otaku central
Uncanny X-MEN: Chris Claremont & Jim Lee
Manga is the all-purpose Japanese term for comic books. And such is why this page is dedicated to manga, both American and Japanese in style.
First among the best is Sanctuary (Shogakukan/Viz) by Sho Fumimura and Ryoichi Ikegami, an amazing story of lasting friendship and how that seemingly fragile bond can transcend degradation, brutality, violence, and politics. Akira Hojo and Chiaki Asami lost their childhood in the killing fields of Cambodia. They survived because they learned how to make sacrifices and tough decisions by applying "rock, paper, scissors."
Now, as young men, they are using the paths open to them – yakuza financing and political acumen -- to wrest the government from the hands of the fossils in power. They want to create a "new Japan," one in which the people live. The story is visually stunning and emotionally stirring.
One of my all-time favorite anime is Neon Genesis Evangelion -- as if you couldn't figure that out on your own -- so I guess it follows that Neon Genesis Evangelion (Kadokawa/Viz) by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto would be one of my favorites as well. Sadamoto and anime director Hideaki Anno co-developed the Evangelion story. They had previously worked together on Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water.
While the Eva anime is most definitely the artistic and social statement of Anno, the Eva manga is all Sadamoto. His divergent interpretation of the same story gives new life to the Eva myth. Those of you who know the anime will be amazed at the differences in Shinji (he got nad), Misato, Asuka, and Kaji. Brilliant. Man! But do I love Evangelion.
Neil Gaiman's Sandman (DC/Vertigo) is smart, audacious, and stirring.The artwork is startlingly different from most comic book art. Sometimes it’s rough and too detailed; at other times it’s neat, almost childish, with empty backgrounds. It’s the kind of comic book art that probably could not stand alone, but when coupled with Sandman, it works, oh, it so works.
Dream moves the story -- even when he is but a shadowy figure in the background. Dream is so well-created, so well-thought out that you begin to think of him as the figure of nether stuff that he is purported to be. Because Dream is so incredible an entity, I cannot stomach "The Dreaming" without him.
My favorite set of stories is "Brief Lives," when Dream and his little sister, Delight/Delirium, go in search of their brother, Destruction. Contained within its depths is the very essence of the Sandman series -- because of delirium and delight, Dream seeks destruction. I blame Desire and Lyta!
Ladies and gentlemen, I guarantee that you will greatly admire Dream and adore Death, if you don't fall in love with both – just a little.
A real gem is the monumental series called The Black Dragon (Marvel) by Chris Claremont and John Bolton. It's set in Twelfth century Britain at the lawless hour – after the death of Henry II and before Richard the Lionhearted makes a crusade back to his kingdom.
James Dunreith, Duke of Ca'rynth, is part Norman, but he also carries the blood of an ancient breed who had inhabited Britain long before the Normans, the Saxons, the Romans, or anyone else. It's not a happy fairy tale, though it is a tale of Faerie.
Another excellent Faerie tale is Elf Quest by Wendy and Richard Pini. Cutter, the young and freethinking leader of a pack of deforested elfs, leads his people on a quest to find others of their kind. In doing so, they learn the origins of their people. The art is truly remarkable -- especially in the watercolored edition.
The storytelling is masterful. There's a particularly moving scene, in which Cutter suggests to his mate, Leetah, that her old friend, Rayek, needs her. The statement of love and friendship is fulfilling to the reader as well.
Yuu Watase's Fushigi Yuugi (Shogakukan/Viz), roughly translated Mysterious Game, is a romantic and humorous tale that still manages to be action-packed, teeming with violence, and emotionally moving.
After finding the tome, "The Universe of the Four Gods," in the National Library of Japan, Miaka and her best friend, Yui, are transported to the warped world of an ancient China-like place called Konan. This story is about time-travel, loyalty, friendship, jealousy, desire, greed, war, and, of course, love.
And speaking of love, you've got to love Tamahome, who is the best thing going in the series. Nakago -- who is kind of Tamahome's demented, truly cruel, very evil, far more powerful, but surprisingly charming opposite in Kutou -- is a not too distant second.
