Here's some reviews Old-school-style. Enjoy!
Sleeper Season 1
I've waited to read this series for far too long. It is a mix of Donnie Brasco and Wanted with a much more gritty tone. Poor Holden Carver is placed undercover in a criminal organization after discovering that he is impervious to pain. When his handler Lynch falls into a coma Holden finds himself with no link to the outside world. Quickly Holden finds himself caught up in the terrible clutches of Tao, his criminal mastermind of a boss. He also falls in love with the wonderful Miss Misery, a woman who thrives on doing evil. Brubaker creates a wonderful comic noir world. Holden has superhero powers but it is a curse rather than a gift. He has to do horrible things to maintain his cover and be constantly paranoid about where he stands. It is always a complaint about comics that there's nothing new under the sun. Great writers like Brubaker show that that is completely wrong. He creates an entire new world of characters with original back stories. My favorite segment is when we learn the origin story of Miss Misery. Brubaker bends gender expectations in such a wonderful way with her character. It was highly enjoyable and unexpected. I can't wait to see where this will go next.
If you like Sleeper then check out: Criminal, Incognito, Wanted
3 Story: Secret History of a Giant Man
A few years ago it was Matt Kindt's Two Sisters that got me back into reading graphic novels. And then Super Spy blew my precious little mind last year. However I wasn't sure what to make of 3 Story before I picked it up. No spies, a giant, and no puzzles to figure out? What is this? All my fears were assuaged quickly. Kindt is about more than the cleverness of Super Spy. 3 Story is about a giant, but only in regards to how his existence is interpreted by those who love him. His mother, wife, and daughter all try to accommodate him. They build a house, send him to college, and even create a family with him. Despite all this though the reality of the giant's physical condition is that he can never be "one of us". In the end he can't even communicate with anyone. I was struck by panels that showed him always alone. The emphasis on isolation reminded me of Jeff Lemire's work in his excellent Essex County Trilogy. This is a wonderful character study without a hint of hipster-ish irony.
If you like 3 Story then check out: Super Spy, Two Sisters, Essex County Trilogy
Batman: Battle for the Cowl
Despite all the characters depicted on the cover this is really about a battle between two types of vigilantism: Faschism vs. Altruism. Which will win out? Well the ending is kinda inevitable. I mean if you didn't know how this would turn out well then maybe you need to read more comics. But I did enjoy the art by Tony Daniel. Daniel is particularly good with action scenes and muscalature. However writing-wise it's a big step down from Morrison. I like my Batman with a little more complexity. It is a nice hardcover, however I think they should've included more of the cross-overs than just the Gotham Gazette issues. If you can't get it on discount then I'd just hold out for the paperback.
If you like Battle for the Cowl then check out: Batman A Death In the Family, Under the Hood, Batman R.I.P.
Have a great week! Book Slave
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