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Wayne Markley

by Wayne Markley

There are a number of books I have checked out just recently that are ether collections of older material, revivals of older material, or new material set in the past. I am going to look at all of these in this blog. We have new stories of an old characte, in IDW’s new Uncle Scrooge comic; we have a new collection of old manga from the master Tezuka; we have a new story set in the past by the always excellent Darwyn Cooke; we have a new Swamp thing story by his original creator (set in the past); as well as we have a new collection of adaptations of traditional Disney movies. all of these are excellent on different levels as well as for different reasons, as we will check out as we go along.

Uncle Scrooge #1

IDW just introduced their version of the traditional Disney characters with a new Uncle Scrooge comic. Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, as well as Walt Disney Comics as well as stories will be complying with in the months to come. This is a extremely nice looking comic book on bright, thick white paper, as well as the stories are what you would expect provided the source material. general it is a nice package. however alas, I have a few complaints. very first off, the book is all reprints of European material, mainly Italian Uncle Scrooge stories as well as the stories strike me as a bit “too cute”. While Carl Barks as well as William Van Horn (and even Don Rosa) stories have a smooth feel to them, the stories just naturally unfold. These stories right here feel forced. They are well done by comic standards, however they have the exact same traditional feel that most European Disney stories do. It is difficult to describe, however they seems clunky as well as the stories seem as well contrived. The lead story includes the Beagle boys trying to take Uncle Scrooge’s money vault. great so far. then it turns into a giant robot as well as issues with land mines as well as it just is not fun. My second complaint about this book is the price. At $3.99 you are going to get the collectors, however not the younger audience. perhaps IDW’s plan is to charm to the already established Disney collector. This very first problem just seemed to lack the enthusiasm as well as caring of the Gladstone as well as Gemstone versions of Uncle Scrooge, even though the editorial personnel is from the two prior publishers. On the other hand, I may have been spoiled by the Fantagraphics collections of the Carl Barks as well as Don Rosa material. even with these criticisms though, I would suggested inspecting this book out as I would dislike to see the Disney line of traditional characters stop working once again before they have a possibility to discover their own footing.

Captain Ken

The very first volume of Captain Ken by Osamu Tezuka was just recently released by digital Manga. I am a significant fan of Tezuka’s work, as well as his stor telling can vary greatly depending upon the subject matter. Captain Ken is a young visitors title so the storytelling is extremely directly ahead as well as lacks the depth as well as complex twists as well as turns a few of his other works like Adolf or book of Human Insects. Captain Ken takes location on an alien world where a young woman named Kenn moves to, in a town which is singular to the wild west, with native aliens instead of American Indians. She faces all the drama of a new house as well as a teen girl. At the exact same time, a new hero shows up in town as well as he goes by the name Captain Ken. as well as Ken as well as Kenn look incredibly alike. much of the story revolves around whether these are the exact same person, as well as there is the traditional sight gags that Tezuka is famous for. It is a quick checked out with a few laughs. I would suggest it for fans of Tezuka’s work for younger readers, such as AstroCat or Astroboy, however if you are looking for a excellent adult checked out along the lines of his Buddha or Ayako, then this book is not for you.

Richard Stark’s Parker: Slayground

Richard Stark’s Parker: Slayground is Darwyn Cooke’s newest adaptation of the Richard Parker novels. It is not new as it came out last fall, however I just got around to reading it as well as it was great. The fundamental story is Parker is escaping a robbery as well as gets caught in a closed enjoyment park as well as he has to getaway from this enclosure with both the mob as well as the cops after him. The story shifts around the park with Parker utilizing every trip as well as attraction to his advantage as well as the death toll quickly rises. just like all of Cooke’s adaptations of Parker novels, this is both extremely cinematic as well as is just lovely to read. It is mainly black as well as white with area color. This adaptions are tour-de-forces that takecomics to a new level. I like these since I am a significant fan of the Parker novels, as well as Darwyn Cooke does not just re-do the novels in comic form; he tell a new vision of the novel. It’s like a excellent movie adaptation provides you a new vision of the story as well as not just duplicates the words with photos on the screen. Slayground is the forth in the series of Parker adaptations as well as all of them are a few of the very best comic stories you will ever read. As a bonus, this volume includes the short story The 7th, which was previously only offered only in a restricted edition hardcover. Cooke states there will be one more Parker adaptation this fall. I cannot wait.

Convergence: Swamp thing #1

We are now three weeks into the whole Convergence event. I have always been told if I have nothing great to state then to stay quiet. So I am not going to state much about Convergence. Out of all of the books that have come out the past three weeks I can in great conscience suggest the Convergence: Swamp Thing. This would not be a excellent book as part of any type of other event, however in Convergence, this problem of Swamp thing stands out. It is written by Swamp Thing’s co-creator Len Wein, as well as drawn by the extremely underrated Kelley Jones (who seems to be doing his finest Berni Wrightson.) I do not believe this story is as great as Charles Soule run on the book was (issue #19-39 of the new 52 version of Swamp Thing) however it is extremely great as a two part story. This book does feel like the 1970s version of Swamp thing that Wein originally wrote. Unlike the other Convergence titles, this book felt to me like a book that really was from the past. It is well worth inspecting out if you are a Swamp thing fan, or are looking for a great Convergence title to read. (A tip of the hat to Bob, the manager of the Westfield’s west side retail store, for pointing out this book.)

Disney’s Frozen Cinestory SC

Finally, I want to mention Joe Books. Joe books have been doing Disney books, mainly reprints collections, such as their Pixar Omnibus (collecting most all of the BOOM! Pixar Comics) as well as the Disney Princess Omnibus, reprinting a big number of Disney Princess stories from around the world. They have likewise done two Cinestories, Frozen as well as 101 Dalmatians. I was not a huge fan of the Frozen Cinestories as the reproduction was extremely dark, however 101 Dalmatians is fantastic. The reproduction is bright as well as the story is just a charming as the movie. I believe the difference is in 101 Dalmatians the cells are taken from a movie that was performed in the traditional animation style as well as Frozen was taken from a computer produced animated film. Joe books has more of the traditional Disney movies Cinestory comics organized with Cinderella next in line, as well as I am looking ahead to it.

That is it for this time. I welcome as well as motivate comments, both positive or unfavorable at MFBWAY@AOL.COM. have you checked out any type of of these books? What do you think? As always, whatever written right here is my viewpoint as well as in no method shows the thoughts of Westfield Comics or their employees. except perhaps Bob as well as Swamp Thing.

Thank you.