Now strictly speaking about the Superhero comics, I’d like to give major props to Chris Claremont for coming back to Marvel Comics and the X-Men. Of the current X-titles now alive, I only read his, X-treme X-men and on occasion, Ultimate X-Men. Why is this? Because he’s a damn good writer who knows his characters thoroughly and knows where he wants to take them. Even if the higher ups want him to think and write a certain way.
At the Chicago Comic Con (yeah, I know it’s Wizard World) I stood in a long line for Claremont’s autograph. He noticed that I wanted only old titles of his signed and he asked me what I thought of the current X-Men story – this was a couple years ago, I think. I told him how much I loathed the dead relationship between Rogue and Gambit. He agreed with me. He wanted to do something different, but he was held in check by his bosses. He asked me to mention how I felt to his editors – who were standing about three feet away. I did, but at the time little was done.
Now, at least X-treme X-Men is good and it’s different from the old way of handling Rogue and Gambit, although the relationship has not yet be dissolved. If you can, check out Issues #13 and #14 of Ultimate X-Men. It is a whole new take on Gambit and it is awesome.
Remy LeBeau just happens to be one of my favorite characters. He is the kakkoii Cajun X-Men with the burning red eyes and the cocky N'Awlins patois. He's a cocky anti-hero looking for redemption with a band of misunderstood do-gooders fighting the good fight for tolerance and the right to be different.
And guess what he's intelligent and clever. Sure, you may not initially consider him so, because you're likely thinking of him simply as an arrogant, but charming rogue. But to be a thief of his caliber -- to be a cat burglar, in other words -- means being street smart, yes, but having an intelligence far beyond that.
In Diane Duane' s Empire's End, Remy discusses the writings and lifestyle of Pascal and Proust with Hank McCoy (er, the Beast).
Just read along to how Nicieza describes that intelligence:
"Infrared grid shows through the cloud of talcum powder. See the beams, avoid tripping the alarm. Keeps his butt safe from a nasty chafing. Security in this place is a 'rhymes with witch.' He should know. He designed most of it to keep people like himself out! Wolverine? He has enhanced senses. But all he smells now is a trail of Xavier's aftershave. ... Jean is a psi, too. Usually, trying to scan Remy's mind is like wading through tar. He releases a slow biokinetic charge int a card and keeps it by his forehead. Makes him total static, even to mind-readers as good as Jean and Chuck." (Gambit Issue # 8, Fabian Nicieza)
Unlike being marked out about Spider-Man since near infancy, Gambit came into my life in 1990, when I was kinda thinking Richter was all right if he weren't so ...je ne sais pais. Then I borrowed Uncanny # 266 from a good friend and have been smitten ever since.
"Gambit gets points for style and an A+ for tush." -- Sekmeht
Remy was born with an angel's smile and the devil's eye, an immediate outcast from all humans. Mutancy usually shows up in a child's early adolescence, but for some, that spark begins at birth, such as with Nightcrawler. Remy was born with his devilish red on black eyes, an abomination to those who saw him. He was stolen from his newborn's cradle by the LeBeau Clan of the Thieves Guild for the Aniquary and his Velvet Ministry. The man who stole him, Jean-Luc LeBeau, would one day adopt the boy as his son.
He was raised a thief and handfasted to an assassin. At 18, Remy and Belladonna Bourdreaux, daughter of Marius Bourdreaux, patriarch of the Assassins Guild were married to create peace between the Guilds. The matrimonial bliss did not last long; Belle's brother Julien objected -- viscerally. He challenged Remy to a duel and lost. But Remy lost too; in winning the duel, he was excommunicated from the Thieves Guild and banished from New Orleans. And he believed the girl he had fallen in love with at first glance was dead.
A few years later, he encountered a time-reduced Storm, saving her from the clutches of the Shadow King. At that point, he exhibited a flashing of the strange eyes and an ability to persuade by his melodic pratter -- impressing the Shadow King himelf. Storm eventually sponsored his joining the X-Men. But between that time, Remy made a couple critical mistakes. He turned to Sinister to subdue his mutant power because he could not control it. (Sinister called him his greatest failure and his greatest success.)
