Thankfully, not Endless

The Sandman:
Endless Nights

An extremely uneven collection both in story and art. Seeing as how Neil Gaiman, who created both Sandman and his brethren the Endless, wrote all seven chapters, this can be frustratingly odd, as Gaiman usually brings his a-game. However, one can look at this collection with the understanding that he, along with some of his artistic collaborators, were simply in the mood for exploration.

The Sandman: Endless Nights contains seven chapters, each depicting a tale that spotlights a member of the eternal Endless. At least that’s the concept, even if not fully demonstrated. “Fifteen Portraits of Despair” is exactly that, fifteen vignettes of personal, rather than the entity’s, woe presented, with what we’ll call art, by Barron Storey. “On the Peninsula”, supposedly Destruction’s story, instead focuses on two archaeologists, as well as Delirium, but not as much of the lone brother whose name graces the chapter page. However, the concluding story, on Destiny, does indeed prominently show the character… as he walks through his garden.

The other four tales are all much more in line with both the characters and the prose expected by Gaiman, and all with beautiful art. Particular of note is Delirium’s “Going Inside” as Bill Sienkiewicz’s mixed-media renderings are a fantastic call back to his early Marvel work.

Endless Nights was published in 2003, which is when I originally read, and promptly forgot about, this graphic novel. Mostly targeted towards series completists, this novel is completely accessible for all of Neil’s impressive fanbase as he delves into the realms of fantasy and history, science-fiction and horror, and, of course, dreams. Gaiman’s library, however, certainly contains other top-shelf reads for the promotion of a good night’s sleep. Endless or not.


As Always,
theJOE

A Graphically Novel Approach to a World of Decay

Yet another entry to the ravaged world of the zombie apocalypse, Zombies: A Brief History Of Decay is a dense read that fully embraces its entrance as both graphic and novel.

Writer Olivier Peru and artist Sophian Cholet present their entertaining take on that post-apocalyptical struggle that is now oh-so familiar. In this world, zombies can be both slow and fast, based on the rate of their decay, but even more surprising is the fact that humanity abandons the every-man-for-himself thieving personae most commonly seen and wants to work together to rid themselves of the plague. Well, except for a band of white trash wanna-be survivalists held up in, naturally, a Wal-Mart. 

Peru has the remains of civilization residing in floating armadas on both the Mississippi and the coast off Seattle, and scripts the main characters as a worthy nation looking to survive and rebuild, with a few personal quests added for spice.  Unfortunately, and perhaps this is a by-product of the collected edition, there is limited consistency between the several separate plots. Breaks don’t come naturally forcing the reader to back-up and regroup. In this regard, Cholet’s incredible layouts and design lapse into a droning sense of sameness, particularly with the representation of the main male leads who are all white with dark hair and beards. Removing any familiarity with the characters reduces that emotional connection.

Zombies shamelessly captures the worlds of Romero and Kirkman and makes an entertaining quest out of the venture with plenty of subtle zingers that can be followed up on in a sequel.  Peru and Cholet show both the decay of humanity and civilization, but tease the reader with something everyone universally wants, hope and a future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Insight Comics for this decaying advance read.

As Always,

theJOE

No Normal and Great Fun

Chances are that if you are reading this review - and thanks for your time at that - you already have an interest, and at the very least an understanding, of the Ms Marvel character, so once you have finished reading this review, I highly recommend you open up another browser window and log on to your favorite online distributor to purchase MS MARVEL Vol 1: No Normal.

Writer Willow Wilson introduces and, over the course of five issues, familiarizes the character of Kamala Khan, a Muslim teen of Pakistani decent, who like any high school girl, heritage aside, just wants to have fun. Wilson makes Kamala a delight of a teen and a pleasure to read, infusing the character with both a strong moral right and heavy dose of angst, the likes of which are a very deep homage to Stan Lee and Steve Dikto's Spider-Man, and probably have not been accurately seen in comics since Marv Wolfman and George Perez's NEW TEEN TITANS.

Adrian Alphona's art is also a treat. His panels are full of fun little asides and silly happenings that provide a hip sense of humor to the proceedings. Two of my faves? Tasty GM-O's cereal and Radoslav's Vietnamese grocery. But there others worth the exploration.

There are perhaps two critical elements of the read, and the first is simply a by-product of producing a monthly title. That being, Kamala's power-giving event is never fully explained. Nothing as easy as a spider bite or a dose of gamma radiation here. This is something that will certainly be drawn out and discovered in the months - and collections - ahead but for the purpose of this graphic novel, comes as lacking. The second is a by-product of the genre at large, and that being the obligatory super-villain fight. For as genre-crushing as this title has been in every way, the necessary fight scene, the trial of our hero versus those shadows of the dark, is, unfortunately, not as organic as the other parts of this story, and comes across as a needed evil, not a threatening one. Luckily such encounter is not detrimental to the overall arc and, if anything, builds anticipation for the next collection.


As always,
theJOE