Hellblazer Annual

Hellblazer Annual #1

“Suicide Bridge”

Story: Peter Milligan

Art: Simon Bisley

You may not have noticed, but Hellblazer has been enjoying something of a renaissance of late, under the fearless penmanship of Peter Milligan. Milligan’s a veteran of DC’s beautifully barmy Vertigo imprint, having a pedigree of quality work there, matched only by the likes of Grant Morrison, Alan Moore or Garth Ennis, having been writing exciting ongoings, one-shots and mini-series relatively regularly since the imprint’s inception (Notable works being 'Enigma', 'Shade: The Changing Man', 'Girl', 'Face', 'Greek Street', 'Hell Eternal'). He has his misssteps, but as a reader you know a Milligan book is going to be in exciting journey wherever it takes you. I explain this to highlight what a perfect match Milligan is to Hellblazer, Vertigo's flagship of weird, following the ongoing adventures of British 'blue collar' mystic, John Constantine. Frankly it's surprising no-one made it happen before this run. Having breathed new life into the longest running (in unbroken numbering) title of the big two over the past couple of years we actually find ourselves at a point when the series even gets its own Annual for the first time in over a decade. This, dear reader, is where we come in.

This Annual is written by series writer Milligan and pencilled with signature flair, by the inimitable (though many try) Simon Bisley. Bisley's been the regular cover artist and semi-regular penciller for the series for a few years now, and has brought some of his career-best work to the title. His gaudy, tits-and-beasties fantasy edge is sanded down here to perfectly capture the spirit of the macabre life of John Constantine in these pages. To sound like a pretentious tit for a moment (or so) it’s really matured since his Lobo work but still maintains that mischievous edge and Biz's innate brutality. This is top level sequential art, as good as any of the many industry legends who've depicted John in the past, and no less than the book deserves.

It's been so long since I first picked up an issue of Hellblazer that I forgot how one can get put off by the fact that so many issues have been published you don't know where to start. This is nonsense though; as long as you go from the beginning of a storyline, Hellblazer is easy to start cold and rarely continuity laden. Apart from the occasional story all you need to know to read Hellblazer is: John does Magic, John likes women, John's a bit of a prick. The story in this Annual is a classic example, it concerns the family of an old friend of his from his childhood. Have they been in it before? I dunno. Does it matter? Nope, all the information you need is there in the pages of the book. The story actually involves a suspicious series of teen disappearances, but in a way much of this is irrelevant too, what matters is that as ever, something moody's going on, John's deep in the heart of it and innocent people are getting hurt. And as ever John's not a hero, he's just the guy who, when the world goes up shit creek, might, just might, have the only paddle, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

If like many, you are curious about Hellblazer but just don't know where to start, start here. This is what to expect, gruesome urban supernatural horror with a not entirely irredeemable rogue in the lead. If, like I was until a year or so, you’re a lapsed reader, pick this up, it'll remind you why you fell in love with John’s dirty little world in the first place. Superior, supernatural horror for the modern reader, like an episode of Eastenders written by Clive Barker. So yeah, it’s classic Hellblazer.

Valhallahan

V2K: Totems

Valhallahan

Totems is that rare beast, that rears its head up every once in a blue moon, the Vertigo Crossover. This book was published under Vertigo's short lived run of books celebrating the new millennium, branded 'V2K' (like Y2K, geddit?) and focuses on John Constantine's New Year's Eve bash. Being John, its got quite the guest list, and being John, it doesn't exactly go as planned. At the party we have Swamp Thing, Black Orchid, Doom Patrol's Robot Man, Shade: The Changing Man, Animal Man and Zatanna of Justice League fame. Zatanna's an interesting addition, because back when this was published they were still flirting with the idea of her being a Vertigo character, so she occasionally popped up in things like Hellblazer swearing like a person and on one occasion smoking a bit of pot. Obviously this wouldn't happen nowadays, because as a mainstream DC Universe character she should be doing wholesome things like mind raping people, vomiting blood, getting zombified and tearing out people’s hearts, snapping necks or rape-raping people, not having a normal sex life with a comparatively normal bloke using recreational drugs and swearing occasionally. That'd be sick! But that is now and this was then, so here we have the pleasure of this little exchange:

