BIZARRO
DC Comics
Written by Heath Corson and drawn by Gustavo Duarte this story of Superman’s misshapen clone is awesome fun. Over the years we’ve seen a lot of variations of Bizarro but for my money he’s at his best when he is written humorous, we have that in spades here.
Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen are talking about Bizarro atop the Daily Planet when Jimmy mentions that Lois things Bizarro is Superman’s twin brother. While he almost spits out his coffee he tells Jimmy that his plan to take Bizarro to Canada is a great idea and maybe he can put out a book of pictures taken on the road trip. Which of course leads to where the fun starts, ROAD TRIP!
On their adventures they encounter loads of folks, including a run with Jonah Hex’s descendant Chastity Hex. During the ride they have adventures in a ghost town, Las Vegas and a used car lot in Smallville that includes a King Tut styled villain. For me the best part is the banter between Jimmy and Bizarro, it feels natural and it’s a ball watching them become friends.
I’ve always believed that comics, no matter what else they do, should be fun. This is just that, pure fun.
PREZ Volume 1 CORNDOG IN CHIEF
DC Comics
Hey gang, Uncle Jon has been reading comics for a long time. In fact Uncle Jon bought copies of the original PREZ back in the 70s. Of course at the time I read it with the eyes of a kid and found it fun with some cool ideas. Rereading the originals now as an adult I smile as there are some hippie like ideas that while good ideas they are impractical. Hey, there’s a reason the age to be President is 35. The premise is pretty simple, the age to be president is lowered and a teenager become President and looks at things with younger and at times idealistic eyes.
The version of PREZ we have now works with a similar set up though changed for the changing times. Voting is done on Twitter and Beth Ross is elected because of a viral video that has her dubbed “The Corndog Girl”. What really resonates here is the interference of corporations and selfish people which really is not that much different than when the original series ran.
Beth is a great character, compassionate and thoughtful and she reads. Once in office she breaks from the norm and thinks outside the box. The fact that we’ll never really be able to see politics run like this, though they should, doesn’t take away from the fun of seeing it. There is scheming going on to make her position powerless and she finds work arounds. The political situations are very current, especially the portrayal of military nd corporations.
This is a fun book, a smart book and a great book. Mark Russell has doen a wonderful job here and I would love to chat with him about politics and the world. I also Love love love the art by Ben Caldwell, fresh looking, comic booky and yet unique. And a shout out to colorist Jeremy Lawson, he did a great job giving this a bright and fun look.
You NEED this book.
CONSTANTINE Vol 1 GOING DOWN
DC Comics
I’ve been following the adventures of John Constantine since he first showed up in Swamp Thing. I am a huge fan. I’ve loved almost all of it. Towards the end of the Vertigo run it felt a little lost and I didn’t care for the art.
Now on it’s second relaunch since reentering the DC Universe mainstream I am seeing glimpses of what I loved about the character going back to the early days.
We’re getting some background retold and I expect that. The angle on this first arc to do that is a throwback to John being in a punk band and a casualty of the punk days an magic that now years later he is trying to save.
Ming Doyle and James Tynion IV are doing a fine job of writing, but I can’t help but think I may be a little more familiar with the character than they are. I like the art though it took a bit to get used to the look.
As with some new comics I don’t feel this is MY Jon Constantine but a version of that. I’m enjoying it enough to keep reading though. It’s like buying a new trench coat, you love the way it looks but you need to walk around in it for a little while to get used to the way it fits.
