A to Z: N is for Nomad: Girl Without A World

Everyone has characters that immediately click with them that, no matter the stories they've been in, just fit so firmly within their hearts that they'll never budge. They're YOUR characters, that you're so invested in that you'll follow them anywhere. They're, frankly, your favourite comic book characters.

Mine are pretty clearly known to anyone fool enough to read this blog for a significant amount of time; Jubilee, Chamber, Connor Hawke (okay NONE of you know that one), Moon Knight and most importantly, Rikki Barnes. Rikki Barnes, former Heroes Reborn Bucky and current Nomad, who currently has the good graces to star in one of the best team books coming out from Marvel as well as the rare pleasure of sharing a book with Captain America.

She's. Just. That. Cool.

Her origin lies in Jeph Loeb and Rob Liefeld's alternate universe relaunch of Captain America, where through a very slow burn she got wrapped up in a crazy skinhead plot (in an attempt to dissuade her brother from being in said skinhead group), strapped to a missile (as you do) and rescued by the formerly amnesiac Steve Rogers. From there she got about one issue's worth of decent use before Heroes Reborn went kinda tits up and it all ended in a clumsy, painful way.

Now, I'm not exactly a hater of Rob Liefeld (at least not anymore). I mean I LOVE Youngblood and his New Mutants/X-Force stuff is the tits. But Captain America easily had his worst art, and nothing from it should really be seen by anyone. But within that mess was Rikki, a shining element of a young girl trying to be worthy of her rescuer, the gargantuan figure of good that is Captain America. It was a spark too good to be left alone and years and years later, it came back with a vengeance.

See, Loeb & Liefeld hadn't really gotten to finish their story, due to the abrupt end of their run on Captain America, and the havoc that followed for the rest of the title's existence. So ten years after the fact both creators got one more chance to finish the story with Onslaught Reborn, a 5-issue miniseries. The time had been good to both creators, outside of the funk of mainstream 90s comics and having had time to refine their skills. Well, for Liefeld to refine his skills. The art had taken a massive step up, becoming something worthy of the content and proving that Rob wasn't the hack everyone claims him to be to this day (which is basically just a popular internet opinion as a sort of rite of passage dealio, if we're all being honest). Not just that, but the time away seemed to have clicked in the creator's minds. They knew what to do with their story, and who to have as the core character of the miniseries. That's right, Rikki Barnes.

[I know, I know, this is getting VERY long for an introduction to the article, but just bear with me, I'm getting to the actual article. I just wanna boot lick for a minute. If you're tired already just scroll down to that part where I say the title of the comic just above a picture of the comic's cover.]

Rikki led us through a quick journey into the Heroes Reborn universe (restored to existence by Franklin Richards temporarily) and we got to see through her eyes the final conflict of that little-remembered alternate universe, with all the heroes of that land joining together for the final time to protect Franklin Richards (inside his own univerAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH MY BRAIN) from a revived Onslaught, potentially the ultimate enemy the Marvel Multiverse has ever faced. Suffice to say they won, but at a cost. The Heroes Reborn universe was once again gone, taking everyone with it, save our brilliant narrator, Rikki. The reasoning about it was something along the lines of her not existing in the 616, but I'll get to that in the actual review.

Anyway, Rikki survived the event, at just the right time to see that Captain America had been assassinated in the wake of the superhero civil war.


Which is where... THIS all begins. And where I encountered the character for the second time (the first is another tale I'll get to in a future A to Z, but rest assured that it's Thunderbolts). Rikki Barnes got a short story in Captain America 600, in which she interacted briefly with Patriot of the Young Avengers. It wasn't a massive story, but it got me into the character sharpish, by no small means due to the teaser image for her story in the issue, drawn so beautifully by Rafael Albuquerque that I freaked out about it on this very blog. A teaser that got redrawn for the debut issue of Rikki's very own miniseries by Sean Mckeever and David Baldeon. A miniseries that was easily the best thing to come out of 2009 for me.

