Ed Liu
04-01-2003, 09:58 AM
Howdy,
Every now and then, a comic comes along that changes things. Sometimes, it's a book that fundamentally alters the way the medium is used. Sometimes, the book will attempt the same techniques used before in a larger scale than has ever been attempted before. Sometimes, it's just a simple concept taken to its logical conclusion. Someties, it's storytelling so radically different and good that it brings tears to your eyes. Sometimes, once in a very, very rare while, a comic will manage to do all of the above and more, shattering the very concept of a "comic book" and what it is capable of doing.
High Roads (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1401200338/qid%3D1049206967/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/104-4796423-0202355) is not one of those comic books.
What it is, though, is 224 pages of insane, inspired, madcap, lunatic, stupid fun -- a glorious mess of a comic book that looks like what you get if you mix equal parts of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Frank Miller's Daredevil comics, and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, add a dash of The Dirty Dozen for atmosphere, toss into a blender, and hit "puree." How else can you describe a book involving a British midget Hitler impersonator, a former Kamikaze pilot for hire, Hitler's former mistress, and the dimmest American G.I. that ever existed, all scrambling at the end of World War II to steal a priceless necklace from several truckloads of Nazis and Hitler's top-secret, bare-chested elite ninja squad? All they really needed was a talking gorilla and you'd have your ultimate comic book pizza combo. What's not to like?
The book is determined not to take itself (or, for that matter, anything else) seriously. In addition to the sheer madness of the central concept, Scott Lobdell manages to get in a healthy dose of chuckles and great one-liners from the situation. The storytelling is greatly assisted by some truly amazing artwork by Leinil Francis Yu, whose attention to detail shines through in every panel and is really showcased in some eye-popping two-page spreads liberally sprinkled throughout the comic.
$14.95 list price, $10.47 if you buy through the link above. If we're lucky, the book will get optioned and they'll make a really good bad movie out of it, and you can say you knew about it before it was a hit. If we're unlucky, they'll make a really bad bad movie out of it, but you'll feel better just buying the book now for the price of the movie ticket and stuff from the snack bar. Either way, you win!
Bleed later. Bomb now.
-- Ed/Ace
Every now and then, a comic comes along that changes things. Sometimes, it's a book that fundamentally alters the way the medium is used. Sometimes, the book will attempt the same techniques used before in a larger scale than has ever been attempted before. Sometimes, it's just a simple concept taken to its logical conclusion. Someties, it's storytelling so radically different and good that it brings tears to your eyes. Sometimes, once in a very, very rare while, a comic will manage to do all of the above and more, shattering the very concept of a "comic book" and what it is capable of doing.
High Roads (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1401200338/qid%3D1049206967/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/104-4796423-0202355) is not one of those comic books.
What it is, though, is 224 pages of insane, inspired, madcap, lunatic, stupid fun -- a glorious mess of a comic book that looks like what you get if you mix equal parts of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Frank Miller's Daredevil comics, and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, add a dash of The Dirty Dozen for atmosphere, toss into a blender, and hit "puree." How else can you describe a book involving a British midget Hitler impersonator, a former Kamikaze pilot for hire, Hitler's former mistress, and the dimmest American G.I. that ever existed, all scrambling at the end of World War II to steal a priceless necklace from several truckloads of Nazis and Hitler's top-secret, bare-chested elite ninja squad? All they really needed was a talking gorilla and you'd have your ultimate comic book pizza combo. What's not to like?
The book is determined not to take itself (or, for that matter, anything else) seriously. In addition to the sheer madness of the central concept, Scott Lobdell manages to get in a healthy dose of chuckles and great one-liners from the situation. The storytelling is greatly assisted by some truly amazing artwork by Leinil Francis Yu, whose attention to detail shines through in every panel and is really showcased in some eye-popping two-page spreads liberally sprinkled throughout the comic.
$14.95 list price, $10.47 if you buy through the link above. If we're lucky, the book will get optioned and they'll make a really good bad movie out of it, and you can say you knew about it before it was a hit. If we're unlucky, they'll make a really bad bad movie out of it, but you'll feel better just buying the book now for the price of the movie ticket and stuff from the snack bar. Either way, you win!
Bleed later. Bomb now.
-- Ed/Ace