After an absence of several decades, Batman returns to the streets of Gotham to counter a new threat. The aging masked hero finds a new Robin and goes rogue for his own reasons. Intriguing and thought provoking.
Ocean – Warren Ellis
Just like Ministry of Space was the vision of space seen from the 1950s, Ocean is the vision of space seen from the 1980s. A short graphic novel about an archeological find in the oceans of Titan. Fun ideas but nothing special.
Orbiter – Warren Ellis & Colleen Doran
In the beginning of this graphic novel, Kennedy Space Center is shown as a vast squatter camp. Suddenly, the Venture Space Shuttle appears and lands. Apparently, manned spaceflight was abandoned when the Venture disappeared ten years previously.
Ministry of Space – Warren Ellis, Chris Weston & Laura Martin
This graphic novel assumes that the British gained rocketry knowledge after WWII instead of the Americans and Soviets. The British Empire prevails and establishes a substantial space presence. The art is crisp and brings to mind of 1950s space visions. The plot and characters are caricatures of the British. Lots of daring and stiff upper lip. Plenty of fun but it felt a little short.
V for Vendetta – Alan Moore & David Lloyd
A dystopian graphic novel about a post nuclear war fascist England by the same writer as the incredible Watchmen. The art is very different from that work, however. To go with the setting, it is unusual for a comic strip. No thought bubbles, no sound effects, just a washed out gray style that is purposefully unnerving.
The main character, V, is a larger than life anti-hero who fights back against the fascist regime in traditional terrorist fashion, or so it seems. But this terrorist understands the people, and really serves as a catalyst for the change brewing under the surface anyway. A great story on many levels.
Beyond the cool factor of this graphic novel is the hard-hitting social commentary, the deep understanding of human nature, and the interesting conclusion. It is a scary thing how true the setting rings.
V for Vendetta was adapted into a movie with Natalie Portman, which I found very much captured the themes of the novel. While using film imagery to great effect, it didn’t hollywoodize the story into a washed down puddle of great visuals without substance, but dared to be stark and shocking like the novel.
Watchmen – Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
This graphic novel is one of the classics for good reason. Well drawn and masterfully written, it is a tale of a disillusioned world and its disillusioned heroes. The heroes are well into middle age as they must unite again to save the world. Even if you are skeptical to the format, you should give Watchmen a chance. You won’t be disappointed.
The Five Fists of Science – Matt Fraction & Steven Sanders
This graphic novel sees Mark Twain join forces with Nikola Tesla and Bertha von Suttner, using technology to bring about peace. The antagonists are J.P. Morgan, in this book a demon-worshipping wizard by night, Thomas Alva Edison and Guglielmo Marconi.
This is a fun little piece. A bit too short perhaps, but not atypically so for the genre. I did find the art, while gorgeous, a bit too dark and often hard to decipher. The action scenese in particular were somewhat confusing.
