Amazing Finds [at Book Expo]: BATTLING BOY by Paul Pope and more

When I attended this year's Book Expo America about a month ago, one of my aims was to find graphic novels that I hadn't heard about. Although I'm always looking for books that I'd like, being a father has also changed the way I look for books, as I'm always building the bookshelf for my little guy.

I wasn't expecting to find a cool book like BATTLING BOY by Paul Pope, a book I really enjoyed, and something I know the little guy will dig when he gets a little older. That future book shelf just got a lot more awesome.

At "The New Graphic Novel" panel hosted by Calvin Reed--the comics man of Publisher's Weekly, sports aficionado and gentleman around town (seriously, this guy is everywhere) along with three comic book creators with new graphic novels coming out this Fall, discussed their projects. All had really cool books coming out, and I look forward to reading all of them. 

The three creators were Faith Erin Hicks (The Last of Us, Dark Horse), she came out of the webcomic world, and through sheer perseverance landed the gig at Dark Horse working on her first licensed tie-in project--which looks like great fun. Gene Yang (Boxers and Saints, First Second Books) is the man behind the award-winning, American Born Chinese, and his new book which retells the history of The Boxer Rebellion as told from both sides, and comes in a two-book slipcased edition, looks terrific. I will be pre-ordering soon.

Paul Pope's book, BATTLING BOY, grew from his feeling that his 12-year-old nephew may not have a great selection of comic book choices that don't include a long and complex back story (this from his comments in the panel). He wanted to create something fun and new, with a young boy as the star of the book, and weave in mythology, super powers and creepy nightmarish monsters and beasties. This book is fun and takes the reader beside BATTLING BOY's first adventure, thrown into the fire of his new role as hero. Like his dad.

I'm not going to spoil any more than that, but Pope's artwork is just amazing and quirky and I love it. When his Batman Year 100 came out a few years back, I was taken by his twisted spin on the dark knight and continue to reread that book time and time again.

This is only the first volume of a multi-book BATTLING BOY series and waiting for more will be torture (although I can't complain having already read an advance reader's copy). I'll be buying a hardcover when it comes out October 8th (it is being published in both hardcover and paperback) but I'm also quite proud of my advance copy which I had signed for the little  superhero in my life when I got the chance to meet Paul at the show. First Second also gave out very cool t-shirt with Pope's art of the little but fierce Battling Boy in front of a hoard of monsters. Very cool.

B.P.R.D. Vol. 10: The Warning TPB

I read a lot of comics. I don't post reviews of all of them, and for some reason whenever I read a new B.P.R.D. book - I want to talk about it. I don't want to give away much, but I want to share that this is the type of book I feel lots of people would enjoy. And B.P.R.D. volume 10, The Warning, is no exception.

And this newest story is another wonderful addition to the B.P.R.D. library. As Abe [Sapian], [Johann] Kraus, and friends figure out that the plague of frogs has returned in a new and frightening way, they are on the hunt to find Liz Sherman, who has been kidnapped by a mysterious gentleman from her dreams.

Other ancient enemies surface as well, and this series continues to include solid storytelling and crisp characters throughout. With each adventure, I care about the them more and more, and want to follow them on their bizarre journeys.

Also, the end of the story hints at connections from one of my favorite characters from this series, Lobster Johnson, so I wait in eager anticipation to see where the next story takes me.

Lastly, I thought it worth mentioning the superb storytelling by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi. But I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much I've come to love the artwork by Guy Davis. Not only are his interpretations of the main characters moody and atmospheric but everything from military vehicles, to gigantic machine/beasts, to all the backgrounds and scenery come to life and I simply get lost in the pages.

Kudos to the good folks at Dark Horse for including the sketchbook in the back, with notes by the various creators. It really adds a bit of creative insight to the process. I don't have anything bad to say. I guess my only hesitation would be for new readers of the series to come in at this point, as it would be best to start at volume 1, and it might be difficult to pick up on all the nuances if coming in cold. That being said, many adventures await...

Review: GRENDEL: Devil's Reign TP by Matt Wagner & Tim Sale

I've been a Grendel fan for a long time. I buy every issue in periodical form whenever a new story comes out, and I usually buy the trade edition as well. This is one series I seriously collect.

When I read that the trade paperback edition of GRENDEL: Devil's Reign was coming out, I was very excited as I really liked this book. Orion Assante has been a character from the Grendel mythos that I wanted to read more about, and this story fed that hunger.

Two of my favorite creators were involved: Matt Wagner, the man behind the entire Grendel mythos, this time writing only, and Tim Sale, one of my favorite comics artists (and the artist whose work also appears in the hit show, HEROES). It was a match made in Hell.

The main thing I LOVE about this book is the way that Wagner's & Sale's work complimented each other. Also, aside from the black vs. white backgrounds for the two paralleling stories, there is also a separation of text and art panels that differs from many standard comic books. I really enjoyed reading this in periodical form and am glad to have the collection to refer back to for re-reads. I even love the fonts chosen [OK, I know I'm a nerd].

