Pulp of the Week - Green Lama: Scions

The Green Lama: Scions  by Adam Lance Garcia

Adam Garcia's third Green Lama tale is a terrific addition to the saga. Scions (and planned future books) are published by Moonstone Books and feature the mysterious Green Lama facing off against a bizarre, monsterous, foe.

The story begins with the crash of a passenger ship into Liberty Island. All on board are dead, save one. Dead long before the crash at their own hands. A bloodbath of unspeakable horror. A portent of Lovecraftian delights to follow in this and other adventures.

The Green Lama is joined in this adventure by Jean Farrell, Lt. Caraway, Ken Clayton, and Gary and Evangl Stewart-Brown all get involved, Jethro Dumont puts in an appearance or two as does reporter Betty Dale (from the Secret Agent X stories). She also refers to fellow reporter Din from the Planet (she is the reporter in the Foster Fade stories) and to the Spider. Adam seems to be having a ball with the references and I found it fun, too.

For those interested in such things, there is a handy timeline in the back of the book that shows where Scions fits into the Lamaverse. One of the nice things about the Green Lama saga is that were only around a dozen original stories published in the pulps of the 1930s (unlike the hundreds of Shadow and Doc Savage stories which gives Garcia much less existing canon a lot of space to work in.

I will close by saying that Adam Garcia has another fun pulp tale and really gets the Green Lama and his supporting cast. I eagerly await future volumes. Enjoy this little excerpt of reporter Betty Dale speaking to Dumont's manservant, Tsarong:

    "When are you expecting Dumont back?"
    "I couldn't say Miss Dale, I am not his keeper."
    "Guess we're just gonna have to wait, then." She dropped down into Jethro's desk chair. She waved at the rows and rows of books lining the walls. "Does he read all those?"
    "Not all at once, and usually one page at a time."
    "Now that's interesting," she said, ignoring Tsarong's quip. "By every account, our friend Dumont is little more than an immature womanizer who won't crack open anything that doesn't have two legs and here he is with more books than the Library of Alexandria."

I give "The Green Lama: Scions" a 9 out of 10 and the cover is an awesome painting of Adam by Doug Klauba.

You can buy Scions in print here
 ebook here
4 wheels here



   

Pulp of the Week - The Burning Hand

Cover art by Mike Mignola with Dave Stewart

The second Lobster Johnson graphic novel is out in one volume and it is a good one. Set concurrently with my own "The Horn," in 1932, this book sees mobsters in New York pitted against the Lobster and his crew. 

However, since this is the Hellboy universe, it is not that easy and the gangsters have some unusual help. Throw in a plucky reporter and a mess of bullets and you get a pile of fun.

Gangster Arnie Wald is looking to make a killing in real estate by killing. All is going fine with his "haunted Indian burial ground" scheme until the Lobster steps in and reporter Cindy Tynan starts digging around. When the 'Indians' turn out to be gangsters, Wald brings in some help. Some 'Weird Tales' kind of help. Well, this being a Mignola universe story, you had to know that was coming.

There is some major mayhem and a bit of tragedy as the story unfolds. I really dig these Lobster Johnson stories. They have the perfect blend of horror, macabre, character, and pulp action.

I am pleased as can be with the New Pulp action in comics and books that is happening. There is more New Pulp than I can afford at this point, so I can pick and choose - but that is the topic of a future article.

Buy all things Lobster! Support New Pulp in comics and in prose.

For this review I read The Burning Hand trade paperback. The story is by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi. The Art is by Tonci Zonjic and the color is by Dave Stewart.

I'll give The Burning Hand a 9 out of 10. Check it out.

Comic-Con 2012 - Creator Spotlight - Triumph by Greg Broadmore

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Triumph: Unnecessarily Violent Tales of Science Adventure for the Simple and Unfortunate 

by Greg Broadmore

Triumph, as I shall call it, is the third steampunk book by Weta designer Greg Broadmore. This book contains two comic book stories with 6 pages of adverts for rayguns and rockets in between. The book is a lavish production with huge 8.5 by 12 inch pages of thick paper (nearly cardstock) wrapped in hardcovers. Broadmore's style is bright and bold, with plenty of jokes, one-liners and irony in the dialog.

The stories feature the pompous British adventurer, Lord Cockswain, sporter of bushy muttonchop sideburns, wearer of jhodpers, and lacking both tact and patience with his trigger-finger. Much of the humor and charm of Cockswain is the utter lack of consequences for his often horrific actions as hinted at in the subtitle of the book.