A miniseries called Nomad: Girl Without A World.
Wait, this image looks remarkably familiar... Wonder where we'd have seen an image almost IDENTICAL to it?

See? Told you I'd do that! Anyway, the plot. It's fairly simple, but be warned, there are spoilers (or at least painfully obvious hints towards spoilerific moments), so... I don't know, look the other way and scroll down for... A while...

So Nomad: GWAW picks up with Rikki a fair bit of time into her new 616 existence, with her having a job, a place to live AND beginning to get an active role going as a superheroine again. Her school life is pretty okay, as she's been clever enough to pick the same school that the 616 version of her brother learns at, allowing her to get some bonding in with a much less insane person than the brother from her world (more on this later). In fact her main task that she's failing to accomplish is managing to meet the new Captain America, James Buchanan Barnes, just so he can know that she exists. She almost succeeds at the start of this story, if only it weren't for Black Widow shooing her away, knowing that the last thing BuckyCap (as he's so delightfully named) needs is to see another Bucky.

So dejected she returns to her school life, where some strange goings on are afoot with the school election. Strange going ons related to Mad Dog, the monstrous member of the secret empire! Needless to say Rikki ends up in an awkward position, getting torn the hell up by Mad Dog and having to make a hasty retreat back to her home. Where a strange gift has been left for her: The Nomad costume.
It's only a double page, but Mad Dog beating on Rikki is impacting. You can really feel that she's getting wrecked with every vicious blow. Not bad for a more traditionally comic art style. All that photo-realism can bugger off.
And that's the first issue. I won't recap any more of it in my usual manner, because it really deserves to be experienced first hand. But there ARE a few moments I wanna talk about. Or one in particular to be sure, and that's the nature of Rikki's 616 family, and the explanation as to why there isn't another Rikki Barnes staring her in the face. See, this world's Rikki died at birth, a tidy excuse if not incredibly depressing. Just through that simple move (And calling herself Rebecca Baines) any chance of her connection to her brother is kept secret. Which in no way completely backfires, drawing brother Barnes a dangerous step towards being just like the Heroes Reborn skinhead. It's actually a little chilling, and a relief in that he never becomes that horrific parallel.

But enough of that. Let's talk about the art a bit, yes? David Baldeon's art style is a healthy mesh of European sensibilities and classic comic book art. It's a refreshing change of pace from the hundreds of artists trying for the most realistic things possible, or the sketchier styles of people like Leinil Yu or Khoi Pham (not that they're bad, they're great). What's more Baldeon doesn't go for cheesecake. Which is a good thing when you think about how this is a mini about a teenager, but even when Black Widow pays her small appearance there's no sense that she's there to titillate some pathetic 45-year old comic reader. Which, when it comes down to it, is what we want ALL comic artists to be like.
This is a particular favourite moment of mine. Here's a healthy teenage girl doing exercises. No ridiculous back stretches, chest thrusts or the like. Just some sweat and effort. Which impresses the hell out of me.

Not just that but Rebecca's new costume is brilliantly designed. It's, dare I say it... SENSIBLE! It's covering, padded, bright yet not ostentatious and most importantly it's functional. The boots and gloves are large, protective items, and her two discs on her chest (easy, now) detach from her outfit to act as throwing weapons a la mini versions of Cap's shield. It's just perfect. Not to mention it's adorable! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEE or something.

Finally I should give big ups to Sean McKeever. When it comes to writing teens he's the only one worth calling, and with good reason. Outside of a few poorly received DC storylines, McKeever has been consistently cracking out comics starring teen characters of a ridiculously high calibre for what surely has to be the most successful streak of comic books in recent history. He proves it more than ever here, having a grip on Rikki Barnes' voice from the offset, with nary a misstep on the way to the finish line. Sure she's not the most deep character ever, but this is defining stuff and he. has. DEFINED.

