Deep Fried. Volume 1. Jason Yungbluth (Writer & Artist). Death Ray Graphics.

An slightly uneven anthology collection, the extremely strong stories outweigh the less successful entries.
Beepo and Roadkill feature in six episodes and all have the same problem, the rather aimless generalised anger and rage with everything and everybody that drives the stories is just too geralised and unstructured to hit the any target with force. As Roadkill notes the effort required to be outrageous increases greatly and effectively shocking anyone is getting more and more difficult. This essentially backs the stories into a corner that they fail to emerge from. They have funny moments, Beepo and Roadkill never engage with anything so everything they do is just so theatrical that it  lacks any impact. The art is great, it is energetic and forceful, the best parts of the stories are all visual, the sheer energy of the pages and the layouts is extraordinary.
Henderson Saves Face, when Henderson is insulted in a incident in a office car park he exacts a wildly over the top revenge on his co-worker. A two page story that is stretched at that length and without any impact or actual force. There is a sort of joke lurking very far within the excess, it might have been funny at much shorter length, or it may simply to be too slight to have survived any treatment at all.
The Salt Lake City Avengers  and No Justice, No League, are two superhero parodies that are worth reading only for the concentrated venom that Jason Yungbluth has for the genre. Most parodies have their roots in affection, it is very different to read ones that arise solely from bile.
Waiting for Planetary-a comic tragedy in 15 panels,  plays off Waiting for Godot and works ok if you have some sense of the play.
A Peanut Scorned (inks by Emil Novak & Gerry Coffey) is a fantatsic slice of science fiction noir that uses the cast of Peanuts in a astonishing way. Happily no knowledge of Peanuts is required to enjoy this bleak and fierce story, in a post apocalyptic wasteland a man with a robot arm searches for his kidnapped girl friend. The story is not new, the context and drive is, the whole set up is just a dark joy. The art is powerful and gripping, the wasteland of the world is conveyed with telling detail and enormous physical solidity. The story provides a solid framework and focus for the rage and energy that moves through all the stories in the book, captured by a story that can really use it the energy animates the whole story. The cast all come strongly to life, the fierce struggle to survive in the wasteland rings true, the utter hostility of the environment is manifest in every line.
Clarissa is a sexually abused little girl who features in three stories, two long and one a single page. Clarissia is introduced in a single page story that does not quite come off, the punch from the last panel does not balance well against the rest of the page.  Re-reading the story makes it much more effective as the knowledge is vital to understand the set up, the punch line then gets the necessary weight.
The two longer stories are pretty much flawless horror stories that are very nearly unbearable to read. The restrained art and tone of the stories allow the content to come forth without any obstacle. They are low key masterpieces of despair and hopelessness that grip the reader pull them in without mercy. The absnce of graphic detail is creates the room for the reader to fill in the spaces and to complete the context and events themselves. Clarissa is not sympathetic or pathetic, she is simply vulnerable and watching her be preyed upon is wrenching.
Jason Yungbluth is a significantly talented comic artist and writer when he has a strong story to deliver, in this volume there is more than enough of that talent on display to make it worth reading. It is a very bitter brew and a welcome reminder of the power of comics in the hands of talent.

Lucky Penny. Ananth Hirsh (Writer), Yuko Ota (Art) Oni Press (2016)