One thing I love about this story is that, having gathered this merry band together, John proceeds to puke all over himself and pass out like a true British hero. We salute ye John. Anyway with John out of the picture the rest of the motley crew of 'heroes' with the addition of some odd waiter bloke have to sort out whatever the shit is going on with the bizarre new world they are faced with. I thoroughly enjoyed this, the characters interacted believably and entertainingly and Duncan Fegredo and Richard Case really sell the madness of the tale, both in the mundane and fantastical elements on display. This story does feel dated in that it focuses on conspiracy theories, Y2K and the sense of impending dread coming with the new millennium that turned out to be total bollocks, shockingly enough, but without giving too much away, that’s kind of the point of it so it works well. One thing that really does need mentioning is how much this book screams out Vertigo. The characters, the art, the story, the dialogue, the mood, every little bit of this is 90s Vertigo, but strangely enough it also feels like a typical superhero team up too, the McGuffin could work equally well as a trad superhero annual or something, it’s a surprising dichotomy.

Get it, it’s good!

Comic books: The perfect hangover cure!

Action Ash

I woke up to find myself sprawled across an air mattress on the floor of a flat I didn't recognise as my own (it was much tidier). As I rolled over to my right, above me on the couch was sleeping a hairy ogre of a man. You guessed it, it was Valhallahan. As he snored away, the previous night's events began to come back to me. I was at a pub in Hoxton, surrounded by trendy wankers while The Fabulous Penetrators rocked my face off. Then Liam and I ended up staying at a friend's place and that was where I had just found myself. After spending half the day there, kindly being made breakfast and watching a film, we felt it was time to get out of the way and we stumbled out into the streets of Limehouse feeling like mere shadows of our former selves. We were not, however, without direction. We both knew that the best way to regain our humanity was to find a comic shop and quick. We headed for central and Gosh was our first port of call.

One of the first things I noticed after entering was a particular horror comic high up on the wall, who's cover I had come across on the Internet: Chamber of Darkness #7 (1970). Chamber of Darkness was a short lived horror title that for some reason didn't sell well (despite wicked offerings from Bernie Wrightson and Steve Ditko) and was retitled Monsters on the Prowl from issue 9 onward. After browsing some more I bought it and we moved on to Comicana in Shaftesbury Avenue, which has a fantastic collection of back issues. I bought a bunch of stuff that I'm too lazy to mention but among my stack were two issues of Marvel Spotlight featuring The Son of Satan, some old Horror titles such as DC's  The Witching Hour and Marvel's Tomb of Darkness and a bunch of other titles.

Monday and Tuesday went by without anything worthy of mention happening and then Wednesday rolled around and it was time for even more comic books from Chaos City. Here's what I picked up:

Conan: Road of Kings #2 - I read a preview online and this issue looks like a good'n.

Detective Comics #873 - The conclusion of Snyder's first story arc and I'm pumped to see how Grayson's going to get out of this one. Also it's nice to read a comic story that only three parts and not stretched beyond it's natural limit to six issues solely to make it easier for trade conversion.


Namor #6 - Now all that vampire nonsense is over I want to see what they're going to do with a favourite character of mine. Note the fantastic Phil Noto cover.

Astonishing Thor #2 - It's a shame they had to go and give it an Ed McGuinness cover when there's all that gorgeous Mike Choi on the inside.

Chaos War #5 - This didn't turn out to be as epic as I had hoped it would be. Still been fun but tbh I forget it exists between issues.

New Avengers #8 - I am not happy by the change of art and hope it's only temporary. It's not that I don't like Daniel Acuna, it's just that Immonen was doing a brilliant job and I think he captured the perfect look for the series. Never mind, prove me wrong Acuna.

