The Walking Dead #84 (2011)

The Walking Dead #84
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Penciler: Charlie Adlard
Inker: Cliff Rathburn

(This issue was published just a few months prior to the second season of AMC's The Walking Dead television show and is collected in the No Way Out (Vol. 14) trade paperback. The success of the television show has spurred already strong sales for the comic. The Walking Dead topped the 2012 charts for individual issues and TPB sales.)

In a comic that is known for its big moments (and the elimination of main characters) and turning points (and the elimination of main characters), this issue has several elements that define Robert Kirkman's long-form storytelling.

Ostensibly a horror comic, a zombie comic, The Walking Dead is less about the undead and more about Man's inhumanity to Man (and women...and children...and cats, etc.). Sure, "roamers" and "lurkers" walk the Earth in search of warm, delicious human flesh, but Kirkman's story is really about how we treat each other, desperate or otherwise.

Officer Rick Grimes has awoken from a gun-shot induced coma to find the world overrun by the undead and his family missing. The preceding 83 issues chronicle the lengths he will go, the depths to which he will sink, to protect his family as the reluctant leader of a rag-tag bunch of survivors. Rick is forced to make the tough decisions and do the dirty work no one else is willing to do to ensure the safety of the group. Along the way, his behavior raises questions about his own humanity and sanity - questions they are fortunate enough to ponder because he has helped them survive to do so.

Issue #83 finds Rick and the other residents of Alexandria back in desperation mode, as their (until recently) safe haven is being overrun by a herd of walkers. Mr. Kirkman sets us up with a devastating accident and Mr. Adlard puts the "graphic" in graphic depiction. We are left with a haunting cliffhanger (pictured at right).

Issue #84 picks up as Rick turns to the community's doctor to save his son, Carl, while the very community itself is being threatened right outside her door. Rick is at a crossroads - a situation he has found himself in several times before - and it is up to him to make the desperate play. He heads back out into the undead herd to save the community so the community can save his son.

There are several payoffs to this unselfish, and undoubtedly foolish, act. Kirkman has pushed his protagonist into extreme situations before to explore the nature of a hero by seeing how far he is willing to go to do what he believes is right. Rick has committed horrible acts in the name of safety and security. Others have questioned his methods and, at times, his sanity (as recently as issue #81), but in the end they have come around because...well...they're still alive, aren't they? The community was understandably skeptical of Rick upon the group's introduction to the community. Over time, they came to respect his survival instincts and eye for seeing potential threats - qualities his own group learned to admire and depend upon for over a year "out there." So, as Rick (joined by his right-hand undead-dispatching deputies Michonne and Abraham) hacks and slashes with every ounce of desperation he can muster, the people of the community bear witness to his heroism and emerge from hiding to help the group reclaim what few streets they claim as their home. And Adlard's splash page is blood-and-guts-soaked black-and-white goodness:

Dead. They're all dead...uh...again.

After the badassery subsides and the collective breath is caught and the magnitude of their victory sinks in, we also get a shift in the direction of the book (although, in a bit of heavy-handed dialogue). Rick gets two full pages to explain what it took him 83 2/3 issues to realize: people are the problem, not the zombies. And as such, he's done running. He's figured out a way to deal with the dead, the walking dead, and vows to see the community reclaimed and revitalized. This is one of the reasons that I enjoy Kirkman's writing so much - devoting this kind of time, putting his characters through so much, only to find to that the lessons learned are not an end, but the beginning of a new direction.

Awwwwwwwwwww...

Rick's epiphany would make a fine and dandy resolution on Freytag's triangle of narrative structure, but that would ignore the success of the t.v. show and the potential to sell hundreds of thousands of more comics and trade paperbacks and action figures and t-shirts and such. It also ignores Carl's life in the balance, the emotional and physical aftermath of this unthinkable attack, and a world full of mindless, unceasing, flesh-eating threats just outside the crumbling wall. Fortunately, Kirkman and Adlard had an inkling that this little black-and-white comic might just work and have forged ahead with additional comics and tv shows (Season 3.5 returns to AMC on Feb. 10th and, as of this review, there are at least another 23 issues to peruse). After all, there are walls to rebuild and relationships to restore and lives to resume (Carl? Maybe? C'mon, Kirkman! You wouldn't kill a kid, would you? What do you mean, issues 15 and 61?).

If you aren't reading The Walking Dead, you should be. It's gutty, gritty, gory goodness (and that's just the living characters). Mature readers only.

Re-Leaf Review:
5 Severed Zombie Heads (out of 5)

Saga #1 (2012)

Saga #1
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Fiona Staples

After his successes with Runaways and Y: The Last Man, BVK's return to comics was highly anticipated and Saga #1 does not disappoint. At or near the top of nearly every "Best Comics of 2012" list, BKV and artist Fiona Staples have provided their readers with a Shakespearean love story set in an Asimovian universe populated by characters more diverse and deadly than the Mos Eisley Cantina crowd.