A charming,engaging and great fun romantic story delivered with a light touch and quiet humour. Penny Brighton looses her job and her apartment on the same day, she find alternative employment (her boss is eleven and a half years old going on 55) and very alternative accommodation thanks to her ex flatmate. When Penny meets Walter at the local community centre (she had been searching for a free place to shower) it looks like she might been having an upturn in her luck and life. Smooth sailing is not Penny's forte and there are a lot of obstacles ahead, not least an very strange turn of events at the launderette where she works.
The female lead of a romantic comedy presents some very serious story problems for any writer, there is a requirement for them to be a little off centre but no so much as to be actively weird. They should be attractive without being wildly beautiful, they are an undiscovered jewel after all. The male lead recognises the qualities that she does not and brings then out for the audience. Ananth Hirsh takes this challenge and makes it look absurdly easy, Penny fits all the requirements and then does something extra, she is actually likeable. There is an appreciable difference between lovable and likable, creators frequently demand that we love their characters because they do and they are  just so lovable. Penny is much more interesting, she is likable and good company for the reader, she does sabotage her own life with flair, she is also genuinely unlucky. This creates an entirely unforced sympathy that is never traded upon, it is used to give her the space to fail and triumph with humour and charm.
Youko Ota'a art is a pleasure to read, the cast are expressive and full of life and energy, they respond vividly to their circumstances. Penny and Walter's  essential good hearted natures of  are evident without being flaunted, the art is both bold and consistently subtle. It bring out all of the aspects of the story and makes everything just exactly the right amount larger than life. There are frequent details that are a joy to read, I particularly love Penny's reaction to the realisation that she has packed away the car keys. It is just one of many treasures to be found. It is extraordinary how much detail Youko Ota has managed to include without ever cluttering any panel. The details proved an essential solidity to the story, they make the physical context very solid and frame the actions perfectly.
A romantic comedy is a tricky story to pull off, there are significantly more opportunities to loose the reader and there is very little cover for the creators. It is essentially a soap bubble, it takes very little to destroy it. With Lucky Penny Ananth Hirsh and Youko Ota have showed that they have the surest, lightest touch needed to produce glorious, charming and engaging soap bubbles that also have depth and subtle strength.

Zombie Ranch. Clint Wolf (Writer) Dawn Wolf (Art) Lab Reject Studios (2015)

A stunning idea backed by superb execution make for a hugely engaging and enjoyable comic. After the Great Zombie Plague had passed its peak and humanity was slowly recovering to the new equilibrium, zombies have moved to being a valuable commodity. Zombies are farmed on ranches out in the Wild Zones, a very dangerous process that is now the subject of a reality tv show  being filmed on the Z ranch.The Z ranch is owned and managed by Suzie Zane and her crew comes under the scrutiny of the flying camera robots of ClearStream. An accident at the ranch has ferocious consequences and Suzie and the staff at Z ranch find that they are under siege from a vengeful family. A classic western story idea is used with care and thoughtful skill to frame an very intriguing story that is never afraid of big ideas and smart action.
Clint Wolf has given himself a very considerable story problem to lift off the ground and he does with with engaging confidence, skill and unexpected willingness to be true to all of the elements he brings to the comic. Using a Western story framework, an embattled rancher isolated from outside help having to fight off  determined attackers is a solid start. This framework is a classic because it works, it offers a writer considerable scope to move a story in a large number of directions. Having the it be a zombie ranch, where the products are a constant threat in themselves is a wonderful spin on the zombie story idea, it slots amazingly well in with the western framework. Wrapping the whole concept up with a reality tv gives the whole match up room to breathe as they give the reader a chance to be an observer as well as offering a direct link to the greater post Zombie Plague wider world.The detailed, and remarkably unobtrusive, world building that Clint Wolf does is a joy. The balance and contrast between the protected zones and the wild zones is set up artfully and frames the situation at the ranch very clearly.
The sheer density of the story idea could easily become a problem, instead they work together to build a credible stage for the wonderful cast to perform on. Suzie Zane is a deeply engaging character principally because she does not set out to be, she is strongly focused on making a living from the ranch, the tv camera are revenue not publicity for her. Her deliberate competence and willingness to accept decision making are a pleasure and she is blessed in having really, really excellent opponents to test her. Clint Wolf has neatly set up the different layers of threat to Suzie and the ranch, the most visible being the least dangerous, the depth of the situation is slightly known by the reader and is a great story hook. The rest of the cast are singular and individual, they demand attention and are never quite what might have been expected.
The art by Dawn Wolf is equal to the enormous demands the story places on it, the requirement to be realistically fantastical is achieved with the same level of confidence as the writing. There is a clear development in the art across the length of the volume as Dawn Wolf hits her stride with the cast and the ranch. The sheer emptiness of the wild zone is subtly conveyed, the landscapes are not given in detail, they are almost abstract. This strongly contrasts with the vivid body language and motion of the cast, alive and dead, the wild zone is every meaning of wild. The colouring is classic western colouring, it catches the light of the big open desert vistas just as it should. It finds the story tones and nuances and brings them forward without forcing them.
This is a really ambitious comic, a huge story that is carefully unfolding in a deeply satisfying context with a smashing cast and creative confidence. The creators have solved a considerable technical problem, the comic translates seamlessly from a page a week updating web comic to a physical book. The fact that both mediums work so well is a considerable tribute to the strength and depth of the story management talent that Clint and Dawn Wolf bring to Zombie Ranch. This is an outstanding comic, what a pleasure to read it.

