21 April 2012

Weekly Reviews: Crossed Badlands #3, D.B. Cooper #2


Crossed: Badlands # 3 - Garth Ennis (w) Jacen Burrows (a)
Avatar Press, $3.99

Crossed is a series set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by what could best be described as zombies, known as the Crossed.  These aren’t your daddy’s zombies, however, or anything resembling that crap Kirkman churns out. These creatures are intelligent, almost human, but they’ve had their filters removed. They are pure evil, possessed by the worst that can exist in humanity.  Each story in the series focuses on a separate group of survivors, and follows them as they try to make their way through the new world.

The latest issue of Badlands, the Crossed ongoing series, was perhaps the most interesting to come out under the Crossed banner since the inception of the line. It was a quiet issue. No appearances from the Crossed, no horrific murders, just not so quiet character development. It was a breath of fresh air. The selling point of this series is, and always will be, the mindless violence. At the same time, it was nice to take a step back and look at the survivors. Crossed, when you get to the heart of it, is about human beings. It's about the idea of real people stumbling through a nightmare world, trying to do nothing but survive to the next day. It raises terrible questions on a regular basis, and its goal seems to be to make the reader question their own morality: what would you do in this situation? How far would you go to survive? Would you damn another human being for your own survival?

This is the concluding issue of the inaugural arc of Badlands. It returns the original creative team of Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows to the world for the first time since the original nine issue arc ended. They tackle the job handily. The original series felt lacking, but David Lapham took the ball and ran with it. The return of Ennis and Burrows has been surprising in that they've actually managed to top Lapham's work on the books. It's as if they felt the need to remind readers that they created this world, and they will always do it best.

This issue opens with a shot of something horrible and the mayhem doesn't abate for the rest of the issue. The issue contains all the mindless violence a Crossed fan could hope for, and concludes the story in a manner that is both satisfying and horrifying.

Crossed: Badlands is actually exceeding expectations at this point. With a six issue arc by Jamie Delano coming up next, it will more than likely only continue to impress. Crossed isn't for everyone, but any fan of honest, violent, cerebral horror should be reading this book. There is more than enough room for stories to be told in the crossed world indefinitely. It's going to be a hell of a lot of fun reading what's coming up.

The Secret History of D.B. Cooper #2 - Brian Churilla (w/a)
Oni Press, $3.99

The first issue of The Secret History of D.B. Cooper was impossible to classify. It was eye candy for drug addled minds, but it was hard to find a plot. The second issue is much of the same, but at least it gives more of an idea where this book is headed. Near the end of it a plot device is thrown in that might actually be the least original thing about it.

This book is definitely original, though. Really, it's hard to think of anything like it.

The story is based around the real life story of D.B. Cooper, who hijacked an airplane in 1971, and then disappeared. To this day it is unknown exactly what happened to him. Writer/artist Brian Churilla introduces Cooper as a CIA agent who is possibly insane, but then again, maybe not. He sends Cooper tripping through a possibly imaginary world guided by a red teddy bear. Then things get weird.

Churilla's art pops and shatters the senses while at the same time avoiding the easy cliches of acid soaked cartoon shenanigans. That stuff is there, but the book never gets too cartoonish, and rarely could it be considered bright. It would be very easy for this book to be very bad, but luckily for us Churilla is good enough at what he does that the book is compulsively readable.

If you're into weird shit, or drugs, this is probably for you. Books like this (at least ones worth reading) don't come along often, but this may just be that long strange comics trip you've been looking for.


-- Jeffrey Whitelaw

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