Saga #1, Image Comics, Fiona Staples

Even before the issue hit the stands, a mild controversy bubbled regarding the cover (which is beautiful, by the way). A ram-horned male and winged female stand together, both with weapons in hand. The male's other hand is wrapped around the female, while her other hand is cradling a breastfeeding child. It is a striking image. The controversy stemmed not from the depiction of sword or gun, but the public display of breastfeeding. After all, this would be on shelves where children could see it (presumably many of whom have been breastfed themselves or witness to a younger sibling doing so). Go figure.

In fairness, this is not a comic for children (unless, like me, they are 12 year-olds trapped in a 40-something body). BVK is free and loose with the naughty words and Ms. Staples provides graphic evidence of their universe's naughty parts (once you see Issue #7, page 16, you can't unsee it). It is set in wartime, there is much copulation, and the love story is set in a world(s) besieged by fear, ignorance, and hatred. It's like Earth, only alieny.

Narrated in flashback, page one takes us back to mere moments before our narrator is born. The first four pages have been crushed on by comic-mamas everywhere for it's realistic depiction of childbirth. Page five makes with the breastfeeding again. All of this serves to show how different our new-parent protagonists are, and how little that matters (to them) in the big picture.

Marko and Alana narrowly escape the crossfire of a technology vs. magic battle and get to running. Running away from two worlds that despise them for playing nice with the enemy and want them dead as a result. All while learning the ins and outs of parenting a bi-species cherub, our neonatal narrator.

From here we are treated to a little history lesson, some robot sex, political intrigue with a dash of main character development, a soggy tromp through the sewers with a baby and a treasure map, the introduction of a moralistic assassin (which I love) and his truth-detecting feline sidekick (which I love even more), a baby-naming tease, and one last shot of the love between our favorite aliens surrounded by the kind of ominous threat we can be sure to expect in future issues.

See more of Fiona Staples brilliance here.

Staples does all of the artwork and colors and some of the lettering by herself. Digitally. One artist for an entire run ensures consistency. One outstanding artist doing all aspects of the art on every issue ensures a consistently beautiful book. Every issue (save #1) has a good ol' fashioned letters page. Issue #9, out last week, has a section in which Ms. Staples reveals her process for the book. Great insider stuff for those of us on the outside.

The double-sized #1 is the opening salvo of a story with infinite possibilities, a story worthy of its title (and I say this with the confidence of someone who has trusted in, and been rewarded by, BVK's storytelling before). We haven't even gotten to ghost babysitters, living rocket ships, disapproving in-laws, double-crossing government officials (sorry for the redundancy), half-naked spider-legged super-assassins, broken swords, broken vows, and navigating the family dynamic while navigating the galaxy. Check out the subsequent issues for that... and more.

Saga is smart. It's funny. It's titillating. It's horrific. It's sweet. It's revealing. It's pretty, and at times pretty disgusting (see Issue #7, page 16). It's only three bucks (per issue - the first trade collects six issues and retails for a ridiculously low $9.99). And, it doesn't have ads. It's everything I enjoy about comics. Get in while the gettin's good.

Re-Leaf Review:
5 horn-headed, wing-backed, bi-species babies (out of 5)

Astonishing X-Men #1 (2004)

Astonishing X-Men #1
Writer: Joss Whedon
Pencils: John Cassaday
Colors: Laura Martin
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos

Mr. Whedon's Astonishing X-Men comics, collected in trade, sit on my nightstand in perpetuity waiting for the Re-Leaf treatment. Upon my return to comics, this was one of the titles suggested most by my area retailers. "If you are a fan of the X-Men, you have to read Whedon's run. Best X-Men stories in a decade."

I was already a fan of Firefly and Buffy and Angel. If all they had said was "Whedon", I would have purchased. As it was, I did.

My only then-contemporary experience with the X-Men was the Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men titles I was busy collecting as part of the 2009 Utopia crossover. Things had changed much since the old X-Men cartoon series of my college years that had caught me up on so much that I had missed in print.

Whedon is, simply, a great storyteller. This isn't news to those who have seen his work listed above or last year's Marvel's The Avengers. He is able to integrate in-depth character motivation and development seamlessly into high-stakes action and adventure and to world-build as well as any writer I've read. Astonishing X-Men #1 is an excellent example of his storytelling talent.

