Everest / Love Fights #1 FCBD 2004

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics and Free Comic Book Day 2004.

Title: Everest / Love Fights #1 FCBD 2004
Publisher: Oni Press
Date: July, 2004
Writer: Andi Watson, Greg Rucka
Artist: Andi Watson, Scott Morse
Editor: Jamie S. Rich, James Lucas Jones

Flip book from Free Comic Book Day 2004.

First up is a pencils-only preview of the Greg Rucka/Scott Morse graphic novel, Everest: Facing the Goddess. This is a short piece that introduces a team of mountain climbers as they attempt a never-before-done ascent in the Himalayas in preparation for the biggest challenge of them all: Mount Everest. The artwork hints at how good the fully painted final product is going to be, and there are enough hints of potential clashes between the characters to foreshadow the danger of the upcoming expedition.

Flip the book over for something completely different: Love Fights by Andi Watson is a comedy showcasing the lives of ordinary people in a world of real superheroes. This had a light sitcom vibe to it that was charming and amusing even when not laugh-out-lound funny. The romantic problems of the main character felt a bit cliche, but the small details of life in a world with superheroes and villains were intriguing.

Two decent previews for books I'd consider giving a second look to.

Rating: 7/10

Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour

From the school library. Done with this series. Now to see what other graphic novels or manga they have in stock.

Title: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
Issue: Volume 6
Publisher: Oni Press
Date: July, 2010
Writer: Bryan Lee O'Malley
Artist: Bryan Lee O'Malley
Editor: James Lucas Jones
Cover: Bryan Lee O'Malley, Ben Berntsen


Scott drifts through life lost, feeling the dread of the impending confrontation with the final evil ex-boyfriend, and wonder if there is even any point to it all, since Ramona has left him.

The final villain is great, and the last fight scene is epic. There are also some really funny moments, and a lot of touching and fulfilling ones as well.

This is a nice goodbye to these characters with an ending that is romantic, but still "real" (in spite of how ridiculous all of this is).

Worthy conclusion to a fun series.

Rating: 8.5/10

Scott Pilgrim Volume 5: Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe

From the school library.

Title: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
Issue: Volume 5
Publisher: Oni Press
Date: 2009
Writer: Bryan Lee O'Malley
Artist: Bryan Lee O'Malley
Editor: James Lucas Jones
Cover: Bryan Lee O'Malley, Ben Berntsen

The fifth volume of Scott Pilgrim gets away from some of the laugh-out-loud jokes and one-liners as it moves into darker territory. Scott is confronted by two of the remaining three evil exes, and they are a pair of twins with expertise in robotics, and an increasingly dangerous series of fighting robots programmed to put a beating on Scott.

And when that doesn't do the job, they're ready to go after Scott's friends.

All the while, Scott's relationship with Ramona is suddenly on rocky ground, his band is horribly out of practice after months of recording, and Scott's world looks to be on the brink of crumbling around him.

This story did a great job with the relationship angst, the loneliness and despair, and some really touching moments involving Scott's attempts to retrieve Ramona's escaped cat. The battle with the twins came down to a nicely emotional climax as well, and the final scene was a great cliffhanger lead-in to the last volume in the series.

This felt like a very classical penultimate chapter, and it brought a good level of intensity to the series.

Rating: 8/10

Scott Pilgrim Volume 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together

Borrowed from my school's library. I'm trying to strike a balance between reading unread books and comics that I own, and reading things I'm interested in from the school library before we head back to the US and then off to China.

Title: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
Issue: Volume 4
Publisher: Oni Press
Date: October, 2007
Writer: Bryan Lee O'Malley
Artist: Bryan Lee O'Malley
Colorist: Steve Buccellato
Editor: James Lucas Jones
Cover: Bryan Lee O'Malley, Miguel Sternberg

Scott Pilgrim earns some serious experience points in this volume, as he finally gets (and somehow keeps) a job, and also digs deep for the courage to take his relationship with Ramona Flowers to the next level.

Of course there is also one of Ramona's evil exes to be defeated, not to mention a mysterious stranger stalking Scott while wielding a pair of samurai swords. And there is an old friend from high school who never had a chance to date Scott, but who is wondering about the possibility of second chances.

Also, the rent is due, and the lease is up.

This started off a little jumbled, but tightened up considerably by the end. There were not quite as many laugh-out-loud moments as there were in the previous volume, but this story did bring some real romance, which was more something that had been danced around in the previous volumes.

This series continues to be witty and fun.

Rating: 7/10

Scott Pilgrim Volume 3: Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness

Borrowed from my school's library. I've only got a couple more months here, so I really should get more use out of my school library's surprisingly extensive graphic novel section.

Title: Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness
Issue: Volume 3
Publisher: Oni Press
Date: 2006
Writer: Bryan Lee O'Malley
Artist: Bryan Lee O'Malley
Editor: James Lucas Jones

Scott Pilgrim's band is the opening act for a show by his ex-girlfriend's (much more famous) band. And one of the members of that band is the next in the series of Ramona Flowers' evil ex-boyfriends that Scott must defeat in order to date Ramona. This is going to be particularly difficult for Scott because Todd, the evil ex, is a vegan. And as we all know, vegans have mystical telekinetic powers.

