The Arctic Marauder
Jacques Tardi. Fantagraphics, $16.99 (64p) ISBN 978- 1-60699-435-2
Tardi is renowned in France for his cult graphic novel series featuring Adèle Blanc-Sec, a detective who could be the love child of Tintin and Vampirella. Less known, but even more highly regarded, is this earlier, phenomenal one-shot, a baroque masterpiece inspired by the aesthetic of 19th-century engraving and inhabited by both the spirit of scientific positivism and Jules Verne. Jérôme Plumier, an enterprising young medical student, embarks on an arctic crossing aboard a mail steamship in 1899, only to fall headlong into a deadly scheme which may be connected to his mad scientist uncle. All the boats venturing near a certain point in the Arctic are sunk with metronomic precision. The colossal scope and fiendish nature of the conspiracy Plumier unwittingly uncovers remains secret for much of the book, building the suspense to a point worthy of any great thriller. It's difficult to do justice to the artistic qualities of Tardi's stark, understated line drawings; whether he's depicting a motley crew of sailors, highly detailed industrial machinery, or an ice floe, the art is both technical and madly expressive. Precisely calibrated, perfectly laid out, and incredibly graphic, this is as good as adventure comics get. (Apr.)
The Complete Frazetta White Indian
Frank Frazetta. Vanguard, $49.95 (192p) ISBN 978-1-934331-45-3
This gloriously inappropriate '50s comic about a great backwoodsman and "his little Indian friend Tipi" having adventures in 1770 is most notable for showcasing the work of future art icon Frazetta. It's one of those stories of white people becoming the best at other cultures; the White Indian Dan Brand was White Indian's ancestor, who roamed the frontier killing bears after his fiancée was shot in front of him. The pictures are lovely, as expected in a book sold on the reputation of its artist, but strangely static, as though Frazetta was used to thinking in terms of images, not storytelling flow. There's lots of muscled male skin on display, as the lead is nearly naked, which lends new interpretation to the frequent wrestling. Reproduction is dodgy, with fuzziness and color leakage. Interspersed with the Indian comics are true-life war stories and PSAs. Be warned, this is a fan-based publication, with numerous typos in the back cover copy and no serious explanation of the strip's history. Those interested in buying it will already know what it is and why they want it: it's more work by a beloved fantasy illustrator. (Apr.)
Taskmaster: Unthinkable
Fred Van Lente and Jefte Palo. Marvel, $14.99 trade paper (112p) ISBN 978-0-7851-5260-6
Like a surfer riding a wave of weirdness, this tale opens up the personal life of one of Marvel's ubiquitous villains, the caped and corpse-masked combat trainer of other villains known as Taskmaster. As the story begins, he is sitting in a late-night diner, struggling to remember just who he really is. Immediately, however, he is attacked by competing teams of assassins from nefarious groups who all believe he has betrayed them, sending him and a waitress from the diner on the run to save their lives and find the facts. From there, page by page and panel by panel, the action gets much stranger. The Taskmaster turns out to have the ability to combine the fighting skills of multiple superheroes and villains, while his own personality is shoved aside and sometimes lost. Van Lente revels in this overcomplicated, self-referential nuttiness. Palo's art also embraces the jumpy plot, with overlapping images and ragged, rugged characters. The story works as light adventure with a high body count, but it manages to evoke sympathy for a character who is forced to be both hero and villain. (Mar.)
