What say you, dear readers; are you up for another round of me blathering on about the random comics I’ve been tearing through? If so, then grab a hold of that parachute and try not fall to your death while I present my latest conquests in a, hopefully, death-defyingly funny manner. Here we go:

Pride of Baghdad | Brian K. Vaughan & Niko Henrichon

One word: Pretty.

Add another: Meaningful.

And a last goodbye: Mesmerizing.

This is a graphic novel written by Vaughan (”Y: The Last Man”) and illustrated by Henrichon. It’s based upon a true story about a pride of lions that escaped the zoo in Baghdad during the (most recent) invasion. I found the art to be very nicely done. It was able to convey both beauty and the dark contrast of war with a relaxed ease that made it a joy to purvey and read the novel. Vaughan is quickly becoming a big favourite of mine and you can really tell that he’s a deft hand by now; every word and every panel manages to convey a good story that’s layered as deep as you want it to be. Want a good tale about lions talking to other animals? You got it. Want a comment on the war in Irag, or on deep human themes? Look no further; ‘Pride of Baghdad’ should serve all your needs.

‘Haunted’ & ‘Setting Sun’ | John Constantine | Warren Ellis & Various Artists

I don’t know what, but something went terribly wrong when Warren Ellis was writing ‘John Constantine’. For some reason he only got to put out to tpb’s before he called it quits, which I find highly peculiar because you’d think that this particular character and Ellis should be like a match made in… well, saying ‘ heaven’ seems inappropriate considering the parties involved, so I’ll settle for ‘hell’. However, I bought the two tpb’s he did put out, and I swallowed them both with adequate appetite. ‘Setting Sun’ is a collection of different Constantine stories done by different artists, and ‘Haunted’ is a long story arc about a former girlfriend of the anti-hero who’s found butchered in a derelict house. I thought ‘Setting Sun’ was by far the inferior book of the two, but that’s mostly because I don’t normally really care for these short-stories in comic format. I liked Ellis’ ‘Fell’, but that was somehow different from the ones in ‘Setting Sun’… ‘Haunted’, on the other hand, was quite good indeed if you don’t pay much attention to its worn-out ending. But both were worth their money, though I’d probably only ‘Haunted’ if I got to do it over again.

(I can’t comment on how these compare to other authors work on the series as I’ve never read any other Constantine stories. Sorry ’bout that.)

‘Legends in Exile’ | Fables Vol. 1 | Willingham & Medina

Wow, did I ever have high hopes for this one. And wow, did I ever get disappointed.

‘Fables’ is the story about fairy tale creatures living amongst an unknowing human population after they were forced ‘in exile’ by some dark lord. This first volume introduces a lot Disney characters (and some non-Disney too, of course) all the while we’re supposed to be interested in who killed Snow White’s sister, ‘Red’ (who sadly did not have a scarlet hood). I guess it was kinda entertaining to watch the fairy tales quibble over normal themes for a change, but it was under no circumstances interesting and from half-way on out I found the mundane ‘whodunit’ mystery to be quite annoying. I had hoped this was going to be interesting in the way Gaiman made his ‘Gods among us’ be in ‘American Gods’, but ‘Fables’ appears to be much too fluffy, both narrative and art wise, for my tastes, and I was glad to be done with it.

I do wonder though, seeing as so many is raving about this series, if things get better and it was just this first volume that got stuck in mediocre-land? It doesn’t really matter - I won’t be going back to this - but it’d be nice to know.

‘Those Left Behind’ | Serenity Vol. 1 | Whedon, Matthews & Conrad

Say one thing for that Whedon guy, say that he knows how to make some really hefty one-liners. Because if there is one thing this three part volume is, it is fun, and it reminded me strongly of how ‘Firefly’ was, which I imagine is mainly why it was written in the first place. ‘Those Left Behind’ doesn’t bring anything new to the table, but it plays nicely with old toys and intrigues, and I’m sure it would’ve made a nice episode if it was ever made (FOX be damned, I say!).

‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’ Vol. 1 & 2 | Alan Moore & Kevin O’Neill

Having only seen the nearly scandal of a movie version (which only saving grace was Sean Connery, but somehow they managed to over-use him as well!), I was over mildly interested to see what I’d make of the comic. It is a superhero comic, a genre I don’t appreciate much, but it’s written by Alan Moore so I figured it didn’t count, and right I was! This was seriously good stuff. Especially so if you look past the beginning issues of volume 1 where a lot of time was spent assembling the league. The second volume was some really good shit, and I can see why it was into a film. It’s got an epic tale and its characters are fascinatingly depicted. My favourite was of course Edward Hyde, who was so much better in this comic then anywhere else that it was sometimes hard to believe. But the best part of this series is of course the blow Moore delivers every time his characters interact. You’re never quite sure whether Cpt. Nemo will turn on all of them, or if Hyde will rape a share or just pet it all gentle-like.