X-Men #7 - Now all that vampire nonsense is over I want to see what they're going to...Whoa, I just experienced some De Ja Vu.

On top of this I also bought three back issues of Hellblazer to start catching up. Those of you with excellent memories will recall that I started buying it after a swap shop where Liam suggested it. Shortly after I forgot I was buying it and am now a few months behind. That's not so bad though as I know someone who has been buying it but is still YEARS behind when it comes to actually reading it. He shall remain nameless =P

Best Wishes John!

Valhallahan

John Constantine, DC's least eligible bachelor is about to tie the knot in Hellblazer #275, out this week. What could possibly go wrong...

I also picked up Strange Tales II #3, which had been eluding me these past weeks.

What I Got And Why: January 2011!

Valhallahan
Guten Tag Home-Friends! Welcome sie bitter to What I Got And Why 2011!

Jonah Hex - Well here we have another classic Hex tale, Hex takes a rare execution job off some wronged townsfolk, to take out some low down killer pervert. And kill him he does and then some! The art is by Jordi Bernet who is as close to a regular artist as they get in Jonah Hex. He good, he real good.

Oddly this issue is part of DC's line-wide "Covers with characters in front of logos without the title" month and as Jonah Hex doesn't have a logo as such, they've opted to go for "HEX" in the title font in the Dixie flag colours. I suppose just showing a Dixie flag would send the wrong signals what with the reb flag being the international symbol for redneck. I have to say I really like the idea behing these covers, and it looks great on the shop shelves but as Hex shows, it's not a comfortable fit for every title.

Knight and Squire #4 - Another dandy of an issue of Knight and Squire. Not my favourite by any means, if anything it's the weakest, but a weak issue of Knight and Squire is still funnier than a pile of Deadpool books big enough to build a stairway to the sun. This issue Knight fights... himself! And Squire fights... the awkwardness of budding teen romance! Plus Hank the American butler.

Scalped - Scalped is as Scalped does, so yet again we have some hard boiled brutal misery from Aaron and co. I wouldn’t have it any other way. This month the focus is on Special Agent Nitz as his overly complicated shitty downward drunken spiral misery he calls a life finally gets on top of him and he decides to end it. Hillarity ensues obviously.

Casanova: Gula I - I picked up the latest issue of Casanova, which is reprinting stuff I don't already have in trade now. This is one trippy book Daddy-o. It also looks rather delightful, drawn by 2Badguys' favourite artist Fabio Moon. Casanova is written by 2Badguys' seems-quite-good-but-not-quite-boner-enducing-yet-guy Matt Fraction and he really goes hell for leather with the nutso sci-fi concepts. Silver age madness filtered through European spy movie cool now in almost Technicolor!

Cutting the crap though, this is a great, fun series worthy of all the hype it got when it came out.

iZombie - iZombie continues apace, and what a pace! Actually that statement doesn’t even mean anything, I just wanted to say something other than "Still going. Still like it". I must say though, that this title has gone from a book I was considering dropping, to one I look forward to every month. iZombie is a fun, almost shamefully pretty-looking series.

Sweet Tooth - Sweet Tooth's second big storyline comes to a climax and shit really does hit the proverbial. I would like to talk about this series in depth at some point, because I really am loving it. The problem is I can't really understand why. I will say that it is a bizarre, exciting and utterly fresh book, once rather aptly described as "Mad Max meets Bambi". I recommend it to all, regular comic reader or not.

Science Dog #1 - Science Dog is a recurring double-fictional character in Robert Kirkman's Invincible universe. He's (Invincible alter-ego) Mark Grayson's favourite comic book character who apparently was created as a genuine comic book pitch by Kirkman and Invincible co-creator Cory Walker before they started on Invincible. This collects the first two mini stories by the pair which were originally printed in anniversary issues of Invincible. I really have said Invincible a lot now haven’t I? Anyway, it's a fun but forgettable romp, reminiscent of the lighter issues of that other book I keep mentioning, something beginning with I...

