By Justin Leiter

May 30th, 2007 - And you thought it wouldn't last. JL's Comics Shop Stop is back with our second week of run-downs on some of the cooler comics and comics related merchandise in stores this past week.

MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #2
(Image Comics, June 2007, 25 pp., 1 letter page and 3 pp. of pin-ups).

Story and Art by Michael Allred
Colors by Laura Allred

Michael Allred is nothing if not prolific. From the beginnings of the first issues of Madman at Tundra in the early 90s, to its 16-issue run at Dark Horse Comics, to long stints at Marvel on X-Force and X-Statix, to his own AAA PopComics imprint and all kinds of other stuff in between (a lot of it included in his recently released 4-issue 'The Vault' series), Mike Allred has been a busy guy the last 15 or so years. Hard to believe that with all the detours in his career, it's been four years since the last full Madman story saw print and eight since Madman's last ongoing series. Now at Image Comics, Madman is back with a new, regular title.

Re-launching Madman for new readers as well as old, Allred begins the new series with a recap of what's gone before. We find Frank Einstein, aka Madman, wandering about a dead city, all its citizens being rotting corpses. He doesn't know who he is, or why he's there; suddenly, an old companion from past Madman stories, the sentient robot Warren--a floating orb with Mickey Mouse arms and hands--begins to jog his memory. Frank slowly starts recounting his past life and we get a basic retelling of Madman's history, from his days as a hit man to his death and resurrection as a living dead guy by two mad scientists, Dr. Boiffard and Dr. Flem. He remembers all these details and we learn them in turn, but by book’s end, we and he still don't know who or what he is. We’re left wondering if Madman might be some kind of god.

In issue #2, we begin to learn more about Madman's past and the details start to become clearer. Trapped in a tripped-out psychedelic world, unable to get back to the reality that he has now remembered and to his beloved girlfriend, Joe, Madman works to free himself from his prison--a prison that might be only in his own mind. As Allred points out on the letters page, the existential questions about identity and self were an ingredient of the Madman story from its inception. On its surface it plays as a lighthearted, colorful, fun read, but underneath the crazy monsters, beatniks, mods, and mad scientists, deeper meanings and storylines emerge. The cover of this issue is a beautifully literal example of this. Madman looks at himself, organs pulsing through translucent skin, and almost seems to be wondering . . . who am I? . . . what am I?

Madman's powers in this dream world are infinite and, in one really cool sequence, he makes himself appear in the middle of a gunfight in (what seems like) Iraq. By just thinking it, he melts an oncoming missile and tries to decree peace. "Everyone go back to your homes! And if you don't have homes, I'll make them for you. You will all live in peace and comfort with just enough challenges and opportunities to give you contentment and a sense of accomplishment. Go live, love, work and be happy." Warren reprimands Madman for thinking that solving the world’s problems could be that simple. He takes on the visage of President Bush, and asks Madman, "What about the war on terror?," to which Madman replies, "If I want to hear from an ass, I'll fart" (acknowledged as a lift from SNL).

Things start to turn around at this point and Madman realizes he's being duped by Warren, who really isn't Warren and isn't telling him all he needs to know. His nemesis, Mondstadt, once his employer when he was a hit man, has imprisoned him, but with the help of Frank's childhood comic-book hero (and the inspiration for his costume), Mr. Excitement, Frank is ready to break free from his chains and begin his new adventures.

The art is inspired, as Allred's art always is, but here he really seems to be going all out on some pages, the illusory dreamlike world he's created in which to present the flashbacks allowing him all kinds of possibilities for interesting page and panel layouts. Laura Allred's gorgeous color work is the perfect complement to Mike's eye-bending compositions. Her colors seem to breathe off the page and she's able to get a unique sense of distance and atmosphere by softening the outlines on some objects. In a unique recap of the first issue, its entire contents are reprinted, without word balloons, all on the first page of the new issue. The pages are small, but even at reduced, thumbnail size, and without the obstruction of the balloons, the smooth flow of Mike's narrative abilities is evident. At their most basic, I suppose, this is what comics can convey--the feeling of motion, a story being told in pictures, and a smooth, natural flow from panel to panel that takes you along for the ride.

