| This
month my plan was to review either The Amazing Joy Buzzards
Volume 1 or Street Angel: Princess of Poverty...
but, unable to decide which to shout out first, I had to do
both. So help me, I HAD TO. First, though, a WARNING:
If you get all bent out of shape with even the slightest hint
of a spoiler, why are you reading a review? I mean, some plot
points and whatnot will be, by necessity, described. There
are no real spoilers (like who's Luke's father or what soylent
green really is), but, like, you'll be slightly familar with
the stories if you read this pseudo-review, you know? Look,
if you want a quick sound bite: both books are REALLY FUCKING
GOOD. That's the bottom line to the babbling that follows.
 I'll
start with the one that I read first, The Amazing Joy
Buzzards Vol. 1 from Image Comics. This handsomely packaged
trade paperback collects issues 1 though 4 of Mark
Andrew Smith and Dan Hipp's fun as all hell comedy/adventure/rock
'n roll comic. That in and of itself would be enough, but
this collection also contains extra story pages (like a fun
intro and an all new ending), tons of pinups by artists like
Jim Mahfood
and Chris Fason, as well as Street Angel's Jim Rugg
(more on his book later), and some sketchbook goodness.
It's what a trade paperback should be by my estimation: a
jam packed SPECIAL EDITION of the comic. It's like a great,
two disc DVD set or something.
The band consists of Biff (pretty boy lead singer), Stevo
(strong, silent bassist who speaks in pictograms), and the
brains of the group (obvious due to his wearing glasses),
Gabe, on drums. They also have a mysterious manager named
Dalton who kind of reminds me of a mustachioed Timothy Dalton
(coincidence?). The whole thing's bursting with story, following
the adventures of the world's greatest rock band as they make
the ladies swoon, get turned into Gila monsters by vengeful
pink robots, fight angry angels and robot vampires, fend off
zombie attacks, and more! Oh, did I mention their magical
Mexican wrestler bodyguard who loves donuts named El Campeon?
The stories seem random at first, but there is an underlying
plot. Smith does a good job of capturing the fun of old Saturday
morning cartoons with some manic Beatles energy, post modern
humor, and lots of good action. Hipp's cartoony yet detailed
art brings it all to life pretty clearly and with some serious
skills. Early on it might be a bit difficult to grasp everything
at first read, but, luckily these stories are fun to re-read.
Both the writing and the illustrations mature a bit as the
book goes on, as you see Smith and Hip honing their chops.
It's all really good, alternative comics-type stuff that I
can't recommend enough.
 Also
vying for my comics love is a collection is a trade paperback
collection containing issues one through five of Jim Rugg
and Brian Maruca's Street Angel from Slave Labor
Graphics. This book has a similar anything can happen, fun
vibe found in The Amazing Joy Buzzards, but there's
a bit more darkness to it. The titular "Street Angel"
is actually 13-year-old waif Jesse Sanchez, a homeless skateboarding
martial artist who protects her ghetto home from rampant ninjas,
Incan gods, mad scientists, Satan worshippers, and the like.
She has a one armed, no legged friend called The Bald Eagle
(who may have lost his limbs to land sharks), but no parents
or home, which adds a sad undercurrent. Each issue has a totally
different overall tone, which makes things really unpredictable.
The first one is about a mad geologist, while two has pirates,
an Incan god, and an Irish astronaut with a rocket pack and
an Australian accent. The whole while, Street Angel kicks
much ass and cops tons of attitude.
Things get a little... odd (in a different way) with the third
issue, though. It still has great action and fun, but it's
much creepier. The villains of the story, a bunch of Satan
worshippers, brutally murder a priest and attempt to sacrifice
an already beat up Street Angel to their dark lord. Luckily,
Street Angel gets some Heavenly help. The art's consistently
solid and clear while the writing's spot on, but there is
a bit of shock in some of the scarier, darker aspects of the
adventure.
The remaining two tales are as varied in style and feel with
a very sober story concerning Street Angel's homelessness,
and another where she teams up with former blaxploitation
superhero named Afrodisiac to take on some rednecks. Both
are surprising and further illustrate how wide open this book
can be.
Like The Amazing Joy Buzzards collection, this Street
Angel trade is packed with extras, including three Street
Angel short stories, sketchbook, pinups by some greats like
Farel Dalrymple and that Mahfood guy again, and some fun character
stats. It also comes in a handy "digest" size (smaller
dimensions than a regular comic book) that I quite like.
If you don't dig comics because overly muscular men and overly
busty women in garish tights not your thing or if you just
like off-the-wall ideas, fun art, and unpredictable stories,
then check out The Amazing Joy Buzzards Volume 1
and Street Angel: Princess of Poverty. ... No, I
wasn't bribed to write this. I really love both these books.
I mean, I'm not above accepting money for fluff job, gushing
reviews, but, in this case, it's completely honest. Maybe
I kinda wish someone had offered me money, but... well, no
one did. Dammit. |