Incognito: Bad Influences #2 - To be honest it's been so long since issue one came out that I've completely forgotten what is happening in this series, but it's the second issue of the sequel to Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' superb Pulp-bad-guy-goes-sort-of-good series from a year or so ago, so you just know it's going to make a lovely collected story. I might wait till another issue is out and start from the beginning again.

The Walking Dead #80 - This Week: Zombies! Red hot zombie action makes a welcome return in the first part of new storyline, "No Way Out".

Bulletproof Coffin #6 - And so we bid adieu to one of my favourite series of 2010. I heartily recommend all you pretty folk go and by this series when it comes out in Trade Paperback. In fact, I fucking dare you!

Chaos War #4 - I'll admit that I'm kind of losing interedt now, but we're nearly done so fingers crossed for a doozy of an ending. I'll also note that this is the only Marvel Universe title I'm still reading.

Hellblazer #264 - This issue wraps up the time travelling trip and puts all the peices on the board for next issues big ol' wedding event. I'm on the edge of my seat! Hellblaxer really is a book worth talking about again. Nice.

and that, my freunds, is that. Keep your peepers peeled for some extra fun goodies from us in the coming weeks. not just more What I Got And Why's, oh no brothers and sisters, we are diversifying! Can You dig it?

Hellblazer: City of Demons

Story by Si Spurrier

Art by Sean Murphy

Valhallahan
This really is shaping up to be a rather enjoyable series. It's been so long since I first picked up Hellblazer that I forgot how one can get put off by the fact that so many issues have been published you don't know where to start. This is bollocks though; as long as you start at the beginning of a storyline, Hellblazer is easy to start cold and rarely continuity laden. Apart from the occasional story all you need to know to read Hellblazer is: John does Magic, John likes women, John's a bit of a prick. Ironically, having said that, this story does draw from Hellblazer history, in that the driving plot is that some nefarious types have got their hands on a sample of John's blood which Hellblazer readers know, (but is explained in the script for Hellblazer virgins) is tainted with the blood of a demon. It's this dodgy claret, being passed around unsuspecting members of the public, that's putting ordinary folk on killing sprees across London, and it's up to John to sort it out.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the spectacular Art by upcoming superstar Sean Murphy (Joe The Barbarian). He really captures modern London like no other artist has in a number of years, from public transport to public house; from Oxford Circus to suburban council estate he totally nails it. It was a two-parter by Sean Murphy and Jason Aaron a year or two ago that got me into Hellblazer again after having dropped it a few years prior during Mike Carey's run. I really hope to see more Hellblazer from him in the future. This guy is destined for greatness, or my name isn't Sheriff Buford T. Valhallahan!

This series, or the inevitable collection, is a great introduction to the type of story that Hellblazer does; gruesome adult entertainment with a gritty urban feel - supernatural horror for the modern reader - sort of like Get Carter if it was written by Clive Barker.

19 Snouts out of a possible 20 Silk Cut (John's brand, not mine).

What I Got Cockney Week!

Valhallahan
Cor Blimey Governor, my picks are a right bleedin' cockney knees up this week! To celebrate, the reviews are going to be done by some old scrote of a Cabbie I met in the pub.

Evenin' squires, I've gone an' got me some right kushti books this week, some real dark doin's. An 'ere's me thinkin' comics was just for kids, nonces and people who's backwards. Let's have a shufti shall we?

Helblazer: City of Demons #3 - There's a bit of argy bargy goin' on with John's shonky claret 'ere. Some dodgy docs have got their grubby mitts on it and and it's turning into a right carry on. The drawings a bloody master stroke an' all looks just like my old manor, ee aint half one talented Mick, that Sean Murphy. Someone needs to 'ave a word wiv whatever donut designed them tube turnstyles though they're about as much use as a chocolate teapot. Right good read though, I should cocoa!