My only (minor) gripe with this issue--and it's something that I notice with other companies--is in the quality of the paper stock chosen for the cover; it seems to be an equivalent weight to the interior pages and thus runs the risk of much more easily becoming dinged, bent, etc. A thicker cover stock would have been nice, especially when you think back to the days of the early Tundra Madman books, which were square bound and had nice, sturdy cardstock covers.

If you're an old Madman fan or just someone ready to be taken along on an exciting and unpredictable, superbly illustrated, art-filled journey, I'd say pick up the first two issues of this series--and enjoy!

THE COMIC SHOP STOP METER: 9
STORY: 9
ART: 9

WILL EISNER'S THE SPIRIT #6
(DC Comics, May 2007, $2.99 22 pp.)

Story and Art by Darwyn Cooke
Inks by J. Bone
Colors by Dave Stewart

It might seem a daunting task--an artist taking on a classic character so strongly associated with one creator and hoping to be true to the (“ahem”) spirit of the original while at the same time finding something new in the source material--but Darwyn Cooke has been able to do that, delivering a cool, fun book every month.

Six issues in, we begin to get a feeling that Darwyn Cooke might have some bigger issues and storylines woven in among the separate one-issue episodes featuring our hero, Denny Colt, aka The Spirit. All the various pieces and characters are slowly coalescing into a more fully-formed whole. While at times a bit silly and lighthearted, and even sometimes slapstick, the tales do have cool darker elements as well; it's a nice balance. The writing is quick and smart and the pace of the book moves along well but, as of now, we're still getting only bits and clues about the pasts of our characters. I wouldn't mind having a little more info on the protagonist, who, even with his origin in issue #3, doesn't come across in much detail. I suppose it's a good thing to have a bit of mystery about your hero, but The Spirit seems a little too much like a happy-go-lucky type to hold that much of an air of menace about him for long--hat, gloves, jacket, and mask notwithstanding. We know that he was once a detective named Denny Colt, and that he seemingly was killed and buried, but we find out he didn't really die. The world saw Denny Colt's funeral, but he's come back and, to those that thought him dead, he is The Spirit. We've been introduced to the Octopus, head of the Octagon, a deadly terrorist organization, and someone that will likely be showing up quite often as a threat to The Spirit. The Spirit doesn't have any superpowers, just his innate deduction abilities and a quick wit; how he got to be such a great crime fighter isn't (at least not yet) elaborated upon. The comic does have all the elements to make it a classic read--action, adventure, romance, strange villains, otherworldly objects, the supernatural, and, most important, an endearing, even intriguing, lead character.

Cooke's art is excellent and his less detailed style works well for the pace of the story, as you can feel the movement on the page from panel to panel. He uses interesting visual choices and dynamic new ways to illustrate the splash page (always a 2-pager), following in the tradition of Eisner, sometimes making the title of the book part of the layout of the page. It's always fun to see what new graphic style Cooke will employ when visualizing the title of the book; will it be The Spirit logo as part of a metal gate in the rain, or a simpler, stylized font? I'd love to see Cooke's take on one of Eisner's classic Spirit pages where The Spirit is spelled out in giant stone letters with which the characters are interacting. Cooke's animation background is evident in the flow and pace of the story, again something that is most appreciated when you just let your eye take you from panel to panel, without reading the dialogue; it almost works as storyboards for an animated Spirit movie. He also uses different rendering techniques at times, as in issue #3, utilizing off-register color blocking and rougher edged inking in some of the Spirit's flashback origin pages. For this, high praise must go to J. Bone's inks and Dave Stewart's great color work, both of which are instrumental in the success of the book.

