A Random Assortment of Reviews

BAKER STREET PECULIARS #1

"The Case of the Cockney Golem Chapter One: A Beast in Baker Street" by Roger Langridge (writer) and Andy Hirsch (artist)

This is a new series about three children (and one dog) who enter into the employ of someone claiming to be Sherlock Holmes in order to investigate the suddenly-animated statue of a lion which goes on a rampage through Baker Street. The series is inspired by some of the ephemera surrounding Sherlock Holmes. It's interesting, in fact, to note how minor figures in the Holmes canon like Mycroft Holmes, Irene Adler and Professor Moriarty loom much larger in works outside the canon. Likewise, Holmes' landlady Mrs. Hudson and the Baker Street children are the featured players in this series, while they were barely visible in the original stories. In fact, the Baker Street kids are more accurately the offspring of William Gillette's stage play, rather than the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

This story seems to involve magic (what with the animated stone lion) which is supposed to be a no-no in detective fiction, but it suits the light comedic tone. As an all-ages comic book, it has plenty of funny dialogue by Langridge. If I hadn't known from the outset that he didn't draw this book, I'd have looked at Hirsch's art and assumed it was Langridge using an inker; which is to say, Hirsch's art is perfect for Langridge's form.

Baker Street Peculiars is published by Boom! Studios: "Freelancers' least-favourite publisher!"

COPRA #14

"Wir" by Michael Fiffe (writer/artist).

I'm still slowly going through the series Copra an issue at a time and at this point, the series has begun to delve into character-driven tales of the various cast members, rather than addressing the ongoing plots. This issue features Wir, the armor-wearing teenage member of the team. For much of the issue it's a quiet narrative about the day-to-day doings of listless teenagers and their usual routines. Up until the closing pages where the usual tone of Copra reasserts itself, it's like a male version of This One Summer. A very nice change-of-pace for what is becoming a series - and creator - I intend to pay attention to.

Copra is published by Michael Fiffe: "You guys, self-publishing is still a thing."

G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO #227

"Cobra Nation Part 2" by Larry Hama (writer) and S.L. Gallant (artist)

Larry Hama is still kicking it old school on G.I. Joe with an endless series of running subplots and his usual cast of hundreds. This issue features Cobra Commander being forced into a new arrangement with his former ally Destro; the new Snake-Eyes learning how to shatter a sword using ninja magic (which is getting well outside of the level of ninja mysticism I like to see in this series) and the Joes welcome a new member Bombstrike (new to this continuity at least). It's nice to have another new character in the Joes' ranks as part of what made Hama's original run on the series in the 80s so enjoyable was the steady influx of new faces. The absence of new figures to sell has made it easier on Hama to tell the stories he wants to without having to shill for Hasbro, but I liked the way the commercial demands made him pivot from time-to-time; after all, Hama has stated repeatedly that he doesn't plan the series in advance but instead plots everything on the fly. New characters should always be part of that.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is published by IDW: "We're not an IP farm, we're an IP rest home."

THE MIGHTY ZODIAC #1

"Starfall Part 1: The Shadows Have Ears" by J. Torres (writer) and Corin Howell (artist).

Finally, we have the beginning of an epic story set in a world populated by anthropomorphic animal people. 12 of them are of the same race as creatures from the Chinese zodiac (snake, rooster, ox, etc) and are evidently being set up as the protagonists. It seems six stars have fallen from the sky and a dark power - represented by evil rabbits - are on the loose. A few of the heroes are introduced and it all has a lightness of touch similar to that of Kung Fu Panda. If that's your thing, this might be your thing too.

The Mighty Zodiac is published by Oni Press: "We publish more than just Scott Pilgrim, apparently."

"They've humbly described themselves as the wrath of God by way of loser assassins." Copra #1-3 review

The independant comic book series Copra began in 2012 and word of it began to spread around the internet on sites I frequented. Unfortunately, it had very scarce distribution and wasn't available from my local store, nor on the internet shops I utilized. At last, it is now on Comixology and I've begun to slowly read through (currently through #3).

And why should this series interest me so much? I hadn't read anything of writer/artist Michael Fiffe's work before. Quite simply, because it is an ode - an homage - or, if you like, fan fiction - of John Ostrander's 1980s series Suicide Squad.

Although DC Comics is about to launch a Suicide Squad motion picture and have been printing a Suicide Squad comic since the launch of their "New 52," these projects don't have much to do with the beloved Ostrander series. In truth, DC hasn't seemed particularly interested in the series over the years. The Suicide Squad team have appeared around DC almost non-stop since Ostrander's version debuted in 1986. However, since the series ended in 1992, Ostrander himself was only invited back to use the concept again on a handful of occasions and the efforts at reprinting the series in trade paperbacks have been either stalled or cancelled until recently.

Michael Fiffe's Copra, then, is the true inheritor of Ostrander's tales, rather than the in-name-only series currently being printed. Copra is unashamed and unapologetic of its pilfering from Ostrander's work. The mercenaries of Copra include a man with laser-wielding powers who looks a lot like Doctor Light; a fellow from another dimension wears a distortion vest and hairstyle very much like Shade the Changing Man; there's a sharpshooter in red and silver named Lloyd, not unlike Floyd Lawton, Deadshot; there's an amnesiac warrior woman ala Duchess and the squad is led by a heavyset black woman whose assistant is named Flo (deep cuts like Flo & Duchess demonstrate Fiffe has taken the time to absorb the Ostrander run; his Flo even seems to have unrequited feelings for his Bronze Tiger).

Suicide Squad is not the only comic book referenced in Copra; look-alikes of Marvel's Doctor Strange and Clea guest star in issues #2-3. How does Fiffe get away with it? Well, his copyright identifies Copra as a work of parody so I guess he's safe. But while the internet commenters brought up this series because they thought it was neat to see a Suicide Squad homage, that alone wouldn't secure interest beyond one issue. What makes Copra worth checking out regardless of one's interest in the Ostrander Suicide Squad is Fiffe's own storytelling skills. Here's a guy doing what almost no one in today's mainstream super hero comics can achieve - great fight choreography!

Check out the above page which depicts a killer wielding a flamethrower as he's shot in the first panel. The Copra members continue to act in the background, while the flamethrower explodes. It's simple action--> reaction stuff, but comics have become so unduly obsessed with appearing like motion picture storyboards that these old tricks look startling and new. It is, as Fiffe remarks in the first issue, a series which "taps into the spirit of immediacy, the raw inspired nature of entertainment. Exhuberant, direct, fun." Hear, hear! The mainstream is quickly forgetting everything Kirby, Eisner, Ditko and Wood pioneered; thank goodness the independants are still having fun!

If you liked Ostrander's Suicide Squad, then this is the follow-up project you always wished for. If you haven't, then why not approach Copra as something new, something fun, something to remind you that yeah, this is comics.