Reapers. Issue 2. JoJo King (Writer), Adrian (Art),Lou Frontier (Letters) Insane Comics (2016)

Nicely completing the set up, this issue sets the stage for the main story to unroll in an engaging and unexpected way. After a nasty encounter at the house continued from the first issue, Mary, and Violet head off one way and Victor goes another. Both end up with considerably more trouble than they expected and it is clear that the stakes for everyone have been raised considerably.
What is particularly engaging about this issue is the smart story choice that JoJo King makes about the events that involve Victor and the two women. Victor's troubles are well set up by not hugely surprising, they follow on both from the first issue and a more general comics storytelling. They are necessary to set up what is to come, well done and to an extent exactly what should happen.
The much more intriguing events involve Mary and in particular,Violet as she returns to some unfinished business to find that business has not finished with her either. The business is effectively nasty, the engaging part is the way that Violet comes out from her protective anger and the reader gets to see the real character. Violet has been beaten down to literal death, come back and is finally finding her own life, Mary proves that she is no pushover, friendship has meaning. The emotional context for the action is very strong and gives the whole episode a considerable force and feeling that draws in the reader. When Victor reappears and is clearly ready to make life considerably more difficult for Violet and Mary, the reader has been give a proper introduction to them and now the situation has much more scope than a very enjoyable supernatural action story.
Adrian9's art is bleak and scratchy, there is always much more left out than put in. The big fight with the Grim Reapers is nicely done, it is a little stiff at times. The events in the house where Violet and Mary meet someone very unpleasant are superb. The tone of the events is overlaid by Violet's anger, fear,determination and pain.  The action does not hide the malignant atmosphere that is the real problem and that is a considerable achievement. Adrian9 brings the action and never looses the impact of both the past and the present.
Lou Frontier's letters have a lot of work to do, there is a surprising amount of words in the comic, surprising because the lettering makes them easy and natural to read, the art gives them context and all of it work very well together. The letters quietly and effectively sit in the panels, without drawing attention to themselves. I particularly the stabbing sound effect.
The issue does considerable heavy lifting and makes it look easy, the introductions have been done, the main event can start and I am greatly looking forward to it.
Chief Wizard Note:  This is a review copy very kindly sent by JoJo King. To get a copy of Reapers 2,  and you should reading good comics is scientifically proven to be good for your health, you can get it from www.insanecomics.com.

Breakout. Richard Stark. Mysterious Press. (2002)

