.

The art by mpMann is equally as captivating as the story. Gone is the heroic visage of Moses, replaced by the bearded chin of a peasant, the leathery face of a herder and the weary countenance of a man with a seemingly impossible mission. He looks touched by God in the same way the bum on the corner does. He has a lovable sidekick in his brother Aaron, who acts as translator for Moses’ “enlightened” ramblings as well as a generally more agreeable person probably better suited to dealing in politics than Moses ever could be. Alternatively, Ramses is drawn as the towering bronzed monarch of an empire; confident and assured in front of an audience, but equally weary as Moses when alone. This is hardly an action oriented book, yet the panel layouts, dynamic angles and expressiveness all make the potentially boring talking-head scenes flow like the Nile. Except for their bulk, I actually found many of the characters to be Kirby-esque in appearance, which added further dynamism to such elegantly simple line-work.

Like many, I’ve had up and downs concerning faith, God and sacred texts but sometimes that’s not what it’s about. The cultural relevance of these stories is undeniable. They resonate through society even today and permeate everything from music back to comics, lest we forget that before he was co-opted as a Christ-like messiah, Superman himself was a reinterpretation of the Moses story too. Thoughtful yet bold re-imaginings of these classic tales like The Lone & Level Sands are interesting, provocative, and maybe, most importantly of all, enjoyable. While bored during Sunday services these are the stories I would read to escape, and now even without the necessity of sermonizing, I turn to them again.

The Lone And Level Sands on Amazon

Existence sucks. We all get that feeling at some point or another, and how we deal with it defines us and our character. For some, this means working hard in order to better appreciate the few kind and wonderful moments we are afforded. For others, it’s eviscerating life and nosing through the entrails to whiff out any and all ways to alter the experience ; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120669/ ; . For the select few, it means finding that one thing you are inspired to do, the element that creates your very own feeling of invincibility, your personal aura educing fear and awe in others around you, that makes you feel as sexy and dangerous as any feral jungle cat stalking it’s next meal or mate. Why be normal when you can kick ass? One person’s answer to this question is a resounding “Fuck YEAH!” Donning a scuba suit and a pair of batons, Dave Lizewski finds his spiritual cocaine in crime fighting. Stalking the streets of New York as Kick-Ass and subsequently getting beaten like a red-headed stepchild.

Millar’s writing is fast and furious, throwing story elements with the precision and accuracy of a well oiled machine. Pacing isn’t even worth mentioning, as you accelerate into it without even noticing, cruising along as the scenery of violence and humor parade past. The Kick-Ass story line is a simple statement of the “Grass is Always Greener…” mantra, with an excellent balance of ugly violence and heart-breaking humor.

The only great tragedy fueling Dave’s need to fight crime was his own uneventful birth, and for most of us in the real world, that’s all you truly need in order to do something great. The desire to leave a mark, to inspire, to change, grips each of us tightly, whether we want it to or not. His parent’s weren’t murdered. He isn’t the last child of a dead planet. He isn’t atoning. He isn’t avenging. He just kicks ass. That’s more than enough justification for doing something above and beyond. So there’s no need for a complicated origin, or page upon page of back story. Readers dive straight into the meat of the comic; straight to hell with aperitifs and appetizers. Wanted gave all the background necessary in twelve pages, followed by a hundred and twenty two pages of intense and poignant action. This formula seems to work, it’s a shame it doesn’t see more use. Let the character define himself, don’t box them in with a preconceived notion of who they are, just let the writing flow and see where it takes you.

It’s sad being your own comedic relief. That’s definitely a reason to want to be someone else. Dave Lizewski, aka Kick-Ass, gives all the ironic humor you could want. Kick-Ass, aka Dave Lizewski, shows us all the blood and guts we crave. The two great tastes that taste great together ;http://www.hersheys.com/products/details/reesespeanutbuttercups.asp ; . Everything Dave does brings a cringe and the thought, “Glad I’m not him.” Everything Kick-Ass does brings a grin and the thought, “I could do that better than him. Where’s my ski mask?” Already all the elements are on the board, the dashing lead, the meek alter ego, the barely noticeable supporting best friend, the love interest who has no interest, even the Mafia ;http://ginopomiliabaseball.com/About_Gino_Pomilia.html inside joke, I know, but seriously, how many people are going to read this? if there’s a lawsuit, i’m just an anonymous writer sending you stuff by a shell email account ; are here as the pyrrhic monster to do battle with, the cast is assembled; the stage is set, let the show begin. And that truly is the best part of the book so far. Eight issues in, and there is still a feeling of a bigger picture, a larger web that can’t be seen yet, and each issue is another step backwards for the viewer, letting more into the field of view. So far, there is a definite order to things, an arrangement which cannot quite be grasped by our feeble understanding, but Mark Millar knows the way, and will guide us to this great revelation should we show the patience necessary to be deemed worthy. Until then, we shall wait at the door, wondering when we will be privy to another scrap of rapture.