The lavish production values push up the price of the book, but it also pushes it into being an art piece. The stories follow the pompous Lord Cockswain as he rockets from place to place spreading British rule and punishing the local inhabitants with the fallout of his aforementioned trigger finger.

In the first story, "Into the Lair of the Space Wankers," Cockswain finds himself marooned on the planet that makes the solar system's most popular fizzy drink and inadvertently uncovers the secrets of Kuiper Kola. And then causes mass havoc.

The second story follows a psychiatrist following Cockswain on a hunting trip where the shrink is trying to get the adventurer to open up about his emotions. It doesn't end well for said psychiatrist, I must say.

The book does end well for the readers, however. It is a joy to behold and there is much fun in rooting out new humorous touches and background gags with each rereading. And there are Moon Maidens, fake movie one-sheets, beer ads, and did I mention Moon Maidens?

It also doesn't hurt that Broadmore is a terrific chap that patiently sketched and autographed each book for the eager fans.

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Comic Con 2011 - Report PT 2 - Notes added

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I dig the Jughead and Archie masks

I also dig that these comics are still in print

My favorite costume of the show - complete with coconuts!

Some of the magical Hall H crowd

6000+ fans fill Hall H

The panel for Fright Night was good, largely buoyed by an engaging cast. They also showed a bunch of clips and a few of them were quite intense and scary - but also funny at the same time - like the  original.

The Sony panel started with a 'behind the scenes' short film from Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance that featured the directors doing all kinds of crazy crap like filming on roller blades at 60 mph.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

Johnny Whitworth, Idris Elba, Nicholas Cage

Next was 30 Minutes or Less, from the director of Zombieland. Funny cast and funny panel. Aziz Ansari is hilarious.

30 Minutes or Less Cast - Nick Swardson, Michael Peña, Aziz Ansari

After 30 Minutes was Total Recall. The clip was awesome and the panel confirmed (after seeing Colin Farrell in the Fright Night panel as well) that Colin Farrell is funny, witting, charming and smart in addition to being a great action hero. I think the whole cast is terrific and I am really looking forward to this SF action film.

Total Recall - Kate Beckinsale, Len Wiseman, Jessica Biel, Colin Farrell, Bryan Cranston, John Cho

Last for Sony was The Amazing Spider-Man. This was a great panel that started off a bit rough with a fan at the mic asking questions even before the panel was introduced. Ralph Garmin (funny, funny guy) was the Sony moderator and tried to get the guy off the mic. The audience mic light came up and a guy in a dime store spidey suit just kept talking about how he had never been to comic-con before and that he was Spidey for Halloween when he was 2 and that he loved Spider-Man. Ralph tried to get him to leave, but the guy kept going. It was a bit uncomfortable until the kid pulled off his mask. It was Andrew Garfield and the crowd went NUTS!

There were 2 more clips - one with a bit of story and one that introduced the Lizard and showed a couple of shots of the baddie. The animation and skin texture is amazing.

The Lizard (Rhys Ifans) arrives at the Amazing Spider-Man panel.

Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone

Then it was back to the main part of the convention...

Some hack pulp author by the Total Recall hover car

Baby Joker - My favorite Joker at the con...

Along with Artist's Alley, the Indy Publisher area is a big favorite. Every year I walk the aisles and buy a few books from the folks that have manages to get their books written and drawn and printed - often they are their own publishers. I'll give some of my favorites a "Pulp of the Week" shout out in the weeks ahead.

Part 3 tomorrow

Pulp of the Week - Doc Savage / The Avenger #1

Doc Savage #1
DC Comics - $3.99
The Lord of Lightning - Darkness Falls
Paul Malmont - Writer
Howard Porter - Penciller
Art Thiebert - Inker
J.G. Jones - Cover
John Cassaday - Alternate Cover

I really wish the news was better. I am in the middle of reading "The Chinatown Deathcloud Peril" by Paul Malmont. This is a great pulp adventure novel which ingeniously puts a mess of actual pulp authors in the middle of a pulp story in the 1930s. Lester Dent (Doc Savage), Walter Gibson (The Shadow), HP Lovecraft (Weird Tales), and others are characters in this fun novel.

I hoped that Doc Savage #1 would be an improvement over "First Wave" #1 (also featuring Doc Savage) but it isn't. One of the ideas behind the First Wave Universe was that it would be hard to pin down the time. There would be elements of the 1930s mixed in with the modern. Think speakeasies and cel phones. The only element that this isn't a contemporary, our world, New York City is the fact that Doc Savage drives an airship. In this issue, that's it. Everything else is completely our world.