Helblazer #273 - Right, so John's missus is stuck in the past with John the Punk from 1979. That's alright though, if you can’t trust your past self not to knock off your better half who can you trust? Oh bollocks! And while all that palaver's going on in the past, who's going to stop old Johnny yo-yo knickers from Knobbing that Succubus in the present? Himself? You’re having a bubble! Will that boy ever get spliced? It’s an outrage!

Knight and Squire #2 - So apparently this is our version of that Batman nonce. I dunno, at least vis one don't 'ang around wiv little boys. This Knight and Squire book's a right laugh, dunno about that Knight toff, but I'll give 'im the benefit of the doubt. This issue they're out in Scrumpy country givin' them inbreds what for! Tell you what mate, don't bear thinking about, what them rural types get up to. Geezers dancin' round poles wiv bells on their bonces? They deserve a kick up the Aris!

Anyway, I'm off. Be lucky!

What I Got And Why 23/10/2010

Valhallahan

Vertigo: Resurrected #1 - This is an extremely fucking good collection of books from those lovely people at Vertigo, and I can tell you this with some degree of conviction because I've read 90% of the fucking thing before! It's an expensive package, but full of gems, I'm just peeved that I have so much of it already. YOU should definitelly buy it though. I'll do a full review in a bit.

Hellblazer #272 - The lead up to John's possible upcoming nuptuals continues! We have Epiphany stuck in the past with seedy young John and Bisley art and Our John in the present with Camuncoli and a Succubus WAG. It's like 'Life on Mars' but with more bastards and more sex. Also this issue ties in to the House of Secrets Annual which was a nice touch.

DV8: Gods and Monsters #7 - Stuff does seem to be happening in this series now, but I must say a lot of the sheen has worn off. One more issue to go and I'll be glad when it finishes to be honest, it seems like I've been reading the introduction to a story for over half a year now. It doesn't help that Brian Wood seems to have missed the mark completely on a couple of characters.

The Walking Dead #78 - It's all kicking off now! After what seems like (but actually isn't when you think about it) a fairly calm stretch, Kirkman's about to blow things out of the water again as the series leads up to "No Way Out".

Chaos War #2 - Buy this. It's flipping awesome. In this issue The All New, All Different God Squad is formed as all hell literally breaks loose! Some have said this is similar to DC's recent Blackest Night crossover, but I didn't read that, so some people can shut their holes. Go Herc!

I also got Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, so expect a movie review soon.

what I Got And Why 16/10/10

Valhallahan
Once again dressed in day-old, slept-in clothes and reeking of yesterdays booze, I dragged my sorry arse off my mate's sofa and met up with the esteemed Action Ash to get some 4-colour hangover cures (via a delightful jaunt round the Tate Britain's Turner Prize nominees exhibition with chum and 8 ball ink artist Oliver. Verdict: Poor). Here’s what I got (and why).

Jonah Hex #60 - This is a match made in heaven for me, Brian Stellfreeze drawing a Jonah Hex story! Stelfreeze is a massively underrated artist whose action sequences are second to none, his fight coreography in the Wilstorm Mini series Matador was superb, and his Domino mini series from Marvel many moons ago is also worth noting. We really don't see enough of this chap. Fahkin' Lahverly Mate! The chump who drew Return of Bruce Wayne #4 should hang their head in shame.

Taskmaster #2 - The shop I went to was out of this last week, so I picked it up at the wonderfully stocked Orbital this week. I bloody well loved #1 and with the introduction of characters like the Don of the Dead it looks like it's keeping it's levels of awsome set to high. I am loving this series, and as it's one of only two Marvel Universe books I'm picking up right now, it should feel honoured. So there.