John Romita Jr.’s art is excellent, giving the book the grit that every single review raves about, full of gory details that elicit memories of the old Dinosaur’s Attack ; link; card series. But there is a fault: his love of parallel line shading. A standard in his work, it is more predominant here than in anything else that comes to mind, and it creates an almost static feel to the art. Everything looks taught, a world Saran wrapped, and to be honest, something more dynamic would have been much more suitable to the hectic and bloody pace of some of the scenes. Some things come alive in his art, his blood drips and his fire crackles, organic and fluid as their substantial counterparts, but when the texture of neoprene, linoleum, cotton, blood pools, shadows, leather, and skin are almost identical, something is amiss. All of this really wouldn’t be so bothersome, except Romita’s art has proven itself again and again to be superstandard ;I know I just made up a word, but if substandard is a word, why not superstandard? why must i hyphenate? why? ;; a second thought, what if these semicolons just become paratheses? my one breaking of the 4th wall for the review… hmmmm ; (I suggest superb and getting rid of all the exposition, Haupt thoughts?-Jesse). Looking at his other work, especially his depictions of Daredevil ;link; and Spiderman ;link; , shows just what a tiny bit of additional shading can do, and how much more impressive his action sequences become just by simply filling the occasional gap between a pair of his signature feature ;I honestly have no idea how to rework this sentence. You get my meaning, I’m sure, but I really can’t come up with a better way to say it. I thought about changing the end to “beloved parallel lines” but you know I hate repeating myself ; (I like it as is but am open to suggestions-Jesse). Honestly, can blame be laid on JRJR’s shoulders? The finger begins to tour the room to point elsewhere. Tom Palmer, inker for Kick-Ass, has been tracing ;chasing amy link, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chasing_amy ; (not sure how I feel about alienating the inking crowd by using this hateful term-Jesse) since long before most of you were born. His work is exemplary, he pioneered the modern inking style, he is an industry icon. All of which makes this even more bizarre. Two of the most respected men in their fields come together to work on a project, and the result is less than the sum of it’s parts. Where the incompatibility lies is unknown, but never before has Palmer been afraid to seize control after the pencil leaves the page, and Romita has always relinquished before. Somehow, they’re not meeting at the middle, leaving something to be desired. Not that this cannot be remedied. Some work together, a good weekend of collaboration, and they could definitely be on the same page ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pun ; (this link gets a huge thumbs up from me-Jesse) . Or maybe this is how they intended it. No one could truly say, except for them.

A great read so far, with so much potential for the the future. You should be excited; it has the potential to go anywhere, to do anything. People should be lining up now to get the next issue. No. Seriously. Go line up. Preorders be damned. This book is worth it.

Book: Kick-ass

Publisher: Marvel Icon

Writes: Mark Millar

Pencils: John Romita Jr.

Inks: Tom Palmer

All of his elements are there, the black and white grit, the dame, the mook with blood on his hands, and everyone in his way. But this isn’t just another one of the Marv wannabes that you see so prevalently, Sam Noir from Image Comics is a little different. He wears sandals. He eats rice. And he carries a big fucking sword. Other than that, yeah, he really kinda is like Marv.

So the main character, who shares a name with the book, has been done before. Don’t let your attention falter because of this. This isn’t the same clichéd plot and cookie cutter characters from a story told a million times; it’s the clichéd plots and cookie cutter characters from TWO stories told a million times before. Yes, the big catch, the clincher for this fantastic book is that it is a detective noir story, told in feudal Japan. Sort of. Mashing together two time periods, we have sky scrapers defended by archers and the trusted Beretta replaced by matched katana and tanto. The story follows suit, making for something like the bastard child of Double Indemnity and Ninja Scroll. Thus was born Sam Noir: Samurai Detective.

Truly the most stunning part of the book is the ink and wash style art. Manny Trembley could very well  be the next Templesmith (Ben: “But I’m not done being Templesmith…”). Monochromatism fits so well, being a part of noir as well as suibokuga, and so the marriage fits true. No counseling needed, the hard lines and misty shading fill each page with dark and wonderous images. The attention to light and shadows is extraordinary. Many of these frames look like they were drawn from photos, as the stark simplicity also implies an original layer of detail. Cloth bunches and moves exactly as it should. Spandex suits became popular for superheroes because they were easier to draw. It is the true master who can draw a trench coat properly. The characters have no lack of detail, despite being little more than an outline at times. And yet, with all that included, one thing was removed, which gave an almost soulless characteristic to the players. Only one character in the book is ever drawn with eyes. As an artistic choice it makes sense, since she was the only one who did not have blood staining her soul. But at the same time, it made it slightly harder to identify with the protagonist.

Ah, the protagonist. It would be criminal to go without making mention of him. Dirty, unkempt, probably reeking of booze, he is man that you avoid sitting next to at the bar. Beaten down but never broken, Sam is living in a conjoined world, but while he is made of both, he is tied to neither. Sam actually recognizes the patterns and cliches that fill these two universes, exploiting them with extremely witty narrative exposition. Nothing is sacred to a man like this, so hitting below the belt is a personal favorite of his. Getting to internally mock them while doing so is just icing on the cake. A quick wit and a penchant for violence, Sam lives the same way so many people want to, running a path as dangerous as the edge of his sword. All of this makes for that loveable anti-hero, hip hip hooray for the bad guy. Sam isn’t really bad. He’s just misunderstood. People misunderstand that he is going to cut their heads off.

