Diverting Attention: Comics

Existence 2.0 #1
Image Comics
Writer: Nick Spencer
Art: Ron Salas
Price: $3.50
Grade: B

Want to know why science isn’t sexy? Because it’s never been put to use in things we really value. Forget about cloning sheep, chickens or any other farm animals. What if scientists cloned celebrities, or could reach into your genetic code and alter who you are, or brought back the dead? It can all be had, for the right price and Nick Spencer and Ron Salas are trying to help you imagine that world in Existence 2.0, a new series about a cutting edge physicist who is murdered but before dying is able to transfer his mind to his murderer’s body.

Sylvester Baladine was a man who had it all thanks to his underground work as a contract scientist: a family, a mistress, and the mind to put dangerous thoughts into reality. But that was his prior life, and now he looks through the jade eyes of contract killer named Marko. At first, living in new skin is a world of change that includes a long line of hot women and the fast life. But when he discovers that his daughter from his previous life was kidnapped, our protagonist uses Marko’s assets and skills to get to the bottom of his own murder. Who sent this man to kill him, and why?

The lead character brings readers into his world of amoral activity and questionable character by way of strong narration, raw and dynamic art, accompanied by the soundtrack of a subdued color palette. It’s a package similar to what Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have been doing at Marvel’s Icon imprint, with enough twisted layman science to keep the pages turning quickly.

Spencer balances out the man of science with the man of action evenly in a nonlinear story. While I would like to hear a better separation of distinct dialogue between the peripheral characters (they all sound like the same person), the story moves at a wonderful pace and Spencer gives us two lead characters we want to know more about in the late Sylvester, and the taken-over Marko. Salas’ work excels in striking shadowed artwork. He still has some work to do on consistent body proportion and perspective, but I appreciate the varying camera angles and love the brushed ink work. I hope to see more background art in subsequent issues too because the panels that have them show promising talent. Together, Spencer and Salas are synchronized well especially on pages 14-15 when Marko rediscovers his life of luxury and all of the action scenes, which isn’t always the easiest thing to do in comics. If you like both crime and science fiction genres this, fresh mesh of the two comes recommended.

Detective Comics #854
DC Comics
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artists/Colorists: J.H. Williams III and Dave Stewart (Batwoman), Cully Hamner and Laura Martin (The Question)
Price: $3.99
Grade: A+

Since Final Crisis I have walked away from much of the DCU not because I really want to but because of increasing costs, I am just becoming more picky as to where my dollar goes. I was a longtime reader of Batman and Detective, but chose to jump ship on the whole Batman: R.I.P. And Battle for the Cowl because you can’t fool this reader again. Bruce Wayne’s just taking a vacation, I know. And then Detective Comics #854 came out which has me rethinking my pull list.

First off, let me get this out of the way. WOW! This is possibly the most gorgeous superhero book that came out all year. It’s been a long time that the art alone nearly sold me to pick up a random comic but penciler J.H. Williams III and colorist Dave Stewart outdid themselves in a robust, full-bodied issue inspiring frequent quips of “bad-ass,” featuring intricate and playful layouts, eye-popping visuals, and two of the most impressive splash pages in years. The art pair may single-handedly elevate the albino fetish to a new high. I’ll toast to that.

Now add a great entry point for new or returning readers. I could honestly give two shits about Batwoman in the whole scheme of things, but when she’s written by Greg Rucka, my dog ears raise up. Again we feel the impact of Batman without his actual presence as Batwoman is asked to cover a particular sector of Gotham is not above her ability but we are introduced to someone who walked out of Grant Morrison’s wet dreams. Rucka is the one male writer who I can give complete confidence in when writing female leads. By the end of this appetizing issue, I was ready for the next issue for dessert, then the one after that for a midnight snack. I ate this issue up and have put Detective Comics back on my pull list! Just keep this team together for the long haul, DC. The increase in cost is offset by an eight page backup story of the Question, written by Rucka and art by a longtime favorite of mine, Cully Hamner and Laura Martin. Highly recommended!

Strongman
SLG Publishing
Writer: Charles Soule
Art: Allan Gladfelter
$9.95
Grade: A-

This review has been long overdue because I really enjoyed every page of this sleeper of a hit which came out a few months ago about devoted Mexican lucha wrestler, El Tigre who doubled as a vigilante in the 1960’s but stopped when tragedy struck one day. Too many bottles of cerveza to count, El Tigre is sought out by a damsel in distress to redeem himself by saving a city where the citizens are being mined of their internal organs only to be served as appetizers to the elite.

Charles Soule orchestrates a full-length story around the fun-loving El Tigre at the center of it, a down and out former, street-wise wrestler who refuses to take off his lucha mask for anyone. Each character has a particular voice unique to the rest of the cast, especially the mastermind behind the sinister plot. It would be easy for Soule to take the easy way out and make it non-stop action, or be over-the-top silly, but he’s really challenged himself by combining a niche culture, duality and dark humor, into a fully realized world where humanity rules the day. He achieved it successfully as I found myself unable to put it down until I cried like a little girl at the end. Strongman is not insultingly simple, nor is it weighed down by exposition or unneeded garbage that clutters up the solid black and white art of Allen Gladfelter. Each character has a unique and great design and the extras in the back of the book show just how much work was put into making everything look right. Creative use of zip-tone will always earn praise from me and Gladfelter has excellent control of it, not only using it for shading but also for design. Each panel is full of detail and depth that’s clear to examine, even in its digest format. If I had to nitpick one thing, I would say that the lettering could have been greatly improved. Too many words are hyphenated and spaced awkwardly that make the reading experience suffer a bit; but not so much that it takes away from the overall enjoyment of Strongman. It’s not every day that a lucha story makes its way to readers, it’s also not every day you get to read something this fun. Pick it up or order it today and enjoy it for a long time!