Strange Tales II #1 -Marvel have returned with a new anthology mini series giving popular indie creators a pop at the Marvel character library to create one heck of a curio. While the quality of the last run of these was hugely varied, variation remains its biggest selling point. I enjoyed the madness of the last run, and like last time, most of the stories err on the side of comedy, there are some more thoughtful pieces too, and some that are just plain trippy, daddy-o.

Hellblazer: City of Demons #1 - I like John Constantine and I love Sean Murphy’s artwork. This is the chap who drew Joe the Barbarian for Mark Morrison last year and the su-fucking-perb Wolverine alphabet. He really is one to watch, and he has form on Hellblazer with the excellent Jason Aaron-penned two-parter "Newcastle Calling" in 2008 (#245-246) one of the rare occasions where a yank writer gets JC right. If you’ve ever wanted to try Hellblazer but didn't know where to start, get this new mini series and be schooled, you won’t be disappointed.

House of Secrets Annual #2 - I'm not a reader of House of Mystery, it seems like a whole bucket of fairy elf bullshit to be honest, but this Halloween special is essentially the Vertigo Annual. As it’s both Vertigo, and an anthology I’m sure you can see I’m in there like swimwear. At first glance it looks great, there’s a Hellblazer story by Milligan and Camuncoli, an iZombie tale by Robertson and Allred and rather a lot of other cool looking bits and bobs. It’s a bit like the Winter’s Edge books they used to put out actually, which is a good thing indeed.

The Amazing Spider-Man #577 - I've never been a regular Spider-Man reader, or much of an irregular reader for that matter, but this was in Orbital’s slightly water damaged, 50p each section (which is well worth a look), and it seemed to be a one-off Punisher story. The art is by Paulo Riverra, whose work I’ve appreciated for a while, but haven’t actually read much of. It looks rather good and well worth my half pound!

Multiverse #0 - Free sample issue of a new comic books magazine which will be out in November and it is apparently "Voted the best comics related magazine on Earth 616". Who am I to argue? It looks like it'll be quite good.


What I Didn't Got And Why

Knight and Squire #1 - I didn't get this because I an a massive fool who doesn't notice when something is in front of my eyes. Either that or it was sold out. As an English Comic Book Geek and an inveterate drunk, I apologise.**

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #5 - I realised I really don't give a fuck. I really dig Ryan Sook's art (he doesn't do the whole issue), I like 30s/40s pulp detectives, I like Batman, but I really can't bring myself to give a shit about this series anymore. Adieu Brucie!


And Finally...

Love and Rockets: The New Stories Vol. 3 - As Ash pointed out in the shop when I excitedly told him that this book had finally hit British shelves; "You know you're the only person who cares about that, right?". Anyway, I don't care that it looks like half of Gilbert's contribution is cat people fucking, it's going to be great. Also one of Xaime's stories deals with the very real, very depressing subject matter so I should really enjoy it, miserable c*nt that I am.


**
Thankfully the kind folks at Limited Edition Comix, let me have their last copy, a variant cover no less, and at cover price, which was nice (I don’t really agree with variant covers, but that's a post for another day). This looks like jolly good fun, what? After a skim through, Double Entendre and the Back and White Minstrels are my favourites, What are yours?

In your face Action Ash!

What I Got and Why 22/07/10

Valhallahan
Atlas #3 - The third-to-last issue of Atlas, which is being cancelled at #5 because readers are dumb and Marvel would rather publish 17 different fucking Deadpool series' a month than something good. Adios Atlas, apparently you weren’t "random" enough, people would rather read about a shitty red ninja making dated pop culture references. Marvel and I are no longer BFFs.

Batman Streets Of Gotham #14 - To my mind, the best of the core Batman titles at the moment, using Batman sparingly to great effect, each storyline focussing on a different denizen of New York's ugly sister. This series is essentially a continuation of Paul Dini's superlative run on Detective Comics
prior to the whole Batman RIP fiasco. Very happy to see that although Man Hunter has finished, we're still getting back up stories.

Prince of Power #3 - Loving this series. It's not great value for money, but it made me laugh aloud on a rush hour train to Kings Cross. I looked like a right twat.