In the latest issue, which continues the series’ trend of having self-contained stories (making any issue a great jumping on point for new readers), we find The Spirit and a female companion having survived some sort of bomb blast. The Spirit doesn't know what's happened, so the bald, blue-skinned girl with him, Adelia, fills him (and us) in on the events that have led up to the bombing. August Blue, once a child musical prodigy who had lost his way until he found punk rock, decides it's time for a change in his life. He cuts his hair, dons a leather jacket, and, slinging a guitar over his back, makes his way into Central City, determined to be a punk rocker. On the way, he witnesses a mysterious blue-tinged meteor crash into a Central City park. He spends the night watching it before heading into town and checking out the local talent. After hitting all the big spots, he finally stops in at the Relaxo and becomes enamored of one band, the Killer B's, an all-girl outfit. He manages to become their leader, helping with their songs and sound, but never playing with them. One night, while brooding in the rain about his music, he makes his way to the blue meteor, now set up as a public display; to escape the downpour around him, he camps out underneath the meteor. The rainwater, though, mixes with the meteor and, dripping onto August, literally turns him blue. The rest of the band also wind up hanging out beneath the meteor and turning blue, the rain/meteor mix becoming a drug for them. Now truly blue, August finds a new desire and will to actually play in front of people, and the music he produces stuns the band’s fans. Business at the Relaxo is great. Once Rico Velez, the owner, discovers the apparent source for the band’s new musical prowess, he steals the meteor, determined to extract its druglike liquid and use it as blackmail against August Blue and his band mates. This isn't the first story to have a slight sci-fi bent to it; while the feel of these stories has a 1940's crime-noir air to them, with femme fatales, mobsters, and fedora-capped private eyes, they take place in the present day, with references to the Internet, cell phones, and Jessica Simpson.

One of the more intriguing storylines Cooke is developing is The Spirit's search for Elvarro Mortez, half-brother of the Relaxo's owner, Rico. Elvarro supposedly died at the same time as The Spirit, under the same conditions. Presumed dead, and seemingly buried, he is no longer in his grave, and The Spirit figures he'll come looking for him. Cooke says there will be a two-issue story arc coming up for issues #11-#12, so it'll be interesting to see where he takes the characters when he has a little more room to expand the storyline.

If you haven't yet picked up a copy of The Spirit, issue #6 is as good a starting point as any and might have you digging in your pockets to buy the five issues preceding it.

P.S. Nice coverstock!

THE COMIC SHOP STOP METER: 9
STORY: 8+
ART: 9

MARVEL UK FIGURINES
These figurines are the latest addiction to which I'm having trouble not giving in. It took me a while to appreciate these guys, but once I bought one I defintely wanted more. What you get is a numbered, Marvel character figurine made of lead (more on that later) and a magazine devoted to the history of the character, with loads of great art to go along with the detailed text, all of it thankfully credited to the respective artists. That's something I'd love to see Wizard magazine do.

The one thing that is a bit off-putting about these figures is their presentation. The packaging is terrible and very shelf-unfriendly, coming in an open box holding the figurine, with a magazine behind it, and the whole thing stuck in an oversized clear plastic bag. It makes for a messy product; the bags usually are ripped at places, and the magazines--though sometimes packaged with a protecting cardboard middle piece--invariably wind up being dented and bent. The figurine, though, is well protected in its plastic casing.

At $12 for the regular-sized characters (a big figure like the Hulk is $20) it might seem a lot for a relatively small figure. But once you feel the weight of the figure in your hand and check out the really excellent bio-magazine it comes with, the price doesn't seem as steep. Still, with the sheer number of these figurines being produced (more than fifty characters have been issued already), it's pretty much cost prohibitive to get the entire line. All the figures are hand-painted so there is some minor splotchy color work on some of them. For the most part the paint jobs are excellent. Also, for what I suppose is intended to make the figurines stronger and less susceptible to breakage in shipping (they're part of a weekly subscription service in the UK), they're cast in lead, and as a sticker affixed to each package proclaims, “In the State Of California lead has been shown to be a cause of cancer.” Oh nice! Now, collecting comic book figurines will give you the big “C.” My guess is you'll be all right as long as you don't try eating the things. I can only imagine what’s up with the people that have to paint these. I hope they’re wearing gloves.

So far I've purchased the Hulk (its weight induced me to buy it--it's heavy for a little figurine!), Doctor Doom, Captain America, Silver Surfer, Black Panther and the Thing. The sculpts are also almost always spot on, very realistic and all with a commanding authority in their stance, naturalistic rather than exaggerated. They'd make a great chess set (and an expensive one). You can even buy a display stand for around $22, though you'd need at least two stands to make a full chess board.

THE COMIC SHOP STOP METER: 9+
FIGURINES: 9
MAGAZINE: 10