The big disappointment of this trade paperback collection is the lack of any additional supplemental material. Aside from the terrific new painted cover by Wagner, there isn't any additional content aside from the reprint of the story itself. No introduction, sketches, behind the scenes, pin-up gallery...nothing. That is disappointing because I can refer to most of the other Grendel trades and hardcovers I own and there is a fair amount of additional material.

In a sense, I see the trades and hardcovers like buying a DVD of a movie you love. You probably supported it in the theater (just like buying the original comics) but you loved it so much that you want the story again, in a collected form and I've come to expect a bit more than just the story, in the collected edition. And I'm not trying to knock Dark Horse because they usually do an amazing job in their collected editions.

For example, a few months back I bought the anniversary edition of the BATMAN/GRENDEL crossover. Sure I own these books in their original editions, but to support all that is Grendel, I bought the new edition. And it was terrific. Aside from the wonderful original story; the original 4 covers were reprinted along with sketch and color illustration development pages narrated by the notes of Matt Wagner. This is an example of the wonderful extras I've come to expect.

I don't mean to go on and on, and maybe to first-time readers of the story it is not a big deal. But some of us are hardcore, reading the stories so many times they feel more like parts of our own memories than just stories.

These stories become part of our lives, so as much as I wanted to rave about the actual Devil's Reign story here, I'm left wondering if I should have flipped through the trade first, because I feel a bit robbed.

Yes, that is a real Grendel tattoo. It's an image of the mask of Grendel Prime from GRENDEL: War Child. The image is ghosted on the back of the limited edition leather-bound hardcover copy I have. A gift from an old friend at DH. A friend who knew I was hardcore.

Vivat Grendel!

Comic Book Review of B.P.R.D. 1946 (Volume 9) tpb

This may be the darkest of the B.P.R.D. (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense) books to date. And that is saying a lot.

But, man was it good. As I’ve mentioned before, the BPRD books have continued to impress and sustain, taking place in the Hellboy-spawned world many of us have come to love.When I saw the name of this newest storyline, 1946, I tried to be patient and wait for the trade. I’m not a total trade paperback convert (I still buy approximately 50% of my comics in floppy issues and 50% in trades. It’s part of my past struggling with the newer me who likes the trades crammed in my book shelves for easy access, loaning, and re-reading.

Since I own all of the other BPRD books in trade format, I needed to continue in this way, although I felt the urge to buy the floppies, as they called out to me each month from the comic shop racks.

Then there is the heavy-WW II angle in this book, which I like just fine. Remember, Hellboy was discovered in 1944 by the Allies, right before the end of the war. I really think Mignola & Dysart hit this one out of the park, picking up immediately after the war, in Berlin, with both the occupying American forces and Russian forces vieing for discovery and access to all the secret nazi occult experiments (one of which in ‘44 Hellboy was a result of, himself).

Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (who rescued Hellboy and founded the BPRD) and his assistant Dr. Howard Eaton are sent on special assignment into Berlin to uncover what remained of the Nazi regime’s special occult division. Their reputations preceded them, already infamous in U.S. military circles, due to their involvement in the rescue of one little red guy in '44.

The book gets really weird when Bruttenholm is forced to collaborate with the Soviet allies, headed up by the scariest creature in recent BPRD memory… al little girl with pictails. That’s right, the head of the Russian paranormal unit is an ancient demon in the guise of a little girl in a white dress with a dolly. Talk about creepy. And it bothers me how this doesn’t bother any of the other characters too much. It’s just freaky, scary and wrong. At one point, she tells the story of her origin and reveals herself to a lower level inquiring demon and we see what’s really behind the Russian-accented little darling. Scary.

What is uncovered in the main storyline was a Nazi secret plan to build an army of vampire super soldiers, but the experiments went horribly wrong, and the test subjects become the cause of poor Professor B. And the more he uncovers, the worse the situation gets.

This peculiar story is illustrated by Paul Azaceta with colors by Nick Filardi – and their work shines albeit, darkly. In every shadow lurks a haunted spirit, and every character’s expression has a murky, textured shading that gives the panels a nostalgic feel – perfect for a vampire story taking place in 1946. Even in the depiction of the unit of ragtag soldiers assigned to assist Prof. Bruttenholm, I can see great attention to detail was given to creating individuality amongst the men. This can also be seen in the sketchbook notes by Mignola and Azaceta in the back of the trade.

By the way, the back of the trade has a few neat extras such as a letter from writer Joshua Dysart about his pitch to Mignola, a short BPRD story from Free Comic Book Day, and the aforementioned sketchbook with notes. Not bad.

I am always entertained when reading this series and have been happy with each trade paperback purchase. Not knowing where each story is going to go, BPRD always leads to an excited bit of surprise, and often the trip leads down alleys to the past, buried in dark evil secrets. It's always an adventure. And B.P.R.D. 1946 ends with enough doors open to allow that evil to creep back in at some point in the future…

Currently reading...

This lazy Sunday afternoon, LOBSTER JOHNSON: The Iron Prometheus by Mike Mignola and Jason Armstrong (Dark Horse Comics). Should be finished shortly. Mini-review to follow.