I can't recommend this story enough and wish I wasn't trying to keep to a schedule so I could make this a more coherent and loving piece about the work, with more in-depth looks at the minutiae and the flaws of the piece (occasional duck-mouth, awful t-shirt slogans/logos), but you don't need to know about all of that. All you need to know is that this is one of the best comics of 2009 and does great things without reaching for the stars. Both McKeever and Baldeon are great talents and with any luck will one day helm some sort of super-book that they can use to rocket their characters into the heights of all those long-running 60s characters. Or beyond, as the case SHOULD be.


You can get Nomad: GWAW in the snazzy TPB-GN format over at Amazon (UK) and I heartily encourage you to. Nomad is one of several characters that NEED the support of readers to not drift into obscurity, alongside other members of the new team comic Young Allies (by the same creative team, of course, so buy THAT too) like Arana or Gravity. You really can't go wrong with this mini unless you're a heartless monster.

And you're not. Are you?



And that's N. Next is O, obviously, and a return to manga to write about the slightly controversial matter of racial insensitivity inherent to Japan's isolated society. That and multiple personality disorder creates rock stars, don't you know. Read More ..

Lazy Sunday: My Comics

The updating streak is damaged slightly by there being no list on Friday, but that's okay, there'll be TWO next Friday! AND a new Saturday feature! I spoil all none of you readers, yes?

Anyway, it's another Lazy Sunday, in which I do something that cannot possibly take more than 5 minutes to complete. Last week we had that terrifying picture of Darth Vader with no clothes on and spiky nipples, now we have... MY COMIC BOOKS!

Well, most of them. The shoeboxes are left closed and the Generation X issues are hidden safely away, and you might well only see half of the manga in my cupboards, but it's still a hefty and quick look at what a man with too much time can collect! Let's go!

First there's the box of current issues/boarded collections, which isn't very interes-... The G.I. Joes? What, it's one of my favourite movies!

And then there's a shoebox of random issu-... What? I NEED A BRUSH TO BRUSH MY HAIR! And the Marvel water squirters are awesome.

Oh and then there's the shelf of trade paperbacks. What do you mean you can't see anything? What, because of all the Marvel Legends in the way? BAH!

How about now?

Or even now? That better? Now, this is all kinda small so far, so let's take a peek inside the cupboards, shall we?

Oh, bloody hell...

... It just doesn't stop, does it?

AND there's a second row behind all this. AND some crap in the cupboard. IT JUST DOESN'T END! SAVE ME FROM MYSELF!

*ahem* That concludes out tour of shit Max owns. Goodbye. Read More ..

Manga Focus: Hot Gimmick

Shojo manga is pretty much the shittiest sub-market of the entire manga industry.

Now, that's a very harsh statement to make of an entire age-group of a core part of a country's societal being, but screw that have you read some of the things being released in the west lately? I mean gosh. Let's have a quick run-through of some series so I can pretend my point is valid, shall we?

First there's the recent series Cactus's Secret. It's about a girl who gives up her crush but then suddenly the crush starts calling her CACTUS because she's all PRICKLY AROUND HIM! HA! Will the crush learn... CACTUS'S SECRET? That's... just terrible. I assume there's some clever english going on here that I'm not aware of too, because I'm fairly sure the possessive of Cactus (as a name) would be Cactus', with no extra S. Which if I'm right makes this title really stupid. Like, dumber than the actual plot.

Then there's series like Black Bird, a series about a SPECIAL GIRL WHO COULD BE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU who has a UNIQUE POWER THAT MAKES HER OH SO SPECIAL. In this case it's that she's one of a few who can see a special world where magic and myth intersect with reality. But OH NOES SHE GETS ATTACKED, an old childhood friend helps but OH MY GOD HE'S ALSO AFTER HER BECAUSE OF HER SPECIAL TALENTS! BUT MAYBE ROMANCE WILL HAPPEN BETWEEN THESE TWO AND THEIR SADISTIC BLOOD-LICKING WAYS! These sorts of series make me sick, stupid-ass attempts to tell the same story over and over.