"He talks and talks and they listen. Almost as though they cannot help themselves as he binds them with his words. Even the hounds are charmed." -- Storm, Uncanny #266
"Very snappy pratter, my young friend. I daresay, given a decent opportunity you might seduce even me." shadow king. "So, the lad's more than just another pretty face. His abilities have an active, aggressive dimension as well." -- the Shadow King, Uncanny #266
"Poor darling, all this excitement seems to have taken its toll. Too weak to stand, much less fight. Such shame. So many pretty words you spoke. But far worse, the hints dropped. the promises made without words. That wasn't nice. I enjoy temptation, but I won't be trifled with." -- Dr. Shen, Uncanny #266
For Sinister, he gathered the core members of Sinister's private army, the Marauders, a collection of mutants, mutates, and enhanced humans, including Sabretooth. He led these brutes to the subterranean refuge of the Morlocks, mutants made outcasts because of their obvious differences from normal humans. Too late, he understood why Sinister wanted the Marauders to meet the Morlocks. Sinister wanted the Morlocks destroyed because he deemed them inferior, scientifically useless. Remy tried to stop the massacre and was nearly killed by Sabretooth. He was only able to save one life, that of a young girl named Sarah, later known as Marrow.
"Ya make chicken gumbo out of chicken bones an' still y'get kicked in th' teeth." -- Gambit
Because of his part in this massacre, Remy would be abandoned in Anarctica by the X-Men. In a trial presided over by Magneto in Eric the Red's costume, the truth that Remy had hidden from his friends, was revealed. Uncanny issue # 350!!!! Much much later, after he helped Storm and Kitty Pryde steal the Gem of Cyttorack to save Cain Marko, he is invited back to Westchester County, New York. Still, things can never be the same after the trial in the Antartica. No one on the team can ever fully trust him again -- not that all of them did.
And frankly, he really can't trust them. These people were his friends, his family and if anyone should have been able to forgive him and to help him through his tremendous self-loathing and guilt, it should have been them. He is not the only one in the group with a checkered past, but he always fought hard beside them and protected them with his singular skills. When he needed them the most, they let him down.
"Copin' is the 24-7 of my life, chere." -- Remy LeBeau
Theses days, in X-treme, he is not a core member. He will always be a solitary figure, ever haunted by guilt and by the suspicion of others. But no matter his past, he will always fight the good fight and do it with style, petit, with style.
Another event not to miss is happening over at DC Comics. The Batman super crossover series of Bruce Wayne the murderer and Bruce Wayne the fugitive is thoughtfully written and completely engaging. I highly recommend this set of comics, which changes the character point of view based on the comic that tells a part of the story. The art isn’t always the best, simply because some of the titles are not as well done as others. But read it for the story and the understanding of a very complex hero. Read Killing Joke and you'll understand the kind of man Batman is.
Just reading this story makes you realize what a crock the Bat-flicks were in terms of getting to who Batman really is. He is not the victim of a dual psyche. Batman is not Bruce Wayne in disguise; Bruce Wayne is the fake. Nor does Batman go around telling every girlfriend he happens to coo at or sleep with who he is. The idea of the playboy is the façade. In truth Batman is extremely serious, competent, intelligent, and private. He barely reveals possibly relevant information he’s gathered or something happening with him to the people who are closest to him. So he would not simply reveal himself to some woman he barely knows.
The Bat-flicks would have been better served by dumping the idea of a romance and sticking to the reality of Batman’s dark nature and his obsession with ridding the world of crime and criminals.
This assertion of mine is because the Batman is one of my favorite manga characters. But my all-time favorite - barring none -- is Peter Parker/Spider-Man. My very first comic book was Amazing Spider-Man, which was purchased for me and for not my brother who is by five huge years. I used to read the Los Angeles Herald Examiner just for the Spider-Man comic that ran in it. I still have some of the newspaper clippings! I loved the Giant Sized comics that pitted Spider-Man against Superman. Oh, the heated discussions with my brother and his friends! No one could tell me that Superman could bat Spider-man. No way. I'll always go with the guy with the higher intelligence, who can rely on his mind to find a way to defeat his opponent!
This moment of course just begs a discussion of the Spider-Man movie, doesn’t it? Here’s my two cents.
After the fouled ball called the X-Men movie, I'd like to sing the praises of Sam Raimi and his Spider-Man movieS. Awesome! Well done! As a fan of Spider-Man and comic books in general, I could not have asked for better films. Yeah, I know how Pete gets his powers, but I really like the new touches -- especially the hybrid spiders doing the deed.
