Angel: Blood and Trenches by John Byrne

Set in WWI!

I picked this one up because of the artwork actually. Not just the cover (above), but the artwork is a bit different than what I usually see, and very cool. John Byrne is the writer and artist for this one, and the graphics are actually pencilly looking. There's no real ink work. No clean lines. No real colour for most of it! The pictures look like sketches.

I think that's awesome!

The only colour that appears that departs from graphite - is the colour red. I'd say it was Sin City-esque but Sin City is so clean and sleek - this isn't. This is rough. And it works.

The artwork is great - what about the story?

Basically, Angel is in New York, reading some news articles about the war, and (without spoiling you too much) he sees "something" that he believes might require his attention on the front line. *ahem* vampires.

That's not really a spoiler, it was a pretty high chance the antagonists in the story would be vampiric. Or demonic.

Anyway, Angel gets himself on a boat and starts investigating while working as an ambulance driver.

Sound interesting? It is! Actually this is only a few pages but that just sounds enthralling to me. I want to know MORE. I wanted to see more of his interactions with the other people. I wanted more build-up. I want MORE backstory, more character tension, more every-day situations and how hard they are for him at that time. But what I got was still great. I just wanted more...

Angel as an ambo in WWI.

This story is more of a character study about Angel, dealing with his nature. This is a lot closer to his Angelus days than we usually saw in the series. Which is great. I like exploring Angel's past. I always wished there was more of it in the show - and a graphic novel form is the perfect media.

Byrne writes Angel very well. He's very reserved in this era - and has a lot less control over himself and his actions than the Angel we're used to. He's still trying to come to terms with himself. He's not there yet.

The story is pretty simple, though told in a not-quite-linear fashion which stops it from going dry too quickly. I liked Angel's headspace in this one - he flees a lot, he's not strong, and he's not quite in control. It's a great look at a character I love.

I recommend it.

Review: X-Factor Issues #1 - 17 by Peter David and others.

Vol 1

Okay, so I'm going to start off honestly here - I am not up to date on the X-Men mythos. I'm sure I'm not alone. I've tried. I've really tried! But trying to wrap my head around all the information is like trying to cram a McGangBang into my mouth.

I mean, not only do you have over 50 years of storylines to get through, you've got characters dying, reappearing... having babies, flying in from different worlds... you've got people like damn Jean Gray having two characters in the series - and she's not the only one!
No matter which story I read, the characters are always referencing other plots that I know nothing about.

For an outsider, this universe of outsiders is damn hard to get into.


Cue: X-Factor.

As per the above, I wouldn't usually read an X-Men title because, simply, I never know what's going on. But, my friend brought up X-Factor in a discussion about the marketing hype of DC's new 52 relaunch (and the teaser of a gay character) and I thought it sounded alright and that I'd give it a go.

I'm glad I did.

This has probably been the most rookie-friendly title I've read from this universe. Yes - this is from the House of M universe, which is not the regular universe, but still...it feels like the start for me. A massive event happened in House of M - which I can summarise (hopefully correctly) as this:

A mutant (and witch) was working with the Avengers. She started using her

powers in new ways and her magic made her a bit cray cray. She attacked the avengers,

was defeated, lasped into a coma,

 and then was looked after by Magneto and her brother Quicksilver.

Quicksilver convinced her to alter reality. She did, making a reality where humans are the minority and mutants are ruled by Magneto.

Heroes find out. Heroes stop her.

She reverses the reality which in turn brings the mutant population from thousands to hundreds.

So this massive event has sort of hit the reset button in a way, because while the characters have previous storylines, they're still battling to understand the new world order. Which is great. Cause it means I can follow the story.

The series itself is led by protagonist Jamie Madrox - the recognisable Multiple Man. Jamie is running a detective agency in New York's Mutant Town - where the ex-mutants and few mutants left are holed up.

Alongside him are Guido (Strong Guy), brash Theresa Cassidy (Siryn, and Banshee's daughter) Rahne, snobby Monet St. Croix, a young girl named Layla Miller who knows stuff, and a ex-mutant named Rictor who opens the story by contemplating killing himself.

We quickly learn the world is in a state of unrest to put it nicely. There is division between mutants and ex-mutants, there is a division between humans and ex-mutants and of course, between humans and mutants.

Jamie is an interesting choice for a leader of this group, seeing as he is intensely indecisive - something highlighted by the fact his power is to create duplicates or "dupes" of himself upon any type of jarring physical contact, each dupe personifying a part of himself - and the situations that call for a steadfast course of action showcase his personal issues.