My only counterargument regarding this series is the same one I have for all these kinds of stories; they’re shallow. Yes, Alan Moore does have some important issues up in the light from time to time, but in the end it does end feeling a cake with a little cream than you’d originally thought. Still, this one is highly recommended. You should read it.

‘The Guardian of the Temple’ | Rex Mundi Vol. 1 | Nelson & EricJ

I was recommended this one while I buying comics I’d actually heard of before, and I thought it looked cool with it’s catchy name and Gothic style. Plus, you know, the guy on the cover looked a bit mafia-like, so I that was a done deal right there. However, when I sat down to read it I quickly discovered that this was far from my favourite kind of poison. Sure, it was readable, and I wouldn’t be against finishing it if I’d had all the other volumes at hand, but ‘Da Vinci’-like mysteries just doesn’t appeal to me in the same manner that they seem to do to the Average Joe (’Rex Mundi’ actually pre-dates Dan Brown’s best-seller). I just don’t find them much interesting. That being said, I thought the art was good and the whole book seemed very well worked through. Quality is the word, methinks, even thought it wasn’t for me.

( My favourite part was sadly the times the Inquisition turned up. And yes, nobody did ever expect them to here, either…)

‘Wolves at the Walls’ I&II | Buffy Season 8, Part 12-13 | Drew Goddard & Jeanty

Yay! Goddard! Huzzah!

Now, I know I said that ‘Buffy’ hadn’t made me squeal just as much as ‘Angel: After the Fall’ has so far, but that all changed when ‘Cloverfield’-writer Drew Goddard entered the arena. These two issues has been by far my favourites of the current run, even thought nr. 13 had some minor problems that weren’t there in the twelfth. Goddard seems to be made of awesome (he writes Xander better than anyone, which is funny ’cause the only buffysode he ever wrote - ‘Conversations With Dead People’, which is totally awesome by the way - was totally Xander-free. Yes, I checked) and Jeanty is growing on me by every issue. Too bad that the next arc isn’t done by him, but I’ll actually be glad to see him back. Keep the good stuff a-coming, I say!

(Note to nerdy self: I’m a little bit worried about the amount of stomping creatures in Goddard’s latest work…)

‘The First Hundred Days’ | Ex Machina Vol. 1 | Vaughan & Harris

More Vaughan you say? Surely this is yay-worthy material?

You’d think so, wouldn’t you. I certainly did, and that was why I picked it up in the first place. So f*cking what if it’s a superhero comic; it’s not like it’s Marvel, and it’s written by a guy who does all sorts of cool things like, ‘Lost’, ‘Buffy Season 8′ et cetera. It has even got a cool name!

Yup, it looked good on paper, and I’ll be first to tell you that it is far from bad… It’s just completely, up-me-arsehole uninteresting. ‘Ex Machina’ is about the Earth’s only superhero - Mr. Hundred - who has the ability to communicate with machines. He’s fought crime for a time, but found that at his best he’s only maintaining the status quo. His only chance to do greater good is to make a run for office and cast of his superhero persona ‘The Great Machine’. This volume tells us of his first days as mayor of New York.

So, politics and superheroes in one comic book, you say? Sorta like the freak child of ‘West Wing’ and ‘Heroes’? Yup, but trust me when I say that you won’t get much out of this. It’s just boring politics sprinkled a boring main character who may or may not become a bad guy in the future some time if we’re really really really unlucky but it’s not going to happen oh yes it’s going to happen it will happen soon, oh may God taxes are boring and who cares about art can’t we just have the mayor killed now please oh pretty please?

Angel: After the Fall | 5-6 | Lynch, Whedon & Urru

Mhm… Good stuff indeed. Especially issue 5, which was probably the best one since the two first ones. No comic I’m currently reading is as funny, action-packed and ceaselessly surprising as ‘Angel’, and I’m really digging everything about it. Urru is maybe together with McKean and Templesmith one of my favourite artists at the moment, and I think he captures the feel of the characters nearly every time he draws them, whereas Jeanty often misses when he’s doing Buffy (which is kind of a fatal flaw if you ask me). Issue 6 was probably my least favourite of the ones we’ve seen so far, but that has to do with it being divided into smaller tales in an already much too short comic book. Now they only served as unsatisfactory tasters, and that’s thoroughly annoying.

In Other Comical Events…

I’m still reading and enjoying Alan Moore’s ‘Watchmen’. Will finish that sometime this month (yes, I know said that last month, but this time I really mean it). Joe Hill’s ‘Locke & Key’ continues to be my second-favourite comic that I’m following regularly, with ‘Angel’ being the the first. I’m not including the last two issues of ‘Locke&Key’ here because I want to do a more thorough write-up of the entire run when it’s done, which should be long since we’re already half-way through.

I don’t know when the next ‘Galore’ will be, but I’d be surprised if you don’t see one by the end of the month/start of May. I actually do have a lot of different comics to get through, and should also be able to lay my hands on the entire run of ‘Y: The Last Man’ in a couple of weeks.

That was all for this time. This was Amras ‘Comic Genius’ Elensar, signing off…