James Comic Reviews

If youve lapsed from reading DC or Superman because of the direction they have been heading in, you could do far worse than to check out Paks current work on this title, it has the feel of friendship and community that has been missing from our heroes lives for so long, and is just a really good superhero comic. If the quality stays at this level count me in every month.

Although this is Volume VIII, and I am obviously a fan who would advocate starting at Volume I to enjoy the comic in its totality, the graphic novels can stand alone as a fine example of the horror that was the tragedy of The First World War, the stories by their nature stand alone.

This is a really strong addition to Vertigos new line up and its another comic that serves to revitalise the flagging publishing line. If it carries on like this it could fill the void left by the cancelation of Hellblazer in a way Constantine just cant quite manage.

Unfortunately a comic like this requires good art and good writing to make a whole and it doesn't have it. Constantine has all the ingredients and the potential to be a great series if only they would cut loose a bit, it isnt there yet.

Overall, I have really loved Dial H. This is a comic that has surprised me from DC. I would have expected it to come out from Vertigo, and I really hope whatever happens in the next few months with the ongoing comic that they use China Mieville on other comics. His unique, fresh ideas alone make this comic worth reading.

A really nice comic, made all the sadder, by the photos of the author, in the back, and the kind words in the introduction by Alan Moore, as Pekar has left this mortal coil, but he has granted us quite a body of work that will allow him to live on.

DC have been reissuing the collections in order, and are numbering them, so one suspects that all 300 issues will eventually be available in order as graphic novels.It is sad that Hellblazer has come to an end, but this isnt a bad ending and I thought the tip of the pint to other creators was good.

Abnett and MacNeil have been very clever, placing this story within a known universe, yet stylishly enabling a fresh and new perspective on the Justice system, delivering the reader a great action filled Science Fiction story, with a few neat twists and turns to keep the guesses going.

This series feels like it has an awful lot to offer. There was a lot more in this first issue than I had expected. Quitely's artwork is stunning. His small mouths and strong jaws, the fine but very clear line work, the very beautiful colouring, bright and adventurous, dark and seedy, suiting the scenes as they need it is really quite fantastic.

This is the second issue and there was something really Shakespearean about it, perhaps the analogy with Royalty, perhaps the way that it is about the unrest within a family of power, it just feels good and I really cannot wait for the rest of them.

The Deluxe edition from DC comics is a real treasure. They have packaged nearly 500 pages of comics, thoughtful introduction, post script and additional art in a lovely hard cover. This gives the reader the opportunity to posses the majority of the Marshal Law oeuvre. Missing from this collection are the cross-overs with Savage Dragon, Clive Barker's Hellraiser, and the Mask, but to be honest, I did not miss these. Anybody who has any interest in atypical super heroes, and the use of satire in comics, will want this on their shelves.

Overall, this comic is really pleasing, its straight forward War and Zombies, mixing two genres, that lets be honest are proving very popular in this 21st century, and it puts them together very well and the artwork makes it a winner.

DC did something really special with Solo. They really let go of the reigns, it had faith in its creators. This deluxe edition, with just over 600 pages, is a very interesting and mature look at comic characters. Its not grim or dark, its hard to categorize it as anything, theres so much variety, but it shows what great creators can do, when they really put themselves into their work, and this was their chance and they did good.

Yet it is Conner who blew me away.

It is really nice that DC have packaged up this collection, which is essentially the complete Warren Ellis Authority Mark Miller was to take over on the writing after Ellis, and the direction was very different thereafter.

Overall I enjoyed this graphic novel a lot, allowing it to take me back somewhat, and just for the first two books, and the pilot, it is well worth reading.

DC have definitely brought together a team that has done the book fantastic justice, and anybody who has not read the novel version or seen the movies of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo would be well advised to pick these graphic novels up. For other readers who have seen adaptations of the work, I do not think they will be disappointed, as this in its own right is a fantastic version of the story.

Overall, it was very good.

Just over two years into there run and the creative team on this title are still writing a wonderful book here, and this issue is just full of brilliant quiet moments that show what makes this series truly great.