A gripping and entertaining criminal procedural that uses variations on a central idea with considerable confidence and skill. Parker and others are arrested during a botched robbery at a warehouse and put in a holding facility. This is where prisoners are held before their trial and likely transfer to a long term prison. Identified under an alias and facing extradition to California Parker needs to break out of the facility. He does so and finds himself in a series of situations from which he has to breakout in turn.
Richard Stark has written an amazing book, a view of the world as a professional, career criminal, meeting problems that arise from being a career criminal and solving them by being an experienced career criminal. Parker approaches each problem in a cool, analytical way, deciding what needs to be done and getting on with it. He is the calm center of the story, pushing steadily against the circumstances and people that stand in his way. He is essentially a shadowy character, too calm and collected to really engage the reader or to set a story on fire, he does anchor it very effectively however. He consistently provides a strong contrast to the rest of the cast allowing them to emerge more strongly and they provide all the necessary emotional and human dimensions for the story.
The plot mechanics are superb, the details of the initial breakout are stunning, the plan is credible and sharp, the subsequent problems arise naturally from the previous step with a forceful logic that traps Parker in the area when he should be long gone.
Richard Stark introduces a considerable number of characters, all are given economical time and space to develop and engage the reader. All are tied directly into the plot events and just how they interact is very smartly set up and followed through. No cast member is wasted, they are carefully used to maximum effect. None of the cast, with the possible exception of Parker, is ever simply a plot device even though they are so tightly woven into the circumstances of the story. The writing is so economical and spare that there should be no room for any of the cast to be vivid above the serious demands of the plot.
Richard Stark is a serious writer and has the talent and skill to ensure that the cast embody the plot to such an extent at they are driving it, Parker, is caught in the problems because the rest of the cast are all too human. The sheer professionalism of the criminals contrasts consistently with the civilian cast, they have a utterly different way of looking at and dealing with the world. They move through the world with a severely different perspective and bank of knowledge, the crucial difference being how stupid and greedy they are. The real professionals are never greedy, they are willing to take risks to get what they want, they avoid stupidity.
While Parker is utterly competent, knowledgeable and willing to kill if necessary Richard Stark nicely avoids the temptation to make him an all conquering superman. The element of luck is allowed a pay and this, perhaps more than anything else, opens up the story to the reader and increases its impact hugely. The random is possibly the smartest and most unexpected plot device in the book and the way it is deployed is the surest sign of Richard Stark's extraordinary talent and confidence as a writer. Brilliant crime writing and brilliant writing, a book to relish.

Help Line. Faye Sultan & Teresa Kenny. Fourth Estate Limited (1999)

A very gripping and enjoyable crime thriller that has a satisfyingly bitter undertow. Portia McTeague is a forensic psychologist who is taking a self imposed break from criminal work and running a private practice in Charlotte, North Carolina. The very violent death of a local  semi-celebrity and psychic healer catches her attention but does not engage her. Portia is too involved with her own personal affairs, including a relationship with a private investigator and raising her adopted daughter to be distracted. A new patient, who is pursuing an agenda of his own and a worrying call into the Help Line where Portia volunteers start the process that draws Portia into the investigation and down a route that leads to a savage conclusion.
Faye Sultan and Teresa Kenny take an unusual and interesting approach to a well settled crime genre story, a forensic psychologist who is involved in the case of a serial killer. The choose to come at the crimes from an angle rather than head on, the narrative has really major lines with the killer having what is an essentially walk on part. The secondary major thread is the the story arc of an ambitious journalist and his equally ambitious editor-in-chief and their mutual desire to use each other as comprehensively as possible. This duo are a striking study in selfishness and the hunger for power, the similarities that draw them together that also ensure that they could nor remain united. The editor-in-chief is an impressive portrait of a ambitious woman who is determined to achieve her goals and has no concerns about how to do so. What is refreshing is that she is allowed to be herself without any punishment for daring to be an ambitious, selfish human. She is not very nice, she is intensely credible and burns with a fire that the reader can feel. The journalist is equally selfish and determined on his goals, he comes off as weaker than the editor partly because of their relative positions and partly because there is simply less substance in his character.
Portia McTeague follows a very unusual story arc as she steadily moves into the orbit of the killer and realises that she has done so. Portia is bored with the private practice and would like to return to criminal work, while at the same time not wishing to have the pubic pressure that comes with it. She chooses a low profile way to engage with the case and finds herself pulled into it. It is this process that is done very differently, Portia McTeague slowly and steadily burns all her personal bridges as the pressure of the case meshes nicely with her explosive insecurities. Portia is an astoundingly angry charachter, anrgy with her lover, her friends and her therapist as they all stubbornly refuse to see that she is perfectly correct in every way all the time. Her flight from vulnerability is not manipulated by the killer, it lies entirely within Portia's own hands. The collision when it comes is brutal because Portia has arrived at the situation as a free agent, the sheer force of the tragic inevitability of her self destructive actions is all the greater. The fact that Portia is competent, brave and in spite of her refusing sympathy from those around her, sympathetic, makes this a very engaging journey for the reader.
This is a smart, unexpected crime story that uses clever plot mechanics and a superb cast to great effect, a pleasure.