Whedon establishes in relatively few pages and words the dynamic of the latest incarnation of the X-Men team. Cyclops is the leader of the team, inwardly unsure of himself every bit as much as he is outwardly commanding. Emma Frost is his reformed partner and co-leader, a mutant with psychic and transformational abilities and a penchant for showing off "the best body money can buy". Beast is the aptly-named, blue, furry academic of the group. Wolverine is...well...Wolverine...the muscle with a highly developed sense of honor and loyalty and the emotional detachment to get even the toughest jobs, the morally questionable jobs, done. Kitty Pryde is student-turned-teacher, returning to the Xavier school to give back. Her intangible "phasing" skills make her as stealthy as they come and her youth and relative innocence maker her a possible face of the school.

Whedon sets the tone of this new book on page one with the dreams of a young mutant...reliving a nightmare where her presumed alter ego is killing her parents and enjoying it. She is quickly comforted by a doctor as a mystery figure looks on from behind a two-way mirror. It is the horror of the nightmare, the fear that mutants may enjoy killing their less genetically advanced "cousins", that fuels human fear of mutants in the Marvel universe. Whedon taps into it in 41 words and John Cassaday's haunting first ten panels.

Pryde returns and takes us on a journey of her Xavier school memories before phasing into an introductory meeting of faculty and students of the Institute. Her tardiness and shocking entrance (hey, she walked through a wall) allow for immediate tension between her and Frost. They clearly do not like each other, neither giving an inch in the verbal sparring department. After a brief Danger Room simulation (I always loved those, and Kitty's reminiscing strikes just the right nostalgic and comedic chords), we are treated to Cyclops' and Wolverine's renewed physical rivalry as the two "teachers" try to kill each other on the front lawn in full view of the students (not much different from public school, as I recall). The irony of Emma's warning that violence will not be tolerated on the previous page again makes with the haha.

Cyclops realizes that he and the X-Men have lost their focus and they need to get back to doing what they do best - they need to be superheroes. This inspired speech is peppered with pithy comments from his team, who clearly do not like each other all that much - a dynamic that makes for interesting dialogue, but belies the true nature of the best teams - comic or otherwise; you don't have to be best friends with everyone on the team, you just have to be good teammates. 

Cassaday uses the occasion of this speech to play with the enormity of what Cyclops is suggesting and the setting in which he suggests it, a visual gag not lost on the characters (or the readers).

It is here that Whedon and Cassaday begin playing storyline pinball, bouncing back and forth between Cyclops' (Whedon's?) desire to redefine the purpose of the X-Men, a horrific terrorist menace (and new baddie) that threatens to "peel and roast" the flesh of his captives, and the doctor from the opening pages announcing that she has found a "cure" for the mutant gene (sound familiar? X-Men: The Last Stand). Three intertwined story lines make for a frenetic finish to the first issue and leads to the payoff: Cassaday's newly-designed costumes (hey, every superhero needs one):

Look familiar? Check out the X-Men: First Class poster this art inspired...

Whedon's run lasted twenty-four issues and is collected in four trade publications (Gifted, Dangerous, Torn, and Unstoppable). The books are full of innovative stories, interesting characters, and some pretty, pretty pictures. Like most of Whedon's work, you will come to love these characters...just in time to watch them tortured, pulled apart and examined by a master, and put back together just in the nick of time. Okay, okay. I am willing to concede that love may be too strong a word for some - at the least you will appreciate the depth of these characters and the functional dysfunction with which they interact.

Re-Leaf Review (out of 5):

Flash:Rebirth #1 (June '09)

Flash Rebirth: #1
Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Ethan Van Sciver
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Rob Leigh

I may as well start with the issue that re-ignited my love for comics. I picked it up on a whim and the rest, as they say, is cliche...or something.

I came to this issue unencumbered by canon or continuity. Thirty years out of the game will do that to you. I didn't know that Barry Allen had died or had stayed dead for a good long while. I didn't know that Wally and Bart had taken up the mantle and had established years of (storyline and sales) success of their own.

In the three years since, I have read just enough trades and seen just enough DC television to recognize many of the heroes and Rogues in this issue. At the time I first read this issue, I admit to being lost...and immediately at home.

The Flash was among my favorite superheroes as a kid. I read an issue somewhere along the way where he figured out he could escape certain death by vibrating his molecules fast enough to "phase" through a brick wall. That was a cool superpower. And, he could race Superman to a draw.

It was the cover of this issue that drew my eye on that fateful day in the Coliseum of Comics. All scarlet and lightning. The man behind the counter told me this was one heckuva return for The Flash. The guy at the counter in Milwaukee said the same thing when I went to buy #2 the following week. Surely, they had to know what they were talking about, right?

The first seven pages are a dark homage to Barry Allen's origin as The Flash. Someone is recreating the events of the accident that gave Barry his super speed, but killing several crime lab techs and police officers in the process. All the while, this being (whose pose mimics the cover art) is having a one-sided conversation with the absent Barry that portends sinister intent...a warning of sorts that this resurrection will be anything but easy for our fleet-footed protagonist (just in case we were thinking otherwise).