Ernie: Man it seemed like forever for the new season. New York is exciting not because of all the flavors in the city, but all of the top level chefs sure to find their way in as judges.

Jon: There are 17 cheftestants to start, and if you’re thinking that seems like a lot, you’re not alone — the producers send two home in this opening episode.

Ernie: They may be big in numbers, but this may be the skinniest cast yet. What happened to never trusting a skinny chef? There’s a lot of skin and bones out there. Speaking of skinning, when Richard filleted his finger in the Quick-Fire I thought we were going to see a horror show.

Jon: The three-stage Quick Fire actually ends up being an elimination challenge, and Army wife Lauren and culinary student Patrick end up in the bottom two; interestingly, they had met previously at CIA (Culinary Institute of America where Patrick is still attending).

Ernie: That school needs to be shut down. Two cooks with no inspirational cooking. And it pays not to know any of your other competitors. Lauren’s probably the first person to go home with a dish that had bacon in it.

Jon: I was surprised Patrick is spared since I thought Lauren could have been likely drama & conflict provider. Her parting thoughts: “I can’t believe I lost on apples.”

Ernie: Way to go, girl. Oh and, Radhika saying that she needs 20 minutes to set her knives? Her ass isn’t lasting long on this show.

Jon: The remaining cheftestants move into their new digs — and I imagine I’m not the only New Yorker to wish my apartment was anywhere near as big & expensive.

Ernie: Don’t you love how these “turistas” come in a live better in two months than native New Yorkers for two years. I always get excited to see the pad, dating back to the early seasons of Real World. I’m really showing my reality show age here…

Jon: I’d laugh, but I’m older than you! Anyway, the downtime allows the cheftestants to get to know each other a bit, and viewers to start picking out people we’re probably going to hate or root for down the road. People who bug me already: crazy-eyed Amazon Carla and arrogant Euro Stefan & Fabio.

Ernie: Yeah, Carla just needs to chill the hell out. Homegirl acts like a space cadet. As for the two Euros, I love them but damn if they don’t think they know it all. Patrick also wears on me. If he’s trying to represent cooking schools, he’s not doing well by using ingredients he’s never worked with.

Jon: People I like at this point: self-taught Hawaiian Gene; little Patrick and big Richard of the gay & lesbian alliance Team Rainbow (along with Jaimie).

Ernie: I like the big New York guy, Daniel. I don’t think his food is necessarily exciting but I like where he comes from. Gene’s got a good attitude towards cooking. Leah’s the resident hottie and can cook too!

Jon: After I read her bio and saw that she was some crazy mix of Filipino and Russian-Romanian Jewish, I had a feeling you would be into her :) Daniel seems like one of those guys who could be jerks, but are likable anyway (current ultimate example — Randy on Survivor). But yeah, I like him so far too.

The producers come up with a pretty good challenge for the introductory episode, sending teams of two into 8 different little neighborhoods of NY, each focusing on different ethnic foods: Brighton Beach (Russian), Chinatown, Little Italy, Little India, and my neighborhood Astoria (Greek) Middle Eastern, Jamaican. After shopping from neighborhood stores, each pair must create dishes which will be judged head-to-head, with one of the losers getting eliminated.

Ernie: It’s a good elimination challenge that pits people right off the bat. They only had to worry about one other person when initially you think they’re going to work together. Good twist and good introduction to some of the local flavors of New York.

Jon: Patrick continues to prove himself an over-earnest little newb as he naively shares his complete meal plans with his companion — and direct competitor — Daniel. He ends up in the bottom two (though not as a result of giving up his gameplan) with Ariane, who strikes me as a domesticated and significantly heavier Monica from Friends.

Ernie: Lots of good looking food. Always thought it’s a shame no one’s made Smell-o-vision a reality. How Jeffrey made it through with plating only half of his food is amazing, this isn’t a rib burn-off buddy–cook faster! Jill looked like she torched the hell out of those scallops. You could play poker with them.

Jon: The winning dishes are from the aforementioned Stefan & Gene, plus Leah . I was really rooting for the tatooed Hawaiian, who amazed the judges — especially Padma — by making a dish which was a perfect replication of some traditional Indian dish, despite zero experience with Indian food. However the win went to Stefan, who was more likable in his acceptance, and even his stated desire to be the first European Top Chef.

Ernie: Stefan winning just feeds his ego. Oh boy.

Jon: I loved seeing Fabio lose to Jeffrey, a guy who didn’t even finish plating his dishes completely.

Ernie: Patrick’s idea of Asian cuisine looked a lot like Lean Cuisine, and probably tasted like hell. I’m Asian and wouldn’t touch those black noodles. Glad to see him go, what the hell was up with him reaching over Richard’s lap to hold Ariane’s hand in the hot box? And what’s with his straddling hug to Richard. Have some self control, man. You’re on television.

Jon: I don’t really like Ariane (and will probably hate her sooner than later) but it’s probably for the best that Patrick went home, given his youth and inexperience.

Ernie: Moment of the Season 5 premiere is Ariane telling the cooks that for food she doesn’t know how she doesn’t need to go to neighborhoods that specialize in making those foods. She just needs cookbooks. You live in Jersey, lady, not Kansas. Get used to that bottom three lady, it looks like you’ll be spending a lot of time there this season. Other noteworthy things: Richard professing his attraction towards Tom Coliccio.

Jon: Oh, man that was funny. Also, I would like to close this recap by professing my attraction towards Padma Lakshmi.

Ernie: All in all, Top Chef Season 5 is off to a good start.

Jon: I definitely agree.

Stay tuned for more Channel Flippin’!