But there is SOMETHING in the latter that appeals to me, an element that if used in a competent Shojo series (rarity that they are) would rock my socks off. A sadistic love interest. Heck, I'd love to see a series where a sadistic or cruel love interest whom the main character doesn't initially like grows and becomes something more than the little kid expressing love in an immature manner...

... Wait, that's Hot Gimmick. A brilliant example of Shojo done right. In that it's mostly not incredibly stupid. And it hurts my heart with every plot turn. As I'll try to explain to you in the review, after the jump.

READ THE REST OF MANGA FOCUS!


What Is It?(Spoilers): Hot Gimmick is a (brilliant) Shojo manga that ran for 54 chapters, following the romantic misadventures of Hatsumi Narita as she deals with a variety of men, all of which being problematic in their own way. Along the way she must deal with her sister having a pregnancy scare, being blackmailed into some very awkward sexual situations (as a direct result of said scare), almost being gang-raped by a love interest and his friends and dealing with the affections of her adopted older brother... Wait I'm making this sound a lot more fucked up than it is! Um... It's also a brilliant tale of people growing up past their immature natures as children to become adults, find love, discover themselves, or face up to the realities of the situations they come to be in. But really no matter what this story is about the romance that builds between Hatsumi & Ryoki Tachibana, which whilst SO uncomfortable at first (because of the whole blackmail thing and Ryoki's immature and abusive nature) becomes something that truly MATTERS to the reader, demanding the attention and emotions of the reader. But I won't say anymore about that, just in case you don't want ALL the plot beats ruined for you.
What's So Great About It?(SPOILERS): This is a series that knows drama. There isn't a single twist in this series that feels tame. Seriously, you read any twist in this story and your heart is torn right out, thrown on the floor and completely destroyed, all before the story kicks it back up into the air and slams it back to where it belongs. But it's too late by then, your heart is hurt. It can't cope with how emotional this stuff is. And not just that, it feels realistic. Okay, that needs some adjustment. It FEELS realistic, even when it's clearly stuff that would NEVER happen. For example there's the reveal of Azusa Odagiri (another of Hatsumi's love interests) true intentions and the motivation for them. See, turns out he's out to hurt Hatsumi's Father by hurting Hatsumi, because he's convinced that the Father had an affair with his Mother, ruining his life and leading to his Mother's death from ill health. That's a real convoluted plot, but one that is treated in such a manner that you believe that not only COULD it happen, but you can realistically imagine it happening as you read. That's pretty damn impacting.

Still, I can't truly address what makes this series great without dealing with the huge fucking elephant in the room: Hatsumi is abused by Ryoki, the character she stays with. And it's treated like it's acceptable. Now, you and I both know that it is absolutely NOT acceptable, and it reads in a way that absolutely SHOWS it's not acceptable, but it IS shrugged off more often than not. This actually becomes comedic more than once when he goes beyond the acceptable threshold and gets CONSTANTLY INTERRUPTED. But what matters here isn't how horrible Ryoki can behave, but how he grows throughout the story. What was once a horrible and petulant child in the body of a man, a person who doesn't understand how to interact with others correctly because of their... corrupt upbringing. It's a man growing from his nurture to discover who he truly is. And in the end he's still a jerk, sure, but he's no longer horribly abusive in attempts to show affection or in dealing with others. He's just kinda a dick. And if we're honest, isn't that the best any man can aspire to be? It also helps that on more than one occasion along the way he shows that underneath it all is a gentleman, ready to protect the people he cares about. I mean the man saves Hatsumi from Azusa's attempted gangrape situation in an incredibly gallant move. You don't get much better than that deep down, do you?

Oh and the art and writing is brilliant, and representative of what Shojo manga could truly be if given as much love and care as Miki Aihara has clearly put into her work. But I'm sadly running too short on time to delve into that, and sadly have no scans to back up my claim on this occasion.

