A mixed--and great--bag of comic book book reviews this time from such disparate creators as Chester Gould, Adam Hughes, Gene Colan, and Neil Young. No, that's not a typo.
My twice-yearly visits with IDW's The Complete Dick Tracy by Chester Gould are always eagerly awaited. That's especially true now since the books are knee-deep in the absolute Golden Age of Gould's hawk-nosed detective. The latest, volume 10 in the series, features strips from Sept. 20, 1945 through March 16, 1947. The villains here are amongst Gould's most villainous, including Itchy, Influence, and Shoulders. We also meet billionaire Diet Smith and see the introduction of Tracy's world-famous (if somewhat quaint nowadays) wrist radio, and even go to the wedding of Gravel Gertie and B.O. Plenty. Gould is at the absolute top of his game here, and will be for the next few volumes. Reading these strips in this large-sized quality hardbound format is still a dream come true for me, and even better, IDW is about to bring out the first of five volumes of Al Williamson and Archie Goodwin's Secret Agent Corrigan (nee X-9). Pinch me! (Just not real hard, okay?)
Gene Colan has had a bit of bad luck over his last few years. Sadly I was reading Marvel's new tribute book, The Invincible Gene Colan, when word came of the death of Gene's wife, Adrienne. If I remember correctly, proceeds of this book benefit Gene directly, so I urge you to go out and buy a copy. At $19.95 it's a steal, but it might only be available in comics shops. Despite a few annoying production errors, the book itself is a nice little package, covering Gene's Marvel career, with chapters focusing on Daredevil, Iron Man, Captain America, Dr. Strange, Tomb of Dracula, and Howard the Duck. Gene was the odd man out at Marvel--in a good way--an artist who drew his way and not within the house style, but still managed to create his own brand of the Marvel excitement of the '60s.
Speaking of art books, DC has a beautiful one with Cover Run: The DC Comics Art of Adam Hughes. Hughes is a supremely talented artist who is also incredibly slow, hence his ongoing string of great covers. He also has a way with women...at least on paper. This book covers his entire DC career to date in a deluxe, large-format hardcover, with a brand new cover and Hughes funny and insightful comments throughout. Highlights are his extended runs on Wonder Woman and Catwoman. I'm hoping this is a new line of books for DC. I'd love to see similar cover runs on Neal Adams and Brian Bolland, just to name a few.
And finally there's that musician guy hanging out in the comics world, Neil Young, with the aptly titled Neil Young's Greendale. Based on a concept album by Young, this Vertigo graphic novel is written by Joshua Dysart, drawn by the incredibly underrated Cliff Chiang, and colored by Dave Stewart. It's the haunting story of a small town in California, Greendale, populated by the Green family, a family that has mysterious ties with the earth and animal life. Sun Green is just coming into her own and she discovers her own strange ties with both her family and the world around her. Dysart's script is terse and well-written and he allows Chiang's art to tell the story more often than not. Neil Young is a huge comics fan and I read that he waited patiently for Chiang to be available to do this...it took him over 4 years to draw the 153-page graphic novel. Greendale seems a labor love for everyone involved. It shows on every page.