This so called “Special Edition” has earned that title. Not just due to the fact that it is a reprinting of issues 1-3, a steal at the cost of two issues of any other comic. It has many endearing qualities; come for the art, stay for the purposefully ineloquent and rude narrative. If there is not at least one element of this book that you can love, then your heart has truly grown cold.

He sits around, he flakes off, he steals money from work so he can go buy booze, get drunk and complain about his life. He is not the psychopath you so often read about but rarely come across. He’s the loser you only kinda know that is sleeping on your couch tonight, talking on and on about what he could do if life ever gave him a break. Everyone has known or even been Tommy at one point in their life. Watching him throw his head against the wall time and again, only to come out no more knowledgeable on the other side stirs up strange and uncomfortable feelings, but it’s important not to look away. Because it’s a very familiar train of thought, and it’s important to see what it looks like so we can remember how truly low one can go.

Tommy is a complete lowlife. He hates his life, but he also hates everyone else’s. He is chronically dissatisfied and is completely incapable of changing that. Everyone tries to help him, everyone feels sorry for him, but he just can’t enjoy life. Even when he has a girl (a common point of complaint when he doesn’t) he is constantly worried about losing said girl. How much of this character is based on Ed Brubaker personally is unclear, but regardless of the facts of his life, I have known Tommy. He went by another name, but he was essentially Tommy. No matter how many times you talk it over with him he’s stuck in the same conflict, stuck between permanence and impermanence and constantly uncomfortable because of it. This is beautifully illustrated in a later chapter “The Problem.” This book brings back all the pain of watching a friend being and becoming a complete lowlife.

Although it is painful, at times, I can also sit and laugh at the good times, as Tommy represents the full spectrum. And the book does a good job of injecting humor into the despair. It includes a statement embodying how utterly confusing women can be in an almost ideal fashion (pg 96). And the ending is surprisingly dystopian, yet hopeful. But mostly it is depressing and anguish filled, so be prepared for a strong read.

Now, a word on the art. I love it. The book is actually a collection of short stories that Brubaker wrote and drew in the late 80’s and early 90’s, and in the introduction he makes mention of cringing at the sight of his early artwork. But if this stuff makes him cringe, his best work has got to be gold. It’s reminiscent of Jason Lutes, whom notably receives thanks from Brubaker in the intro. It is similar but definitely its own.  For instance the characters are skinnier and the work, in general, is more detailed. And because the stories were written with sometimes years in between, you get a great picture of the evolution of an artist; going from good stuff to a really solid style. Keep an eye out for the Brubaker signature and date in the corner; though there is some chronological flow to the order of the stories, they were not written in the order they appear. But the real point here is that this book is filled with great art. Brubaker is one of the very few artists able to pull off the V-neck, not once, but twice.

If you need a reminder of why you get up in the morning and why you should cherish each moment for itself without trying to hold on too tight, go pick up A Complete Lowlife by Ed Brubaker. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and hopefully, by the end, you will be shocked into enjoying life by any means necessary.

A Complete Lowlife on Amazon

Fortunately, after reading the book I realized that the plot had very little to do with my own ideas so I breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, this book was a lot better than anything I had planned. The story follows the life of Dr. Ong, once on his way to priest-hood now scientist for the government assigned to work at the Creature Tech research facility. The facility houses all of the stuff the government couldn’t or didn’t need to figure out immediately, much like that final, infamous scene from “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Dr. Ong’s job is to sort through all the boxes and figure out what everything is or what it can do for Uncle Sam. Everything from magical religious clothing to alien artifacts. There’s a love story that is obvious but still sweet. The villain provides laughs with his power to turn cats into demons and quest for giant flying eel which fluidly moves the story along. And, refreshingly, the character development takes some surprising twists but still maintains a coherency and believability despite the absurdity of some of the books situations.

The book is slightly oversized which makes it fun to really examine some of the fantastic artwork. TenNapel uses a heavy line and some drastic angles to set his characters apart from one another. Some black and white books strive for realism to the point of incomprehension and confusion because the characters just aren’t distinctive. But art isn’t just about characters looking different. TenNapel is clearly a gifted story-teller who planned this book well. His panel layout is dynamic and appropriate with a nice number of full page panels and a couple of two-page spreads. When the action really heats up TenNapel will even opt for the 7 or 8 panel page so the reader gets a blow by blow for the scene. I said earlier that the art prompted me to buy the book in the first place and I wasn’t let down.

Obviously I really enjoying reading Creature Tech. It read fast, but it also stuck with me and gave me some things to think about concerning scientific progress, religion and the ever cliched “going home again”. This is not the book I would have ever expected from the creator of Earthworm Jim.