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PIPELINE COMMENTARY AND REVIEW #19
12 October 1997
by Augie De Blieck Jr.
http://www.nic.com/~augie/pipeline
It's that time again - mid-terms! Alas, it doesn't leave me with too much
time to review stuff this week, but I wanted this to be a weekly column,
darnit, and so it shall be. Forgive me this short column this week.
SIN CITY: FAMILY VALUES finally came out this week, and it's a damned good
one. It's tough to describe it, other than to say it's brilliantly-paced,
excellently plotted, and done beautifully. I wasn't completely taken
with every panel of artwork this time, but I think that has something more to
do, in general, with having seen the style for so long now. Remember when
Sin City first came out? Remember how awe-inspiring and beautiful each panel
looked? It played games with your mind. It was like looking at a negative,
sorta. Well, I've gotten used to it now, so it's not as awe-inspiring in and
of itself. Still, there are same amazing shots, such as the double-page
spread of the house in the last quarter of the book. I'm also quite happy
that Frank Miller didn't just use this as a good excuse to bash the
politically conservative in this country. There's an element of it in here,
to be sure, but even I can see that this is just a story and it will take the
most extreme of examples. Besides, this is Sin City. It fits in all too
well.
Also, I think it important to support the format. I'm glad we didn't have to
wait 5 months to finish the story, shelling at $3 per. Getting the story in
one big chuck from the get-go was very nice to see, and it's a format I think
can work in this industry. I hope to see more like it in the future.
Support it the same way you would Marvel's Essentials line.
BABYLON 5 is back with the last four episodes of season four now. "Between
the Darkness and the Light" is drop-dead amazing. It only hurts that I have
to wait another week to see the next new episode. ARGH!
From the TANGENT UNIVERSE, I can easily recommend THE FLASH for its
light-hearted Wile E.-like humor and easy to look at art (Gary Frank) and THE
JOKER for it's great story on all levels (Karl Kesel). I hope we get to see
more of this universe.
Speaking of which, I finally got to see - a week later - the World's Finest
cartoon. WOW I loved every minute of it.
ASTRO CITY is beautiful. Someone over on USENET recently asked whether
readers prefer single-issue stories to multiple-issue stories. And while I
still think the correct answer is "Whatever best fits the story which needs
to be told," I have to admit to a certain fondness for single-issue stories.
There's something about the completeness and the structure and the impact of
a total tale read in one sitting. Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson deliver
with this one in a BIG way, answering part of the question, "Why do the
villains do it?"
Warren Ellis is back with STORMWATCH #1 and TRANSMETROPOLITAN #4. Both are
darn good, although the latter shouldn't be read by the little kiddies.
Great stories. John Ostrander and Tim Truman combine for THE KENTS #5,
beginning the next story arc of the mini-series. This is still an excellent
series. James Robinson delivers a crucial part of the story arc in the
STARMAN ANNUAL #2, and it's a worthy read.
I've got a test to go study for and a paper to write. Excuse me. I'll see
ya in a week.
-Augie
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