The Onion's witty article on poor Petey getting bitten by a radioactive spider and dying of Leukemia. Hence why the hybrid spider is actually a better touch.
BOY BITTEN BY RADIOACTIVE SPIDER DIES OF LEUKEMIA
PETER PARKER, 17, WAS AVID STUDENT OF SCIENCE, PHOTOGRAPHY
NEW YORK - Peter Parker, a 17-year-old high school student bitten by a radioactive spider during an atomic-sciences demonstration August 20, died at New York's Bellevue Hospital Wednesday night of complications resulting from Leukemia.
Parker, who was described by friends as very interested in the sciences -- and who had already earned a scholarship earned a scholarship to Empire State University next fall -- was standing near a display demonstrating the transmission of radioactive beams when an ordinary spider fell through the rays and onto Parker's arm, biting in its death throes. Parker almost immediately felt dizzy and sick and was later taken to Bellevue by his Aunt May.
"This was no ordinary case of Leukemia," said attendant physican Dr. Henry Pym, an expert in the field of radioactive insect induced cancers. "This ripped through young Peter's body almost overnight, affecting his reflexes, destroying his coordination, sapping his senses to the point where all the boy could detect was constant tingling. It's almost as if this hyper-irradiated cancer had the proportionate strength and speed of a spider."
Atomic Sciences Professor Hank Connor, "...He taught us all that the power if the atom is great -- and with great power comes great responsibility."
Parker's death marks the sixth atomic-accident fatality in the last month, arriving on the heels of Reed Richards, Ben Grim, and Susan and John Storm all succombing to cosmic rays during the maiden flight rocket, and the U.S. Department of Defense scientist Bruce Banner's irradiation by the Gamma Bomb, a weapon of his own devising.
--an excerpt from The Onions' Our Dumb Century: 100 Years of Headlines from America's Finest News Service. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1999.
I thought I would hate that Spidey has the webbing internally, but the way it was done was humorous and perceptive. Stan Lee did not give Spidey internal webbing because Spidey -- like all good superheroes -- needed a few flaws outside of Peter's complicated life. But Sam Raimi did not make the use of internal webbing easy or flawless. Way to go, man!
The cameos of Stan Lee, Bruce Campbell, Lucy Lawless, and the Macho Man Randy Savage were COOL. Willem Dafoe was an excellent Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. This of course begs a comparison to the Bat-flicks of Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher. Let's put it this way. There is no comparison, Spider-Man is better.
Another great touch is that Raimi did not forget about the animated Spider-Man shows. The little details that you remember from the animated shows appear in the movie -- i.e. the web-swinging and the smoke from Gobey's glider.
And better than that are the familiar touches from the comic books. Do any of you remember how Gwen Stacy died? In the 1973 story line by Gerry Conway and artist Gil Kane, the original Green Goblin pushed Gwen from the top of a bridge. Spider-Man caught her, but the shock of the impact broke her neck. Immediately after her death, Spidey faced off against the Green Goblin, who was accidentally impaled by one of his own weapons. Sound familiar?
The Spider movie was about -- oddly enough -- Peter Parker as Spider-Man, while the Bat-flicks were about the villains. Tobey McGuire is now Spider-Man; but who is the Batman? I think Val Kilmer is absolutely gorgeous, but he's not Bruce Wayne, is he? And doesn't George Clooney look great in a suit -- not Bruce, not Batman. And Michael Keaton? Please. The only reason you'll claim to love the first Bat-flick is because of Jack Nicholson as the Joker and Prince's songs. Not enough to make it a great Superhero movie.
Think of it this way, I'd rather watch the WB's World's Finest (Batman-Superman Animated Movie) than to watch the Bat-flicks all the way through to the end -- I kind of jump to the funny-funny Nicholson moments.
Sam Raimi and Tobey McGuire have raised the bar on Superhero movies -- and it's about damn time!
When discussing Spider-Man, Spidey's manifestation of the Power Cosmic must be mentioned as one of the best Spidey stories going. In this cosmic tale, Loki begins the "acts of vengeance" to destroy the Avengers, a team that his misdeeds created. Spidey gets drawn into this twisted web, when supervillians agree to switch their arch foes. Read it. Issues # 327-329 of Amazing, # 158-160 of Spectacular, and # 59-61 of Web.
