Wayne Markley

by Wayne Markley

I had originally planned to write more about DC’s new 52 this time out but this topic has been beaten to death and with the books shipping in a week or two, I thought I would wait and review the books after having read them. Even though I have been rather negative towards this idea, I am more than open to give each title a fair chance to prove its worth. So look for a review of the entire line down the road. Since I am never short of something to say, I thought instead I would look at some books I have read lately that I really enjoyed and I thought I would share those reviews here. This is what I consider the end of summer reading list, even though I read most of this books over the summer.

Metal Hurlant Collection Vol. 1

First up is a two volume set of the best of Metal Hurlant. Both of these books are beautiful full color hardcovers. They are a collection of short stories from the American Metal Hurlant comics from some years ago and there are a few stories from the French version thrown in for good measure. Let me say up front that Humanoids is quickly becoming one of my favorite publishers because they do such a wide variety of material, from crime to science fiction to fantasy to western to everything in between. Their production is top notch and the storytelling and art is among the best out there. These are not stories told in the modern Image-inspired storytelling, but these are stories told in a traditional comic style, a mix of European and American storytelling. Do not look for flashy storytelling, but for beautifully illustrated tales with a strong story; beginning, middle and end. Almost all of Humanoid’s books are self-contained and do not meander for month after month to fill some collection down the road.

Now back to these to two hardcovers. The first book collects science fiction stories and the second volume collects stories of other genres. Both books are beautiful but they suffer from the same criticism that most anthologies do, in that some stories are grade A and some are not the best. Nothing in these anthologies is bad, and the worst story is better than average and the best stories are among the best you will read. All of the art is excellent, but since there are so many different artists and styles changes dramatically depending on the story requirements. So not everything is for everybody, but I have no doubt that there is something for everybody within these two volumes. While some of the creators may not be familiar to most readers, there are such well-known names such as Geoff Jones, Richard Corben, Ryan Sook, Cully Hamner, and Kurt Busiek among the dozens of creators represented in these two collections.

Hulk Visionaries: Peter David Vol. 8

My next book is Hulk Visionaries: Peter David Vol. 8. I have long told everyone who listens that these collections of Peter David’s run on the Hulk are some of the best comics you will read. This newest volume is once again a joy to read due to a creator (Peter David) who obviously loves the character, and writes him with a sly sense of humor and an adept storytelling style that rivals the best superhero comics out there. In these pages are stories featuring the Defenders, the Punisher, a Middle East dictator (which is very relevant to the world today) and more with the Pantheon. David is able to weave a story that is action packed, has nice on going subplots (a seemingly lost art in modern comics), and it has beautiful art by Dale Keown. Plus there is a fun story by David and Kevin McGuire. I found myself reading the book in one sitting as I could not put it down. To top it off, David is able to tie a current story to the Russian spy who betrayed Bruce Banner way back in Hulk #1. Another thing I cannot praise highly enough is it reprints the Hulk Annual, which is the first part of a six part story that crossed over into six different annuals. While I understand it makes sense not to reprint the other annuals since they are not by Peter David, Marvel has included a page summarizing what happened in those annuals so you know where the story went and how it was concluded. I wish other publishers would do this. It is a cheap and simple way to keep the reader updated on the storyline without forcing them to find back issues. These stories rate right up there with John Byrne’s FF run or Walt Simonson’s Thor stories. My only complaint is these collections are so slow to come out, and by my math, there are at least seven more volumes to go to collect the rest of Peter David’s run.

Best of Archie's Madhouse Vol. 1

I am sure it will come as no surprise that my next book is IDW’s collection of the Best of Archie’s Madhouse Vol. 1 HC by one of my favorite packagers, Craig Yoe. Madhouse was an Archie title that has mostly been lost to the sands of time. During the Sixties, Madhouse was a mix of parody, humor, jokes and just about anything else you can imagine (in the early Seventies the title became a horror title and eventually faded away). There is even a touch of the classic monster magazines that were so popular in the Sixties. On top of the surreal zaniness’ that was in every issue of Madhouse, you had such top notch creators as Dan DeCarlo, Wally Wood, Sam Schwartz and many, many others. Mr. Yoe has only touched the tip of the mountain of material available in this full color hardcover collection. What he has picked for this volume is some of the best of Madhouse, but there is more than enough for another four volumes. I hope there is at least one more collection to come. This book is a must for Archie fans, as well as fans of Mad Magazine and just down right strange gags and stories. Mr. Yoe has outdone himself again.

PS Magazine: The Best of The Preventive Maintenance Monthly

Finally, I want to recommend a book that came out this week so please check www.westfieldcomics.com for availability. The book is a collection of Will Eisner’s PS Magazine: The Best of Preventative Maintainece Monthly. This is a full color hardcover book that reprints a wide variety of the monthly PS Magazine Will Eisner did for the US Army. These were small pamphlets in comic book format, usually between 8-12 pages and in color and were done to teach/show soldiers how to maintain a gun or a tank or a refrigerator. There were comic supplements to the official Army repair manuals (thus why there were called PS). Eisner did these for over 20 years from 1951 to 1971 and are largely ignored or unknown by comic fans since there were used by the Army and never had any sort of distribution to traditional comic book locations. The subject matter may be a bit dry or odd, but the art and storytelling it stunning and is classic Eisner. These little bundles of joy are filled with the classic Eisner women explaining things. I now only wish they would collect all 227 issues that Eisner did as well the issues of PS that were done post-Eisner by such talented artists such as Mike Ploog, Murphy Anderson, and Joe Kubert.

As always, these are all my opinions and I will defend them to the death. They in no way reflect the thoughts of the employee of or of Westfield Comics themselves. Please try one or two of these books and let me know what you think. I am very confident that you too will enjoy these collections. Next time I plan to look at a handful of monthly titles I am currently enjoying and I think you might have overlooked. As always I can be contacted at MFBWAY@AOL.COM and I welcome comments or review copies.

Thank you.

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