This volume starts off pretty convoluted (there's even a convoluted diagram to show everyone's relationships; it helps a little), and takes its time getting to the big climactic battles, but once it gets into gear, it is loads of fun. There are some great one-liners, a bit of breaking of the fourth wall, and the usual gaming references and ridiculously over-the-top fighting spots ("She punched the highlights out of your hair!").

Considering all of the extra characters that are involved at the start of this, it wraps up really nicely. This is a fun read, and it's worth scorecard that you need to keep track of everyone in the early going.

Rating: 7.5/10

Maintenance FCBD 2008

Did I mention that we got a pretty big haul of comics on Free Comic Book Day back in 2008? I keep finding more in the unread comics stack!

Title: Maintenance FCBD 2008
Publisher: Oni Press
Date: May, 2008
Writer:Jim Massey
Artist: Robbi Rodriguez
Colorist: Jared M. Jones, Pete Pantazis
Letterer: Douglas E. Sherwood
Editor: James Lucas Jones, Randal C. Jarrell

Doug and Manny are a couple of regular working guys who just happen to work in a research lab that specializes in science of the mad variety.

When a time machine malfunctions, they find themselves in prehistoric times, facing down a group of humanoids with a striking resemblance Hanna Barbera's Captain Caveman. Except that several of them are equipped with jetpacks.

The plot was certainly well-conceived. As for the dialogue... When it worked, it worked well. When it didn't, the jokes really fell flat for me. Humor is hard to do, and it's a matter of personal taste, but for me, this just wasn't all there as far as the actual laughs went.

Rating: 5.5/6

Scott Pilgrim Volume 2: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

The school where I work has a relatively small library, but it's got a surprisingly good selection of graphic novels. I bought the first volume a couple of years ago (review here), and had been meaning to continue this series.

Title: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Issue: Volume 2
Publisher: Oni Press
Date: 2005
Writer: Bryan Lee O'Malley
Artist: Bryan Lee O'Malley
Editor: James Lucas Jones


Musician and slacker Scott Pilgrim is dating two girls, and he needs to make a choice.

And furthermore, if that choice is to keep dating Ramona Flowers, he must still defeat the remaining six members of the League of Ramona's Evil Ex-Boyfriends. And next up on that list is Lucas Lee (not to be confused with Luke Wilson, apparently), a former pro skateboarder turned bigtime Hollywood star.

Meanwhile, Ramona meets Scott's friends, and becomes friends with Scott's sister. She also gets to meet Scott's other girlfriend, Knives Chau, and, well, Scott is not the only one with a fight scene in this volume.

There is also useful tourist information for Toronto-area sightseeing spots, and a recipe for vegan shepherd's pie. Plus a flashback to Scott's high school days.

Scott is grating at times, but that is part of the point. The story is frenetically paced and endlessly quirky, with great interplay between a diverse supporting cast, and a nice sprinkling of video game references.

Rating: 7.5/10

Scott Pilgrim Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

This has been sitting on the to-be-read shelf for a while.

Title: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
Issue: Volume 1
Publisher: Oni Press
Date: 2004
Writer: Bryan Lee O'Malley
Artist: Bryan Lee O'Malley
Editor: James Lucas Jones

I didn't see the movie version of this, but I caught enough of the movie hype to have a general sense of what to expect going in.

And it still came off as totally bizarre. In a good way.

Twenty-three  year old musician/deadbeat Scott Pilgrim spends his days mooching off his roomate and his nights practicing with his (bad) rock band. He's just started dating a seventeen year old high school student named Knives Chau, but he has become infatuated with a rollerblading girl he has seen in his dreams.

And in the library. And at parties.

Ramona Flowers works as a delivery person, and might just be doing some alteration of time and space. More importantly, in order to date Ramona, Scott must defeat Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends.

Good thing Scott is the greatest fighter in all of Ontario. He will need it for when the evil ex-boyfriends do things like summon fireball-throwing hipster demon girls.

Scott comes off as something of a jerk in this story, but the bizarre humor and the easy interactions of the supporting cast keep it interesting. I really liked the style of this book, both visually and in terms of dialogue. It was fun and managed to feel both real and surreal.

Rating: 7.5/10

Whiteout #1 Free Comic Book Day Edition

Another FCBD book from a past year that ended up in my haul from this year's Free Comic Book Day.

Title: Whiteout Free Comic Book Day Edition
Issue: #1
Date: 2007
Publisher: Oni Press
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist Steve Lieber
Editor: Bob Schreck, James Lucas Jones

First chapter reprint of the 1998 graphic novel by Rucka and Lieber. This was the comic that inspired the 2009 film of the same title, starring Kate Beckinsale.

This is a crime story set in the harshest environment on Earth: Antarctica. US Marshal Carrie Stetko is the only American law enforcement agent responsible for the antarctic scientific stations, and she's investigating what appears to be the continent's very first murder case.

This was a very engaging story with great characters. Just having a female lead who looks realistic and wears appropriate clothing (and she had better in this setting!) is a refreshing change from much of mainstream comics. But this also had great pacing, a really interesting supporting cast, and great use of the setting.

This first issue laid the foundation for a complex mystery, and ended on a brilliantly original cliffhanger.

Between the setting and the excellent lead character, this really stands out from typical cop fare, and Lieber's visuals do a nice job of capturing the bleak setting. This first chapter definitely left me eager to read more.

Rating: 8.5/10