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Three reviews this week!  And we start with guest-reviewer and super Ghost Whisperer Fan Extraordinaire Sally Head![1]

Let’s get to it. 

Ghost Whisperer

Issue 1

Ghost Whisperer is a television show about a sexy woman who has the amazing ability to not only see but to actually talk to ghosts.  In the show, Jennifer Love Hewitt spends each week confronting and convincing confused and often angry ghosts to “cross over into the light,” whatever that means.  Most of the episodes take the form of a mystery with Hewitt struggling more to figure out what the various disgruntled ghosts want rather than actively battling the forces of darkness, so that each show tends to end on a note of forgiveness, hope, and reconciliation rather than on a note of triumph over evil.

This first issue seemed like a chick-comic to me, and since I am a chick, I have to say that it was a light, quick, quirky read.  The story line followed the format of the show, i.e. a ghost came back to haunt a group of mortals until our heroine, the Ghost Whisperer, could convince her to move on.  But I had trouble with some of the story’s execution.  There were some scenes that were a little difficult to follow and others seemed overly convenient.  The hard-to-follow scenes were the worst.  My husband told me to tell you that this was probably because the script was laid out as a screenplay, with each panel representing a television shot, rather than as a genuine piece of sequential art.  Whatever.  In practice, what happened was that I couldn’t always figure out what the characters were doing.  Motions and cause-and-effect were hard to discern in several places. (Editor’s Note: She’s not kidding.  We had a whole series of “Huh?”-type moments in my house Wednesday night, followed inevitably by Sally leaning over to ask me to decipher the action.)

On the lighter side, like I said, the book was a quick and easy read.  I don’t read many comics, but this one was enjoyable because of all the twists and turns in the plot and because the ending left me wanting to come back next issue to see what happens!  That was good.  And I can’t wait!

Ahh... The life of the Ghost Whisperer, her job is never done.

Super Real Graphics Presents

Gnome

Gnome is a new original graphic novel from Super Real Graphics, the company’s first non-Super Real production and the first thing that’s not essentially a wholly conceived brainchild of SR creative guru Jason Martin.  The story is a weirdly cool suburban Hero’s Journey told in a thoroughly entertaining tongue-in-cheek style.  Our hero, Andy, inherits a house from his old, dead uncle Lewis—the arch-wizard.  Andy finds love, danger, and magical garden gnomes, and then, well, wackiness ensues.

I liked the writing in this story because it’s fast-paced without feeling rushed.  David Dwonch has a lot to get done in sixty-four pages, but he pulls it together nicely, keeping it moving without hurry.  And if there are a few things that seem overly convenient, then at least Dwonch has the grace to acknowledge that and indeed to work with it.  The storytelling is ironic and knowing throughout, with David almost coming through the fourth wall at one point.  My only criticism of the book, really, is that I think I liked the beginning better than the ending, especially since my favorite character, the old arch-wizard, is killed right up front.  I’d have liked to see him make a reappearance.

The art here absolutely works for the story.  Simple style, simple colors, cartoony... it’s exactly what you’d want and expect for a light-hearted urban fantasy.  David’s perspective and anatomy are always spot-on, but that doesn’t mean that he gets carried away with it all.  Honestly, I’d like to see more of this kind of thing in comics, but it seems like a balance—simple yet realistic—that a lot of guys can’t make work.  Too often we get either overly cartoony (“That’s my style, man”—Argh!) stuff that comes out as a straight-up mess.  That doesn’t happen here, and in fact, without the success of the art, I think the whole point of the book would have been completely lost.

There’s not a whole lot left to say.  At $6.99, GNOME is a lot of story at a reasonable price.  I recommend it for those days when work sucks, and/or you just need a break.  It’ll give you that for sure.

Gene Simmons

Zipper #5

Yo!  I thought I’d worked myself way ahead of the Zipper production curve but then I saw Issue #4 in my local shop last week!  So here we are, up to issue 5, and I feel bad because this review isn’t gonna be out in time for retailers to see it and make their ordering decisions.  I suppose with a fifth issue, that’s not that big of a deal, but with the Advanced Looks, I think providing some retailer information is part of the service, especially here where the focus is on indies.  So I goofed, and if that means you didn’t order this thing up front... well, that would really suck for all parties.

But I digress.