While reading this story, you will notice how much better Alex Saviuk's artwork is than Todd McFarlane's and Erik Larsen's. McFarlane could do amazing things with the action scenes and twist poor Spidey into all sorts of weird positions and I liked all that. But Mary Jane and Peter looked, well, ugly. People were too bad cartoony, too much of caricature and not enough art. And worse yet, he was allowed to write. Spawn, OK, but not Spider-Man -- Spidey works require writing.
But for J. Michael Straczynski’s Amazing Spider-Man, I am no longer buying any of the new Spider-Man titles. I’ve decided that loyalty means sticking with the brilliant old stuff and not giving my monetary support to the set of comics that no longer move me. I’m giving Straczynski a chance because of my fondness for his peaches SF series, Babylon 5. It's OK, but nothing on the scale that garnered my attention and affection so many years ago.
I also want to mention the great fun, wonderful storytelling, and over all coolness of the Spider-Man and X-Men animated television shows of the past and near past. I've always enjoyed myself watching them.
Kingdom Come (1996) is an extraordinary work written by Mark Waid and illustrate in paints by Alex Ross. It is the final story of the members of the JLA. The old-times make their return to the DC Universe after an extended absence of ten years, only to find that a new crop of “heroes” have taken over. This new generation of meta-humans operates by a different moral code and dig fighting for fighting’s sake just a wee bit too much.
The tragedy cause by their disregard for the public brings Superman and the others out of self-exile.
The more important conflict to me is the philosophical differences between Supey and Batman. To defeat the youngsters, Superman tries to pull the JLA back together, but Batman is leading a faction of his own, with goals of his own. The emphasis on delineating their modes of thought is a very interesting and the best part of the series in my humble reckoning.
Kingdom Come is a story that tries to define what a hero is.
This discussion of differing philosophies brings up the point I’ve been trying to drive home for years – the JLA is about a group of heroes who happen to work together, but they are not a team in the sense that the X-Men or the Fantastic Four or the Avengers are a team. That also means that in a scrap you would be better off with the Avengers.
Did you know that the Avengers were created in response to the wooden nature of the members of the JLA? The Do-Gooders in the DC Universe were just a tad bit too good and too well, not human. Flaws, bring on the flaws. And bring on characters who are different from each other rather than a costume change and a new 'do to differienciate Supes from Wonder Woman. (Sure that's changed now, but hey this is a history lesson!)
The Avengers came about because Loki plotted to have the Hulk thrash his brother Thor -- already different from the JLA, n'cest pas? So who were the actual original members? Can you guess? Can you guess? (I feel like Cowgirl Ed -- er, see anime page!) Enough suspense then. Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man, the Wasp, and the Hulk -- a team that failed to last beyond Avengers # 1. Captain America made in first appearance in Avengers # 4. Thank the saints for Avengers # 16. Why? Because the old team, but for Cap, was dumped for the likes of Hawkeye (yum!), the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver.
Avengers Dream team: Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Sub-Mariner, Iron Man, the Black Widow, the Vision, and for laughs, U.S. Agent. I suppose we'll need Cap just to lead this highly iconoclastic crew.
Sorry, not a big Cap fan -- too squaresville, dude. He's like a human Superman with the red-white-and-blue diapering his genetically altered hide. So, in that battle between Marvel and DC, when Captain America faces off against the Batman, I'm cheering for the guy in black. Face it, Bats is much much smarter than Cap and Supey put together. Oddly enough, I really like Thor. Must be because of that Thor doll - er, action figure - I had as a little girl. Way cooler than Barbie.
If I am bidded to mention the Avengers, then I am also beholden to say a word or two about Marvel's first family -- literally, the Fantastic Four. I like them in the ways I like the Avengers; first as a buffer between what I have always liked best in Marvel and liked least about DC. And second as way of looking at my favorites and through the contrast, understanding certain things about myself. Yeah, I tend to like the smart, but iconoclastic outsider; the guy on the verge of becoming Dostoyevsky's Underground Man.
Besides the FF had that late 1990s show -- not great -- with the very 1960s theme song -- totally great. "On an outerspace adventure, they were hit by cosmic rays and they were changed forever in most Fanstastic ways. Reed Richards is elastic, Sue can fade from sight, Johnny is the human torch, and Ben just likes to fight. Call for four, Fantastic Four. Don't need no more!" Nuff said.