Hellblazer #269 - I’m really enjoying Hellblazer at the moment. This story is kicking the shit out of John, and with any good Hellblazer story, John's loss is the reader's Gain.

Walking Dead #75 - TWD twice in one month? Don't mind if I damn well do! The full-colour back up strip is a doozy that pays off something from #7!

I was hoping to get CBGB #1 but I couldn't see it.

Muktuk Wolfsbreath: Hard-Boiled Shaman

Valhallahan
Before some kind citizen bought me the Vertigo Encyclopaedia (or as I call it, The Shopping List) my only method of tracking down these hidden gems were in the in house ads or "On the Ledge" columns in older books that I already had, or just trawling through the long boxes in shops that still have them. One advert screamed out at me: "Muktuk Wolfsbreath, Hard Boiled Shaman: a supernatural detective story set in the Siberian Wilderness".

"To the Longbox Valhallahan!"

After much rooting through the longboxes, of the comic shops of London Town, I managed to find... nothing! No trace of it anywhere, and thus I discovered that Muktuk Wolfsbreath is truly a bitch to find. Eventually, though I’m loathe to, I sought out the book shop wot lives in the internet and after about a year on a waiting list, the universe decided to spew up a few full sets at a reasonable price. I ordered and impatiently waited. The setting of the story is intentionally vague, but it’s safe to say it’s a long time gone. It’s reindeer skin and dog sled times.

Muktuk is a grizzled old Shaman, living in a yurt out in the Siberian wilderness, a sort of deer skinned John Constantine; a cross between Sam Spade, Doctor Strange and Grizzly Adams. Muktuk’s only real companion is his cranky (and generally slightly sozzled) animal spirit guide. Using his wits, general distrusting nature and all kinds of potions, lotions and hallucinogens, he gets himself in and out of some nasty business involving a mysterious ex-squeeze and some supernatural unpleasantness. Sensing a disturbance in the force, so to speak, Muktuk goes on the look out for the source of these nightmares, and bumps into the aforementioned old flame in a nearby settlement with a dark secret.

I like the representation of Magic in this story, it’s all psychotropics and talismans (talismen?) animal guides, and trips to the spirit world. The characterisations are a pleasure to read, it’s just a shame that there doesn’t seem to be more Muktuk available (though I’ll keep looking). The juxtaposition of the Film Noir genre elements and the tribal setting are a masterstroke that sit so well with each other that it makes you wonder why no one else has done it so successfully. To me it is much more effective than something like Northlanders, where I find the anachronistic elements detract from the story. The art is pitched at a great level, conveying the stark realities of living in the frozen countryside and the fantasism of Muktuk’s other world with equal aplomb (yeah, that’s right, juxtaposition and aplomb in the same paragraph. I’ve got a degree don’cha know).

Essentially what I’m saying is it's fucking good and it’s fucking weird. Catch it if you can!

Four and a half Shamonic Siberian Speedballs out of five.

**Update: I found another strip online. The hunt continues...

What I got and Why 20/5/10

Valhallahan
Avengers #1 - I'm giving Bendis' Avengers one last chance, but I have to say I've fallen out of love with his Writing.
American Vampire #3 - Still intrigued, but still not blown away.
Girl Comics #2 - Issue one was a trifle underwhelming, but I’m still hoping for some gems.
Zatanna #1 - I really enjoy Paul Dini's writing and he's proven adept at writing the character in Detective comics and the Animated series. Art looks like a toned down Wieringo to me.
Streets of Gotham #12 - I’m enjoying this series, and the Manhunter back-up is great.
Hellblazer #267 - With Peter Milligan onboard, Hellblazer seems to be returning to the glory days. Can't wait for Shade The Changing Man next issue.
The Walking Dead #72 - I shouldn’t need to explain why.
Atlas #1 - This is a wonderful series, in whatever form it's being printed in these days.