My Year in Comics: Best Reads, Part One

Wonder Woman Volume One: The Lies, Greg Rucka
DC Comics, 2017

This Wonder Woman  is part of DC Comics' whole Rebirth retcon/return to what works with flagship characters. Princess Diana succeeds here because of  Rucka's sly writing but also the artwork, which, at every chance, depicts Steve Trevor displaying his six-pack. Diana swoops in to save him more than once. The Amazonian warrior remains heroic while the male supportig role remains helpless. This is grand subversion that Rucka executes well, with glorious exploitative and kinetic artwork by Liam Sharp and Nicola Scott.

Cover of issue # 1
from the AfterShock Comic website.
Cover art by Wilfredo Torres.

Mark Waid’s Captain Kid
AfterShock Comics, 2017

Mark Waid’s penchant for turning all he touches to gold is familiar to readers of his run on Daredevil, the new Captain America, Black Widow, The Flash and, I have it on good authority, All-New, All-Different Avengers and Champions. And, oh, Kingdom Come as well, for those in the class who want to go back and see how apocalyptic is done, aside from The Dark Night Returns and Watchmen.  Captain Kid’s art by Wilfredo Torres and Brent Peeples is somewhat uneven, but the premise is fertile ground. Instead of orphan teen Billy Batson saying a magic word and becoming a godlike adult figure (Captain Marvel or Shazam!, depending on which side of the longstanding legal battle you want to fall on), Waid posits the reverse scenario. What if a depressed, middle-aged man pronounces a magic word and becomes a virile teen hero? This clever subversion of the Shazam! mythos flourishes under Waid’s Midas-touch talents, resplendent with commentary about an older hero trying to reconcile his younger view of himself as a hero. The protagonist even has to contend with hormones clouding his judgement when he is in adolescent form.

Cover of Volume # 1. Published by Oni Press.
Artwork by Matthew Southworth and Rico Renzi.

Greg Rucka’s Stumptown 
Volume One: The Case of the Girl Who Took her Shampoo (But Left Her Mini) 
Volume Two: The Case of the Baby in the Velvet Case
Oni Press, Various printing dates
I know what you’re thinking. Another take on Portland? Rucka’s yarn features randy protagonist Dex Parios, a private detective who is immersed in the character of Portland, Oregon. The series draws its name from an early nickname for the sparsely populated lumber-and-trading hub. From architecture to local characters, Stumptown is film noir drenched in weird locale. Think Raymond Chandler, reincarnated and walking the streets of Portland in a haze of illicit smoke. The hero, similar to Brian Michael Bendis’ Jessica Jones of Alias, has a more open outlook and devil-may-care attitude. Ths series is remarkable because Portland's architecture, from sidewalks to brick storefronts, is much a character as the aloof-but-tough Dex. Strong character, a classic mystery motif and a keen self- awareness of locale make for spicy storytelling.

Art by Tyler Paige. 

Chicagoland Detective Agency Book 1: The Drained Brains Caper Trina Robbins
Graphic Universe, 2010

Wonder Woman scholar, comic-book scribe and artist Robbins has a great little series in Chicagoland.  Thirteen-year-old Megan Yamamura, who narrates and speaks in haikus, possesses a healthy fear of adult authority. Sure, the teen notices everything adults overlook, but that’s the audience and the story is fun and smart for kids ages eight and upward, or adults. Throw in Bradley, a talking dog obsessed with pulp detective films and a plethora of horror-and-action-film references, and one sees how Robbins reaches young and grown-up readers with hilarious and self-referential aplomb.

Still to Come:

Alias by Brian Michael Bendis, vols. one through four

Paper Girls vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan

Totally Unexpected but Welcome Weirdness

Alex de Campi’s Archie vs. Predator

Charles Burns' X’ed Out, The Hole

Joe Ollmann’s (writer and artist) The Abominable Mr. Seabrook

Julius Knipl:Real Estate Photographer, Ben Katchor

Titans Hunt, Dan Abnett et al.

Totally Unexpected Beauties

Wonder Woman ’77 volume one TPB, Marc Andreyko (writer), artists Drew Johnson, Matt Haley, and Cat Staggs

The Less than Epic Adventures of T.J. and Amal, debut by E. K. Weaver (writer and artist)

Monstress, Marjorie Liu (writer) and Sana Takeda (artist)