I liked the youthful friendship/rivalry between Petey and Johnny. I liked the tension between Reed and Ben -- did you know they were once competitors for the favor of Miss Sue Storm? I liked that Sue and Namor had that thing going on in Reed's absence.
Another aspect of coolness that emerged from the FF was, of course, Doctor Victor von Doom, the gypsy orphan turned Master of Latveria, who was introduced in Issue # 5. You could call Doom Reed's secret sharer, his shadow self that he cannot destroy completely or risk destroying himself. It all starts the science that binds them and their visions of the use of science to build the future. Reed's vision of science is sweetness and light; Doom's is tyrannical and twisted. In a sense, they were birthed from the same womb, if you consider that studying at the same university and within the same department is analogous to a shared beginning within the womb.
Oh and aside from the great Doom coming from the FF, there are the Silver Surfer and Galactus and -- with affection -- Adam Warlock. (tee hee)
The philosophical differences in Supey and Bats are detailed in the animated TV movie, World’s Finest, which I very highly recommend!!!
You know who they are and what they think by the things they do and say. Bats roughs up a local Metropolis villain for information. Supey doesn’t like that kind of interrogation; he touches Batman’s shoulder and is a victim of a hard shoulder-throw. The shock on Supey’s face is worth the price of admission. Superman spears Batman and knocks him back, telling him that he does no like vigilantism in his town. Batman stands – he is not a meta-human, remember? – and puts Kryptonite to Superman’s face, while brusquely explaining why he’s in town.
World’s Finest is tres bon. Not only does Bruce Wayne get Lois Lane’s amorous attention, but Superman still holds her affections. What? View it and you’ll understand. And lest I forget, Joker and Harley have a tete a tete with Lex Luthor. The story is savvy, humorous, and very, very good.
Of course, I'd take The Age of Apocalpyse (1995) over Kingdom Come any old day! When the Legion Quest story ended, and Charles Xavier had been accidentally killed by his son Legion, Marvel's X-titles changed profoundly, not only in title, but characterization, history, and story for 4 months. North America is the base for Apocalypse’s army of extremist mutants and humanity is near extinction. There are freedom fighters, but there numbers are pathetically few.
With the use of advanced alien technology and familiar nasties like the Four Horsemen, stray mutants, who don’t believe in the party line, are hunted down and destroyed in ways that can be called fairly Medieval – if you know what I mean: slave pits, Dark Beast, etcetera etcetera.
The hope in this dark and cruel new world is the X-Men, led by Magneto who carries Professor Xavier’s dream of harmony in his heart.
AoA is brilliant and amazing and gripping. People you’ve know for years are cold-blooded murderers. Others are dead or die before your eyes. Whereas Kingdom Come lapses into moralizing and forcing the conflict to a very conscious Biblical importance, AoA doesn’t explicitly tell you what you’re supposed to think or feel, or that you must support an idea to be morally correct. AoA is about people making choices for all the right reasons and all the wrong ones. AoA is about screwing things up and trying to redeem yourself. AoA is about human frailty and human courage.
If Kingdom Com is about defining a hero, AoA is about defining a human being.
This idea, of course, is the essentially the difference between DC superheroes and Marvel superheroes. Read the X-Men’s “God Loves Man Kills.” Read Spider-Man. Only the Batman could be a Marvel superhero. But few among the Marvel superheroes could perform their duties within the DC Universe.
And now for something completely different. My X-Men Dream Team: Magneto as supreme leader, Cyclops, Psylocke (in my world she is not dead), Jean Grey, Archangel (not Angel!), Gambit, Quicksilver, Blink, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, and Jubilee -- because it's always good to have a bright-eyed cheerleader.
Years ago, I used to sing the praises of Top Cow’s Witchblade. Well, that was years ago indeed. It used to be well-written and thoughtful. The art used to be amazing, the best among comics. The characterization was once unmatched in its attention to detail and motivation. And we, the reader, were allowed to understand and in many ways empathize with all the players. At one time, the peripheral characters had wills and desires of their own. You never got the feeling that minor characters were one-dimensional and, well, minor.