I suppose that isn't Malmont's fault. The artist, Howard Porter, didn't put any of the world that the "First Wave" book put in. Additionally, the art just isn't very good. In fact, the script is probably OK, but the art ruins it.

The issue starts with a one page conclusion of an African desert rescue. A shirt-ripped Doc beats up a pair of lions and rescues the girl. We don't know or care who she is. Some cops take away the villain and Doc's airship is in the background.

Turn the page and Doc is piloting the airship into Manhattan. He is still in the same ripped up clothes from Africa. I guess he has no other clothes on his ship, or maybe his shirts just come pre-ripped to save him the trouble of shredding them.

Doc rescues some kids as his airship and the Empire State Building are under attack by lightning. We see the airship burning up as it goes down. Why? Is it hydrogen? Is the outer skin flammable?

That is just the first five pages.

I think if the art would have introduced us to the pulp-ish unique alternate universe that First Wave is supposed to be then this would have all played much better. Doc and his men seem like themselves (well, Long Tom is married) but in a modern setting. Some fans have complained that Doc is too talky and not stoic enough, but in my rereading of the original pulp series so far, I don't find him stoic at all.

Physically, Monk is the most off from the pulp descriptions. Long Tom and Johnny are rather plain.

The issue sets up the story of a madman trying to kill Doc and his men. We'll see how that plays out.

As it is, I liked "First Wave" #1 better, and I didn't think that one was great. Now that Columbia has the rights to the Doc Savage movie, is Warner Bros trying to torpedo the character?

I'll give Doc Savage #1 a 6 out of 10 for the writing and a 2 out of 10 for the art.

Justice, Inc.
Jason Starr - Writer
Scott Hampton, Artist
Daniel Vozzo, Colorist

The Doc Savage story occupies 20 pages and is followed by the "Justice, Inc." back up feature. This is a 10 page story featuring The Avenger. I liked this story much better. The art is good and the characters are interesting. I have not read an Avenger stories in over 30 years, so I am not too familiar with the characters. The Avenger fan base seems to feel they have wrecked the characters, but I thought it started a pretty good story. Scott Hampton's beautifully noir art is wonderfully enhanced by Daniel Vozzo's dark and moody colors.

I liked this back-up quite a bit, but there still isn't a thing that isn't just contemporary New York City.

I'll give Justice, Inc. a 7 out of 10.

RANT
Four bucks. That is the price of a DC comic these days. Maybe they need to rethink this. Perhaps they could have put an ad between the two stories. There are ads on the insides of the covers and on the back cover, but other wise there are no paid ads in this book. There are 2 pages for non-profits (literacy and the Red Cross) and 3 pages of DC ads. There is a 5 page b&w Zatanna preview that outshines the Doc Savage main story. I really wish they could get in some paid ads and drop the price a little.

Pulp of the Week - Batman / Doc Savage

Batman / Doc Savage Special
DC Comics
Written by Brian Azzarello, Illustrated by Phil Noto

Cover by J.G. Jones

Alternate cover by Rags Morales

This Review Contains Spoilers!

This one shot is meant as a publicity vehicle to promote DC's "First Wave" line of comic books. Unfortunately, despite beautiful art, the book falls flat. There is neither adventure nor excitement in this tale called, "Bronze Night." This story's sole purpose is to let Doc Savage and The Batman meet.

There is little else in this tale. As an introduction to DC's pulp universe, there isn't much happening. The art is lovely. There are some character bits with Batman and Doc, but these are expressed mostly in 1st person narrative. Doc and Batman find common ground - they have both lost their fathers and are crimefighters because of it. While Doc doesn't like Batman's methods, as long as Batman isn't a killer, he seems OK with it. Batman thinks Doc may not be as squeaky clean as his public persona.

Batman lives in Gotham City and Doc Savage lives in New York City. They are not the same in the First Wave Universe, so these characters may have limited interaction.

I like the way Bruce Wayne and Batman are handled here, Batman is a rookie, operating as a vigilante. He is packing twin .45s ala The Shadow and is a bit reckless.