Next, we are treated to the news that the world is aware of The Flash's return (and Kid Flash, too, who has also apparently been AWOL or dead) and that parties are planned to celebrate. The Rogues seem none-too-thrilled, as several are seen hand-wringing or plotting. Various super groups are discussing the good news, though Bart seems petulant in questioning the fairness of his grandfather's return.

Hal Jordan, recently returned to his Green Lantern persona, and Barry Allen have a few moments to catch up as Barry explores The Flash Museum in Central City to catch up on what he missed. There is a nice moment as he realizes that life has sped up ("People are doing six things at once.... It's exciting.") during his time away. He wasn't dead, just trapped in the Speed Force, "the extradimensional lightning that ALL speedsters access" (also, an excuse I plan to use somewhere down the road - I'm not late, I just couldn't tear myself away from the Speed Force).

Barry becomes less and less comfortable as the conversation wears on. A touch of his ring reveals his signature costume, which he dons with alacrity and sprints out into the world in search of someone who needs his help - with apologies to all of the Welcome Back parties he plans to skip.

We are privy to a memory of Barry's father being taken away in handcuffs after supposedly killing his wife, Barry's mother - the only "open case" he left behind. His chest emblem crackles with lightning and Savitar bursts forward with a cry of freedom. Realizing that The Flash is just behind him, Savitar races away in terror. Did that guy just emerge from Barry's chest? Kinda, yeah. Cool? Kinda, yeah.

The Flash cannot allow this criminal to escape and pursues with single-minded purpose. He grabs the villian...who explodes into dust and vapor, but not before exclaiming, "...you were the beginning, Allen...and you're the END."

The last page shows Barry running through bones and ash as the other speedsters in the DC universe are struck and incapacitated by some kind of Speed Force feedback, leaving Barry to wonder, "What the hell did I just DO?"

Whew! A lot can happen in a Flash.

This is a beautiful book. The reds and yellows are vibrant and kinetic. The flashback scenes are reminiscent of the comics style from my youth. One of the things I realize now (that I wasn't thinking about upon first read) is how difficult a book ostensibly about speed is to put into this static format. Van Sciver does a great job of capturing energy and motion in 2D. And, Johns gives him plenty to work with, pulling from The Flash's past and setting up several directions for his fast-forward future.

I'm ready to go back and read the other five issues of Flash:Rebirth. I think I'll take my time.

Re-Leaf Review (out of 5):

Childhood: Rebirth

It started innocently enough. We were on vacation in Florida during the summer of 2009. I popped into a mall comic shop (Coliseum of Comics) while the rest of the family was shopping. I purchased The Flash:Rebirth #1 and X-Men: Utopia #1 and #2. I hadn't purchased a comic book in the previous three decades, but the X-Men and Spider-Man and Iron Man movies had reignited my childhood love for comic book heroes.

Returning home, and having partaken of the cliffhanger "crack" of those three issues, I began collecting trades and monthly books at an alarming rate. As a relatively poor teacher, there were few discretionary funds with which to feed my new addiction, but whatever funds existed were poured into my local comic franchise (Collector's Edge North) in Milwaukee and the nearest (but now defunct) Border's locations. I even went so far as to obtain a library card - and I ripped through the library's collection in one summer.

I had missed a tremendous amount of comics material in those thirty years. While the X-Men and The Flash had been my gateway back into the medium, I began to seek out a wider range of characters and storytelling. I found that I had missed out on (in no particular order) Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman and Brian K. Vaughn and Brian Wood and Gail Simone and George Perez and David Michelinie and Mark Waid and Joss Whedon and Fabian Nicieza and Grant Morrison and Frank Miller and Geoff Johns and Brian Azzarello and Marjorie Liu and Kurt Busiek and Rick Remender and Greg Pak and Greg Rucka and John Layman and Garth Ennis and Warren Ellis and Kelly Sue DeConnick and Chris Claremont and Scott Snyder and Ann Nocenti and Jason Aaron and Matt Fraction and Brian Michael Bendis and Robert Kirkman and Jonathan Hickman and Bill Willingham ... and a host of others that I have yet to discover.

Those are just the writers. My list of favorite artists (that I discovered thus far) is even longer.

I'm not a life-long collector, but I have amassed more than 100 trades and 350 issues in the last 3.5 years.  I have no art background, but I know what I like. I like to think I know how to write. Going forward, I plan to read and review (re-leaf through) some of the comics that are already in my long boxes and new ones that come across my nightstand. I look forward to providing the layman's perspective. Feel free to leave your opinions and comments...because I like talking about comics every bit as much as I enjoy reading them.