The Week of July 26th- August 1st, 2009

The Stuff of Legend #1

This is an interesting book. The art is terrific, absorbing stuff. The story has a little boy being abducted by The Bogeyman. The little boy's toys come to life and set out to rescue him. Obviously this is a lot like the Pixar animated film Toy Story...but it's a lot darker. When the toys enter The Bogeyman's realm they all become real. The toy soldier is a real soldier. The teddy bear is now a ferocious, full size bear. The story is terrific but it's the artwork that makes it work. The colors are muted to let the pencils shine. It's a very cool piece of work even though it's pretty much been done before. **1/2

Detective Comics #855

This is part two of the “Batgirl/Question” storyline. It features two stories, both written by Greg Rucka. The first story, the “Batgirl” one, is drawn by J.H. Williams the 3^rd. The art by Williams is some of the greatest, most beautiful artwork I have ever seen. It's jaw-droppingly insane. The problem is the writing. The story is the same-old shit. Batgirl fights a white-dressed, goth girl that thinks she's Alice from Alice in Wonderland. Nothing exactly new there. The art makes up for it, though. It's complex and in fragments all over the page. It's dark and colorful. It's vibrant and alive. Comic books have not yet reached the stratosphere of “art.” Their pages don't hang in museums...yet realistically it's only time before the real world pays attention. The art in this book is phenomenal stuff. The back-up, featuring the female detective The Question...is fairly dull, though. And the art isn't even half as good. **1/2