Some of Phil Noto's incredible art

On the other hand, Doc Savage served in the War and has had some adventures. Doc operates with the cooperation of the police and has his five aids intact. I think that Doc was presented well, a person admired by many. He is the physical and intellectual peak of humanity. As in the novels, he has a dry sense of humor and is self depreciating. Doc is described as being "mixed-race", perhaps in tribute to a oft held belief among fans that his mother was Mayan.

Renny is the only one of his aids to appear in this story, and it is a brief appearance. Renny catches Batman searching Doc's hotel room and decks him.

This story doesn't alter the Doc Savage as much as many have feared. His character and mission seem intact. His father has just died at the start of this story.

In the back of the book are eight pages of character bios by Azzarello that are illustrated by the regular series artist Rags Morales that introduce of some of the other characters in the "First Wave" universe. Doc's Crew gets a full page. Their characters are described and I can only assume that their professions remain intact.

Only Long Tom is described by his profession - a master of electricity. Monk is assigned a bully role and isn't opposed to using lethal force. Monk and Ham retain their good natured arguing and status as best friends.

The Avenger and The Spirit share the next page. Richard Benson is described as a master of disguise and a man blinded by the tragedy of his family's slaughter.

The Spirit will appear as well as Ebony White who will be a "brash girl" in this series.

Black Canary is another New Yorker in this universe, and she is so enamored of Doc Savage that she goes out at night and fights crime.

Rima the Jungle Girl is a South American that is a mysterious "catalyst that drags the real main characters along to their inevitable fates." She may not be real...

The Blackhawks are the second generation, the originals have all either retired, or were killed in the war. They are ethnically diverse and are the best pilots from all over the world.

Finally, there are the villains of this world. They will be "diverse and come from different angles." "There should be major conflict between the crime factions." There are three main factions: The Syndicate, The Golden Tree, and No School.

Anton Colossi, Greek shipping magnate and war profiteer will be one of the main villains. He has a robot bodyguard and lives on the coast of Hidalgo in South America.

John Sunlight will also have some part in these stories.

All in all, I had feared that the changes to the classic characters may have been too much, but Doc Savage certainly is treated respectfully here, and I will buy the new books as they come out to see how the others fare.

Hopefully there will be more story and more adventure in the regular First Wave comics.

Don't Forget Free Comic Book Day!!!

Freak Angels Graphic Novel

Since February 15th Warren Ellis and Paul Duffield have been posting 6 pages a week on their near future post-apocalypse London comic book. For free. They recently finished the first full story arc.

Ellis is best known for writing Planetary, Transmetropolitan, and The Authority. Duffield is relatively new to comics having won an award at the 2006 International Manga and Anime Festival (IMAF), for 'Rolighed', a three minute animated short. He also won Grand Prize in Tokyopop's first UK Rising Stars of Manga competition, for 'Falling Star', an 18 page short comic. He has an uncluttered but detailed line art style.



Freak Angels is about 12 people that were born in different parts of England simultaneously. The all seem to have the same pale skin and have manifested psychic abilities.

When the kids were 17 years old, their world was torn apart. Sea level rose 15 - 20 feet. Survival became a daily fight. The Freak Angels found each other and have formed a loose alliance to protect the Whitechapel district of London. How the rest of the world is faring, we do not know.

Six years after the flood is where Volume One begins. We get to know the Freak Angels and their piece of the world. There are rivalries and romances, moments of friendship and conflict. The story-telling is spare and unassuming. There isn't a lot of exposition or explanation. The story simply unfolds in front of us.

Warren Ellis kept me hooked with the interesting characters and the mystery of the world itself. What happened to Earth and why we do not know, but we do begin to learn about the Freak Angels. Sometimes Ellis can take many pages to get to the point, but I always want to know what is going to happen next.

Paul Duffield has a wonderful art style. Clean and uncluttered, yet rich with detail. The colors are from a muted palette, shadows give a richness and depth. Not all the art is brilliant, but the subtle anime influence has really grown on me. I think that Paul Duffield should have quite a career ahead of him.

The Freak Angels both intimidate the Whitechapel populace and keep them same. Life is slowly getting back in order when a new menace threatens the Freak Angels fragile status quo. I have also read Ellis' Planetary and there is a style of pacing and detail that Freak Angels shares with that book. Planetary has a larger scale, but the intimacy of character is common to the two. And it is free so give it a try.

I came across this fun comic in this months PREVIEWS. In a striking ad for the Volume One trade paperback I noticed that it said it was "from the acclaimed webcomic" so I googled Freak Angels and found it.

I am glad I did.

Start at the beginning.




© 2008 W. Peter Miller