Top Cow First Look
Various, Image/Top Cow, $5 trade paper (160p) ISBN 978-1-58240-204-2
This anthology represents a break from Top Cow's usual Witchblade-heavy fare. Aspiring toward the dark and gritty end of indie comics, the anthology contains work from comics stalwarts Joshua Hale Fialkov (Tumor) and Christos Gage (Avengers Academy) as well as up-and-coming creators, collecting the first issues of Top Cow's newest titles. "Genius," the strongest title by far, explores what happens when a Napoleon-like natural military genius from a gang-ridden neighborhood decides to declare war on the police; Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman's writing and newcomer Afua Richardson's art really puts in the hard work of making the reader interested in their antihero, something the other selections aren't quite as good at. With stories like "The Last Mortal," about a suicidal immortal; "Sunset." about an elderly mobster running from his past; and "Mysterious Ways," about a man on a murderous mission from God, the anthology is uniformly depressing and violent. Even the seemingly hopeful astronaut tale "Black Vault" turns out to be about a hidden torture chamber in space. Yet there's an awkward charm to the book, as writers and artists alike stretch themselves toward something new; the whole thing brims with potential. (Oct.)
RASL, Pocket Book One
Jeff Smith, Cartoon Books, $17.95 trade paper (232p) ISBN 978-1-8889-6324-3
In this collection of the adventures of dimension-jumping art thief RASL, Smith (Bone; Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil) has created a gritty graphic novel for mature audiences that is as captivating as its enigmatic hero. RASL is the tag of Dr. Robert Joseph Johnson, whose former career as a scientist working on classified projects at a military base called "The Compound" has been exchanged for one as an interdimensional art thief for wealthy clients. But his former employers won't leave him alone. RASL, a devotee of the work of engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla, possesses information which, in the wrong hands, could prove disastrous. Enter Sal, a lizard-faced assassin, who can "drift" through dimensions as RASL does, and so relentlessly pursues him into a variety of parallel dimensions. Though Smith is eminently competent at creating engaging dialogue, he is at his best in wordless action, where he shows a mastery of pacing as well as an ability to render his protagonist as fully human. The narrative moves back and forth through space and time in a manner that cleverly mirrors his hero's travels. Taken together, these elements form a stunning visual narrative that impresses with its originality, sophistication, and complexity. (Oct.)
Che Guevara: A Manga Biography
Chie Shimano and Kiyoshi Konno, Penguin, $15 trade paper (192p) ISBN 978-0-14-311816-9
This manga biography of Che Guevara demonstrates Cuba's unique ability to serve as a political litmus test. You can infer a good deal about folks who see Castro as a cartoonish supervillain and about people who just can't think of a single critical thing to say about his regime. Konno falls into the latter camp, as his discussion of Che is essentially propaganda. Che's much romanticized youth as a motorcycle-driving vagabond is set as the catalyst for a profound intellectual awakening. Everything Che does, from abandoning a wife and child to leading bloody campaigns throughout Latin America and the Congo, is for the sake of justice. Konno has no time for piddling discussions of Che's penchant for summary executions, his questionable skill at guerrilla warfare, or his incompetence as a national economic manager. Similarly, the book takes for granted communism's rightness. In spite of this, it's a powerfully drawn comic, and the writing is at its most effective in its scathing critique of American cold war foreign policy. Che's adventures, as they are captured here, make for exciting fiction. Look elsewhere for a more balanced story. (Oct.)
