Comic Picks By The Glick

It’s not that I don’t get what ONE and Yusuke Murata are going for in this volume.  They’re pitching Garo’s struggle against the members of the Hero Association who come to take him in as something noble that turns tragic.  That his desire to stand up to inevitability is something to be admired. I get that, and yet it doesn’t work for me. Part of this is because Garo has been pretty unlikeable ever since he was introduced.  How am I supposed to feel sorry for someone whose crimes include beating Mumen Rider within an inch of his life? There’s also the fact that his initial struggle against the eight heroes who come for him stretches believability in all the wrong ways.  Here’s Garo, still recovering from being smacked by Saitama in the previous volume, then poisoned by a couple arrows in this current fight still able to take on everyone in front of him? I just can’t buy that.

What I think the creators are trying to say with Garo’s struggle is that there’s a thin line between heroism and villainy.  Only it comes off like the, “We’re not so different, you and I” of ideological discussions without the self-awareness of how tired that particular setup is.  It also feels like there’s some stacking of the deck as the heroes Garo is facing off against happen to be just ruthless and uncooperative enough to suggest that he may have a point.  Which is quite convenient. Fortunately Genos, Silverfang and Bomb show up to hand Genos his ass at the end of the volume. Or do they? It’s the kind of last-minute ass-beating that suggests we’re in for some big twist that allows the Hero Hunter to get away in the next volume.  Of course if the creators decide to have this be Garo’s last stand then I’d be more than fine with that.

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Above-the-Board Recommendation:

Rumble #16

Wait, WHAT!?

That’s right, #15 isn’t the last issue of this series.  I keep expecting the hammer to come down with each arc, but I’m glad to be proven wrong here.  There’s a catch with this latest issue, however. It’s the start of an anthology arc featuring short stories about the main cast.  The good news is that it looks like creator/writer John Arcudi will be writing the whole thing and the first issue has some strong talent lined up in the form of Gerardo Zaffino, Alex Horley, and Matej Stic.  Admittedly the last artist is not known to me, but Arcudi has a knack for finding good artists to work with both on this series and “B.P.R.D.” The bottom line here is that I’m glad to see “Rumble” continue on and maybe this is a chance to start hoping that it’ll continue on for the foreseeable future.

Nah, why mess with what’s worked so far!  Enjoy this latest anthology arc of “Rumble” everyone, because it’ll probably be the title’s last!

Above-the-Board Recommendation:

Spider-Man:  Life Story

When Spider-Man debuted in 1962, Peter Parker was 15 years old.  57 years later and he’s… what, twenty-something in his comics right now?  Yes, aging does work kind of funny in superhero comics that have been published continuously for that long.  But what if Spider-Man had aged in real time over the years? What kind of adventures would he have had? These questions are what writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Mark Bagley are going to try and answer with this miniseries.  Bagley’s done enough work involving the Ol’ Web Head for me to know that this is going to be a great-looking miniseries. Zdarsky is the wild-card here as, while I’m familiar with his art, I’ve yet to actually read anything he’s written.  I’ve heard good things about his work on titles like “Howard the Duck” and “Amazing Spider-Man,” and while he’s still rising in the ranks at Marvel to get assignments like writing the current “Daredevil” series, that in and of itself isn’t a guarantee of quality.  (Paging Chuck Austen…) I’ve still got every expectation that this will be a good read, which is more than I can say for the Spider-title that Marvel is hyping in these solicitations.

Above-the-Board Recommendation:

Blade of the Immortal Omnibus vol. 10

Am I playing it safe with this pick?  Absolutely. Longtime readers/listeners will know that not only do I love this series, but that I thought it stuck the landing with its final volume.  Given that this is the last omnibus edition of the series, this might be the last time you see me write about this series.

OR IS IT?  Over a month ago it was announced that not only would “Blade of the Immortal” be getting a new anime adaptation, but a sequel series as well.  While this would normally be news to get excited about, some of you might be asking yourself, “Wait, but if Hiroaki Samura is working on ‘Die Wergelder’ and ‘Wave:  Listen to Me!’ already, how is he going to find the time to do this new series?” The catch here is that this “Blade of the Immortal” sequel won’t be done by its creator.

This new series comes from writer Kenji Takigawa and artist Ryu Suenobu, names which mean nothing to me and which Anime News Network have no credits for.  The preview art I’ve seen from Suenobu at least indicates that he has the facility to capture a good likeness of Samura’s character designs if not his skill at action.  Another reason for optimism is that this series carries the subtitle “Bakumatsu Arc” which indicates that it’ll be picking up where the original series’ final chapter left off.  Putting Manji into the conflict between Japan’s samurai class and its modernizers definitely sounds promising. I just find it hard to get really excited about a “Blade of the Immortal” sequel that isn’t being done by Samura himself.  I’ll be sure to read it when an English version presents itself. I’m just not in any rush for that to happen.

Wagner's epic fantasy trilogy is finally complete after three decades.  Was it worth the wait?

This is me clearing off a significant portion of the manga on my “to review” list before the next batch arrives later this week.  Most, but not all, of the titles here were also read by me during my time at this year’s Fanime *sigh*. After the break, prepare yourself for my thoughts on the latest volumes of Golden Kamuy, Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, The Girl From the Other Side, Kaguya-sama, and The Heroic Legend of Arslan.

The first volume of this series made a good case for following the ongoing adventures of Eddie Brock and his symbiote even though I’ve never really bothered with that before.  This second volume furthers that case in a way that pushes the series into some dark and disturbing territory. It starts off with Eddie in the custody of The Maker (a.k.a. Ultimate Reed Richards) all because his symbiote’s mind has disappeared following its battle with Knull.  Before he escapes The Maker’s custody, Eddie finds out that his symbiote was on the run for three weeks and was finally caught when he showed up at his dad’s house in San Francisco. So it’s time for Brock the younger to visit Brock the elder to get some answers and open up old wounds in the process.  Maybe even get some new wounds as well as Eddie has to deal with his new younger brother Dylan who wants his help to kill their dad.

At Donny Cates’ spotlight panel at WonderCon earlier this year, he mentioned that he wrote the issues in this collection while he was going through a divorce.  It really shows as much of this volume has to deal with the uncomfortable relationship that Eddie and his symbiote have found themselves in. It’s to the writer’s credit that he finds interesting ways of addressing this via interactions with The Maker, Dylan, and Eddie’s Dad.  While the story is mainly about how much it sucks to be Eddie Brock at the moment it does so in a way that engages your sympathy for the character rather than simply club you over the head with that idea.

That’s thanks to the art as well which is really strong after the opening two issues from Iban Coello.  No offence intended to the artist, as the first two issues are solid superhero fare. The work from Ryan Stegman and Joshua Cassara in the four issues which follow really do an impressive job of pushing the book into horror territory.  From the scenes where Eddie loses control of his symbiote when he meets his dad, to the later conversations he has with it in his mind, there are scenes here which will likely make it difficult for you to sleep if you decide to read this before going to bed.  This may be some real dark stuff here, but it still makes for a gripping read.

comicpicksbytheglick@gmail.com

Despite what the title to this collection may imply, it wasn’t part of the Great Color Cull of “X-Men” titles from last year.  “X-Men: Black” was the branding for a series of five one-shots which spotlighted various X-Men antagonists.  Or villains, depending on your perspective. Whichever way you think of these individuals and their motivations, these one-shots were clearly intended to either refocus the direction of the character they were spotlighting or give them a new direction.  Whether or not any of what this volume does with these characters will remain relevant as we head into the Jonathan Hickman era is a good question. Fortunately it’s easy enough to enjoy the majority of the issues collected here on their own terms.