The Mane Attraction

Pride of Baghdad original graphic novel
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist/Cover artist: Nico Henrichon
Letters: Todd Klein
Editor: Will Dennis
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo imprint
Price: $19.99 US/$26.99 CAN

As U.S. casualities continue to mount in Iraq and the issue impacts the upcoming elections, it comes as no surprise that Pride of Baghdad is turning heads.  All I needed to know was that it was being penned by Brian K. Vaughan.  From his super-hero stuff to more thought-provoking fare in Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina, Vaughan rarely, if ever, disappoints, and this original graphic novel isn’t about to put a dent in that winning streak.  Still, Pride surprised me a bit, as what makes the script interesting is a dichotomous approach that balances harsher story elements with a genuinely innocent tone, something I didn’t expect from this writer.

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The Doctor Is Id

Dr. Id, Psychologist of the Supernatural
Writer: Adam McGovern
Artist/Cover artist: Paolo Leandri
Publisher: Indie Ink Studios
Price: $2 US (ashcan)/$2.95 US (comic)

This mini-comic showed up in mailbox not long ago, but it turns out it’s not a mini-comic, but a preview ashcan of a standard-sized comic due for release later this fall.  A superficial glance led me to believe that this was another amateur effort, full of energy and love for the medium but low on skill.  But a closer look revealed the opposite.  Dr. Id is an odd marriage of satire, offering sendups of Silver Age comics storytelling and touchy-feely pseudo-psychology of the 21st century.  That two-pronged appeal is the property’s greatest strength, giving it two chances to connect with readers.

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The Wonder Jeers

In my capacity as a comics critic, news releases from publishers, big and small, and creators make their way into my Inbox.  Since I don’t have a news section, I rarely pay them much heed, but one I received last month caught my eye…

“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DC COMICS TO PUBLISH ALL STAR WONDER WOMAN BY NEWLY-EXCLUSIVE SUPERSTAR CREATOR ADAM HUGHES”

Hughes’s involvement in an All-Star Wonder Woman project had been rumored for some time, so it was quite the anti-climactic announcement, especially given that the comic book isn’t slated for release until summer 2007.  But this news release was interesting in that its chosen focus is surprising, given the overall context of the project.

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Trials Judged

Trials of Shazam #1
“The Boy and the Man”
Writer: Judd Winick
Artist/Cover artist: Howard Porter
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Mike Carlin
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.99 US/$4 CAN

I’ve never been a big fan of the original Captain Marvel.  Though in part the ultimate in childhood wish fulfillment, he was also a clear knockoff of Superman (if memory serves, a court even ruled as much decades ago).  Both the Big Red Cheese and the Man of Steel of whitebread pillars of strength and speed, both with rogues’ galleries full of mad scientists and monsters.  With Trials of Shazam, writer Judd Winick addresses that redundancy, focuses on the main difference between the pair and reworks Captain Marvel into a different kind of hero with a different kind of mission.  It’s a smart move, but I wonder if DC will stick with it in the long term (especially with a Jeff Smith Shazam! project in the future) or allow the changes to last solely for the 12-issue of this limited series.

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