But Witchblade has fallen on hard times. The writing wasn’t there not too long ago. The art was only a faint facsimile of what used to be. It was definitely kind of frustrating. But old hands have resurrected the mood and characters I so adored. David Wohl has taken over as writer. He was there from the beginning of Witchblade -- of Top Cow -- and it feels good to have him working in a writing capacity instead of just as the editor-in-chief and as the director in charge of creative affairs.
A great find is Francis Manapul. His art is reminiscent of Turner, but stylish on its own. Ian is not captured in dark lines and edges and half in shadow any more. Manapul has brought out his youth and beauty without diminishing his menacing appeal.
Despite all this, Ian Nottingham remains one of my all-time favorite manga characters. He's English. He's Mr. Self-control, Mr. Ice-water-in-the-veins. He is noble, elegant, honorable, confidant, and smart. He is a master swordsman in the Japanese tradition, as well as being conversant in a number of martial arts styles. He always has his katana strapped to his back, hidden beneath waist-length black hair. He's a pretty stylish dresser.
He catches bullets in his hand!
He's incredible looking with a scar that slices down his lips, which only adds to his ability to overawe. He's also pretty young, about 30, for all that he is and knows, but with Nottingham one never questions whether he should be so knowledgeable. It's almost an unwritten rule that he must be.
Oh, did I mention that he catches bullets in his hand?
His past has not yet been completely revealed. He and his brother were orphans. Young Ian, a troublemaker, a bully, was adopted by a man who wanted to turn him into a killer. His "father" succeeded.
When sent on a mission to Japan to kill a woman, Nottingham fell in love with his target and with the Japanese culture. The tumultuous end of that love affair had a hand in making him so cold, so controlled. Never again became his motto.
Nottingham was indebted to both the yakuza and to Kenneth Irons. He's considered a member of a yakuza family, not unlike Jackie Estacado of the Darkness who is the adopted son of a Mafia family. He has attained a high rank in the yakuza, yet remains a ronin of sorts, working for whomever he chooses.
His relationship with Irons can now only be qualified as a hate-use relationship, although Nottingham once considered Irons to be his friend. Obviously that was not the case. Irons volunteered Ian's body for super secret government testing under the aegis of PROJECT ODIN. The experiments have fused Nottingham's adult DNA with some undisclosed element. Because of the testing and certain special conditioning, Nottingham has been the only man to "successfully" wear the Witchblade.
The odd markings on his right hand, courtesy of Irons, allows him to bond with both the Witchblade and the Darkness powers. And for a short time both powers preferred him over Pezzini and Estacado. As the villainous Sonatine put it, Nottingham's body and soul were built to absorb mass quantities of power, "whether voluntarily or not." Which leads to the question of what exactly did Irons do to him to enable him to actually wear the gauntlet?
Admittedly, when Irons' obsession with the Witchblade sucked him in, Nottingham was deeply curious about how the gauntlet would feel on his arm. But once the rune met the stone, he quickly came to wish he had not been curious at all. Because the Witchblade is a sentient power, ungovernable by any who have not been born to wield it -- and even difficult to those chosen women. And Nottingham, despite his extreme cool, his self-possession, and his strength, could not bend the Witchblade to his will.
In fact, the gauntlet controlled him. Now they've given him the boy-type Witchblade that is called Excalibur -- he can't really control it yet either. If he uses it, he gives in to it and it takes him over, pretty much just like the Witchblade did.
But don't misjudge him. He didn't ask for the Witchblade. Sonatine, the nemesis of Jackie Estacado, asked Nottingham to take the Darkness. When he said no, Sonatine bewitched him with a glittering medallion and suddenly Nottingham was a puppet.
In a strange twist of fate, Estacado and Pezzini encountered Nottingham in a museum, and police detective and Mafia hitman had to work together to save the world from him. Apparently when the Witchblade and the Darkness powers -- both fairly malevolent entities -- meet in one soul, they transform that soul into a doomsday machine. Together the Witchblade and the Darkness are Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Which roughly translates into one of the Seven Seals and Armageddon and doom on Biblical proportions. (Dogs and cats living together!)
If you have the time, read Issues # 1-8, which are amazing. The Family Ties crossover with The Darkness is also quite good. You can find the good early stuff in graphic novel form.