Issue #5 of Zipper brings the first story arc of this series to a close in fine fashion.  We finally see my man Zee whup some serious ass.  No one runs, no one backs done, and the result is pure, bloody carnage of the kind that only an independent publisher will allow into print.  That it starts in a police station and then takes in nearly a whole city block is just a fun little extra.  I dug it the most, both because it was well illustrated and because it paid off a working plot thread a lot faster than I’d thought possible.  But if there’s one thing that Zipper has proven to be, it’s fast-paced.  Writer Tom Waltz has really gone above and beyond the call to keep the story moving, especially given that this is a new series.  But in this issue, really for the first time, not much happens.  I mean, we tie up the arc in thundering fashion, but little or nothing new is introduced, and there’s not a lot of character development.  Instead, Tom wisely lets Casey Maloney and the art team take full control of center stage.    The result is fantastic, in the finest pulp sci fi/superhero fashion.  It’s the kind of thing we’ve been waiting for, the kind of thing that’s only possible because a solid foundation of storytelling has been laid well in advance.

I’ve been a petty big advocate of Zipper in this column and for good reason.  The book is terrific!  Unfortunately, these days being good is not always enough.  You also need to get noticed, especially when you’re selling an original made-from-scratch concept.  Original can be a tough sell in a crowded marketplace.  But folks, in a sea of lame-ass rip-offs, hack-jobs, and endless product repackaging, Zipper is both unique and well-done.  These guys deliver every month.  Check it out!  You’ll be glad you did.

Friday Mad Science

New Season, New Sport

Spring is here, and since I don’t live in Colorado, Utah, or Vermont, that means that Ski Season is now officially over.  Sally and I hit the slopes for the last time two weeks ago, and although it was a slushy mess, we got our lift tickets for free and had a Hell of a good time.  But that’s all over now that the weather’s finally getting warm—Thank God!—which means that it’s time for something new.

Hello Mountain Biking Season!

Y’know, the great thing about biking is that you can do it pretty much anywhere.  Granted, it’s better when you’ve got the time to throw your bikes in the rack and head out to a real trail, but even a casual ride around the neighborhood beats the Hell out almost anything if the weather is nice.  I went out for my first real ride last weekend, and it was just spectacular, even though I barely got off-road at all.  At least I got a chance to feel the wind in my hair.  And in theory, biking ought to be a fairly cheap hobby.  I mean, way cheaper than skiing anyway.  Right? 

Heh.  If you’ve been to the bike shop lately, then you already know that that’s anything but true.  The problem is that any time a sport starts to get popular, it seems like companies rush out with tons and tons of uppity Upper Class gear that’s, well, geared towards the millions of well-to-do Yuppies out there.  And while that means that there are now a ton of cool, innovative products on the market, it also means that the cost of participation in the sport has skyrocketed.  And if you want to try out the coolest, newest stuff... forgetaboutit!

*sigh*

Sadly, my lust for new bike stuff has lately reached a fever pitch.  Never mind all the gloves, pants, shirts, jackets, glasses, and saddles, I want a full-on city/hybrid with a carbon-filament frame!  Seriously, I’ve come to realize that I could drop three grand a day every day for a week and still come out wanting stuff at the end of it all.  All of which leads to a question:

What’s a guy got to do to start reviewing bike stuff?

Come Fill Your Glasses Fellows, and Stand Up in a Row...

I got my invitation to the local Connecticut chapter of West Point’s alumni association’s Founder’s Day dinner, and WOW!  I mean, yes, I am aware that it’s Fairfield County, that we’re all West Pointers, and that that presumably means that we’re supposed to be so ridiculously rich that we can afford to drop $220 on a bland institutional meal of salmon and asparagus for the privilege of listening to some grey-beard tell us all how wonderfully our people are doing in Iraq.  As if I can’t read the newspapers[2].  And, y’know, in my own defense, maybe I could afford to do that—though I doubt many still-serving soldiers could.  But what I cannot understand is this: who on Earth is going to want to?  Or, to put it another way, at what point did West Point start teaching its graduates the glories of the pursuit of the almighty dollar?  As I remember, we are not now, nor have we ever been, an institution of money.  We are an institution of service.  And at least for me, it’d be nice to have a Founder’s Day event that reflects that.

Don’t get me wrong.  There’s nothing wrong with working hard and being fairly compensated for your labors.  I have a family to support, too.  But why, as a group from the nation’s Military Academy, do we have to be so fucking upscale about our get-togethers?  Can’t we just have a barbeque and a few beers?  It’s fucking Spring after all, and the good Lord knows that that’s what our troops would want—if there were any in Connecticut to give their opinions on the matter.

Eh...  As if any of my fellow alumni are reading this.  Most of those bastards are no doubt too busy staring in the mirror, marveling at their own magnificence in their off-hours to actually read anything.

Close it up

This is kind of a short column, but it’s late, and I’m tired.  It’s been a busy week.  Have a good weekend and enjoy the sun—if you get any.  If not, well, buy an umbrella.

Until next week, stay safe!

***

Dan Head is a utilities analyst and freelance writer.  You can learn more about him and his work on his ComicSpace Page or by visiting the Friday Mad Science forum at AwesomeStormJustice.com.

To get your comic reviewed here, email Dan at dan@paperbackreader.com.