Is It Worth Buying?: Originally I would have said it depends on how much you want to read this story. It ran at 12 volumes at about $10/£6 a pop, which added up fast. But due to the rare bit of common sense from Viz Media the series recently got re-released in their 'VizBig' format, which is a high-quality 3-volumes-in-one dealio at a much lower price than they would be seperately. So for about $60/£40 you can get one of the western markets best Shojo manga. And you can't say no to that. Unless you're an arsehole. Or, ya know, if I've offended you with my earlier whinging about Shojo.


You can get Hot Gimmick in both its formats on Amazon (UK) and I implore you to at least grab the first vizbig 3-in-1 volume. For your own good.
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Thought Balloons: Update + Renee Montoya pg.2

Just your weekly update on the Thought Balloons front! It's been another week, another character and another lesson learnt for your stalwart hero of the land (what?). This week brought Rol Hirst's second character choice and boy, was it a doozy. John Constantine of Hellblazer fame, a character I barely know from adam, or at least from his awful Keanu Reeves counterpart (comparatively awful I mean). So in my usual fashion I etched out a nice story that respects the character and uses him for more than a panel. Barely. The story's title is pretty self-explanatory, so why not head over and read...

John Constantine - Archie Meets John Constantine


Now, this script had its problems, hence the lesson learnt. I went for a first page of a greater story, as I've tended to for... oh... the whole damn time on the site. The problem here being that not all first pages are chock-full of material. So I barely had the two characters used interact, nor had I actually done anything of any real note. So the lesson is DON'T ALWAYS DO A PAGE ONE. For one that can happen, but also we're supposed to grow from Thought Balloons, and that can't REALLY be done if all we're doing is learning how to write page one of a story (as others have clearly already realised with some brill scripts over time).

But enough of that. The title promises page 2 of Renee Montoya - Noir As Heck, and that's what you're getting. So enjoy, and give feedback if you have any. It's much appreciated.

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Page 2 - 7 Panels

1-- Lady In Red's face, looking the same as in the last panel, her hair stretching off to form the panel borders to the subsequent flashback panels.

SPEECH BUBBLE/LADY IN RED - It's my other side you see, she's just up to no good. I want her away from them and back to me before she does herself a mischief.


2-- The first of the flashback panels framed by LIR's hair. Contained within is a heavily tanned blonde woman (Woman In White), dressed in an all-white ensemble consisting of a white slip-on dress lined with golden stitching, a large white headband pulling her hair back, some white slip-on shoes and a small white handbag with a gold clasp. She is surrounded on both sides by neatly dressed men with stubbly beards. All three of them have martini glasses in hand, laughing to each other.

NARRATION/LADY IN RED - She's cavorting with some very unpleasant gentlemen...


3-- Same panel as before, in essence, except now the two men are lycanthropes, caressing Woman In White, with one of them running their long tongue down her neck and into her chest. Woman In White now has a sinister, crazed smile on her face.

NARRATION/LADY IN RED - ... Some real beastly sorts, disgusting wolves preying on anyone they see fit to.


4-- We've hit the end of the flashback now, so back to conventional panel frames. We're back in Renee's office, where Lady In Red is doing an extravagant and over-sexualised fainting motion across the desk. Renee is surprised, pushing herself up from the chair.

SPEECH BUBBLE/LADY IN RED - It's all just too much. Too... murroooh-


5-- Renee has caught Lady In Red before she hit the desk, holding her close. So close that Lady In Red's head (Her hat and sunglasses now slipped off from the fall) is in fact resting snugly in Renee's cleavage. I'm a monster, I know.


6-- We're now looking up close at Lady In Red, looking up at Renee while snuggling her head further into Renee's chest.

SPEECH BUBBLE/LADY IN RED - So may I have your help, Ms. Detective? I NEED it ever so much.


7-- Renee's face looking down at Lady In Red, turning completely red, some sweat on her forehead, and her trilby askew, mouth open in an attempt to form speech.

SPEECH BUBBLE/RENEE MONTOYA - Abwuhwha?




to be continued in 7 days time! Read More ..

FIN FANG FOOM

FINALLY KNOWS THE ONE THING HE'S BEEN MISSING THIS WHOLE TIME

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