Wolf Country 5. Jim Alexander (Writer), Will Pickering (Art), Jim Campbell (Letters), Liz Howarth (Editor), Luke Cooper (Cover Art). Planet Jimbot (2016)

A confident and very engaging aftermath issue that manages a very difficult story problem with flair and wit. The vampire settlement is in trouble, the soldiers are torturing Carmichael and the vampire settlers are starving. Natasha, wife of the settlement leader Halfpenny has a physic encounter with Luke, the vampire who has fled to the werewolves. She considers what to do next and makes a decision. In the city Halfpenny finds that trouble is simply getting deeper and Luke finds that life among the werewolves is sweet and very dangerous.
This is a very dense issue, packed with information and establishing the new status quo after the events in the city and the big assault on the settlement. This can be a very difficult story problem to solve, the momentum of the story slows abruptly from the big set pieces and it can be a bit anti-climatic for the reader. Jim Alexander manages the process very nicely by mixing updates with new information and tying them very smartly together to provide a start for the next wave of events. The new information is the reappearance of Luke, the vampire who fled to the wolves, his situation is used to provide information about the werewolves. This gives a necessary balance to the story as they have been seen only from the vampires point of view up to now. The second piece of new information is about what can kill a vampire, this is tied directly to the deaths in the city and the slow starvation being suffered by the settlers.
Both of these pieces of new information add to the increasingly tense and dangerous context for the settlers and Halfpenny in the city, the circumstances are steadily getting worse. The most enjoyable and engaging aspect to this issue is the emergence of Natasha as the de facto leader of the settlers. As fanatical as her husband, Natasha is much more suited to the complex circumstances that have arisen. She is resilient and thoughtful, she sees the complex situation much more clearly than Halfpenny and acts as decisively as he does when she needs to. Jim Alexander has written a entirely credible female character who is just herself, fantastic.
Will Pickering's art has an equally heavy load to lift and does so with ease and wonderful attention to detail. The action is relatively subdued, mostly talking and it has to be delivered without loosing the reader. the way that the panels are used to vary the story pace and the beautiful body language of the cast is astonishing. They draw in the reader to the information and allow the density of the information to be spread carefully so it never feels crowded. A apparently simple sequence where Natasha is having a conversation with some other female settlers is a masterclass in how to make a static setting spring to life. The sequence moves the point-of-view smoothly and each panel is used to great effect. This sequence is where Natasha really starts to come into her own and it is smart work that it is a conversation that provides the opportunity for her to do so.
Jim Campbell's letters continue to subtly and persuasively support the story, the are so easy to read that they slip by, they work with the art to sound just right.
Serial storytelling is tricky, in particular where the events are quiet and a lot of information is presented. This issue is an outstanding example of how showing and telling can support each other to deliver a combination that is truly more than the sum of its parts.
Chief Wizard note: This is a review issue very kindly sent by Jim Alexander at Planet Jimbot. Wolf Country 5 will be launched at Dunfermline Comic Con on Saturday 5th March 2016 . To purchase Wolf Country (you can order all five issues at a keen price for the set), and you should, this is an outstanding comic that has a stunning story idea backed by astonishing execution, go to https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/266647799/wolf-country5.