Jamie himself is both incredibly sad throughout the arc so far and subversely humourous at times. Peter David has really brought a depth to this character that surprised me.

Characters I thought I wouldn't enjoy spending time with grew on me surprisingly fast - Monet St Croix who is written as snobbily as Cordelia Chase in season one of Buffy became one of my favourites towards the end of the third collection, showing some heart and an ability to kick ass when the situation calls for it. (Hmmm actually, Cordelia Chase became my favourite in SEASON three... perhaps I like my bitchy characters in threes...)

Monet St Croix

The main antagonist of the story is the Singularity Investigations. By the end of the seventeenth issue I still have no idea who they are or why I should be against anything they do ... apart from the fact the characters are drawn more evilly and try to kill X-Factor employees.

There honestly isn't a big story arc in this series so far. Only hints. A lot of the time we are dealing with the effects of small plots; Siryn being kidnapped and beaten, trying to help the ex-mutants of Mutant Town or just Jaime getting drunk, accidently duping himself and sleeping with both M and Siryn ...

Jamie Madrox and Rictor discussing water levels

The main plot motion is created in the form of the young Layla Miller, who acts as a sort of soothsayer for the team.

And I don't mind. This really seems to be a character piece so far. Some poignant issues are raised, whether its Guido dealing with the fact he killed someone under hypnosis, or Jamie tracking down the dupes he sent into the world to learn (so he could absorb the knowledge when they returned) and unexpectedly finding one who had a family. Even though it's only a short storyline, it's handled really well and is thought provoking.

Siryn and M ... hugging shopping it out

As it is, I'd definitely read further and possibly back to the beginnings of the House of M story!



...Definitely one for the rookies.






Buy Vol 1 here:

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/X-Factor-Longest-Night-v-1-Peter-David/9780785118176

Review: American Vampire #1 - #5 by Scott Snyder and Stephen King

"Another vampire story? Aren't there enough?" you groan.
"Never!" I respond.

The thing about vampire stories, good vampire stories that is, is that they can be told over and over, as long as you keep the blood fresh.

King's foreword in the graphic novel American Vampire reveals that he jumped onboard this train because he was lured by the prospect of Snyder's SCARY vampires. Not to say this hasn't been done before, but at the moment it's not exactly a secret that the media is leaning towards one specific type of vampire: the sexy vampire.

Somewhere along the line we lost the idea that vampire's are alluring to humanity because they represent a taboo. There are dark and despicable things that humans often succumb to and vampires are a realisation of that. Recently, we have this trend that vampires are hot because they are physically attractive, and they are simply so desired because they get to be young and hot forever, not because they represent a dark part of our humanity.

Snyder's bringing scary back. And I, for one, welcome it. Not because I don't enjoy sexy vampires, I do, but because I so sorely miss vampires with a ...ahem... point.

Scott Snyder's American Vampire follows Pearl Jones, a young ingénue in 1920's Los Angeles, as she struggles to realise her Hollywood hopes and dreams. Needless to say, these dreams are brutally dashed when she's unwittingly served up as an all you can drink buffet to some elitist European vamps.

Pearl Jones - our heroine

Stephen King's part to play in all this is that he's penning the story of Skinner Sweet, a heartless murderer and theif in the 1880's who wronged the wrong unpeople, as he discovers what he's become: a vampire with no sensitivity to sunlight, silver or the usual vampire hoodoo. What the book calls an American vampire.

The stories merge with Skinner changing Pearl (she's still breathing after the attack, and Skinner finds her still dying in the ditch where they've left her) into an American vampire, and sets her on the path of revenge, against the same that carries the rest of part one.

Skinner Sweet...

I'm not going to lie, these ideas are things we've seen before (Blade, for instance, featured "daywalkers"). But the characterisation, and the non-attempts to make Skinner at all sympathetic rather than selfish - or invalidate Pearl's revenge plot - are refreshing. Skinner is a badass. There's no apology for that. But even though he is villainous, Skinner isn't the main antagonist in this story either. It's great. He's no woobie, and he received no karmic payback either.

I'd definitely recommend it, the writing is sharp and though-provoking. Also, the art by Rafael Albuquerque (and colourist Dave McCaig) is both at times beautifully sweet and eerily freaky. Combo of both great story and art is rare for me in graphic novels - I usually like one and not the other.

Let's see if the magic continues into part 2...