POBB January 15, 2020

Pick of the Brown Bag

January 15, 2020

by

Ray Tate

In what is easily the shortest subject Pick of the Brown Bag, I review the current issues of Aquaman and Vampirella and Red Sonja.  As to the rest…

The latest issue of James Bond offers above average artwork and a vague plot involving blackmail.  This forces Bond to team-up with an old friend of M’s.  Somewhere amidst this is a forged Rothko, but honestly, I lost the hooks of the story, and I can’t really see why this incident warrants Bond.

Infinity 8 always features stylish, professionally strong artwork this time by Emmanuel Guibert.  The comic book is a fine pulp featuring a plant-based threat springing from the pesky Necropolis the ship can’t yet steer from.  Brigade Officer Leila Sherad is a feisty protagonist and her alien companion Bert Numal, a historian, clash quite frequently.  The story ends with their not becoming friends which is refreshing.  They remain mere acquaintances.  I don’t even think they gained an iota more respect for each other.

Steeple concludes the way I expected.  I’m going to say that it’s a testament to writer/creator/artist John Allison’s ability to subtly foreshadow events.  The conclusion will charm your socks off, but it’s just not very funny when compared to other issues.

No, you haven’t fallen through a time warp.  It’s an inventory issue of Aquaman by former Nightwing writer Kyle Higgins and artist Aaron Lopresti.

In the past, I would have said that it’s great to see Batman, Aquaman, Mera and Wonder Woman behaving as if they like each other, but to DC’s credit, the Powers That Be haven’t wavered.  

Since the New 52, DC stopped trying to generate animosity between the heroes and let them work together as friends and colleagues.  It’s been paradise.  Still, nice to see classic-look Aquaman.

The story begins with Batman and Wonder Woman visiting Amnesty Bay, Aquaman’s and Mera’s home.  They’re there to celebrate Aquaman proposing to Mera, and she accepting.  All are invited.

The real mystery.  Did Batman or Alfred bake the pie? Batman is notoriously inept in the kitchen, but he seems to take some pride in the pie.  Perhaps the Dark Knight has skills even his fans are unaware of.

The conversation turns to Aquaman and Mera having kids. 

Royal is the tyke that shows up sporadically throughout the early runs of Aquaman.  He also made a recent appearance in a Kelly Sue DeConnick issue. 

Mera’s response is perfect.  People automatically expect women to want kids.   Not necessarily.  

Higgins also addresses the other side of the argument.  Some women want kids.  

Fortunately, we’re spared any more talk about starting a family.

Naked Jungle is a terrible film with big game hunter Charlton Heston and mail order bride Eleanor Parker.  

For an interminable 80 minutes their lack of chemistry is pure torture.  Then something beautiful happens.  Army Ants.

Aquaman’s mature conversation about kids is way, way, way better than what Naked Jungle has to say about women and the men who buy them.  I just don’t want to read a whole issue of Aquaman about should Mera have an Aquababy.

Spotlit on the cover, the Trench are our Army Ants.  The Trench for those not in the know are basically piranha men that debuted in Geoff Johns’ initial Aquaman release.  They’ve attacked an oil rig, and Aquaman and Mera are there to put out the fire.

Oil rigs are a favorite horror movie setting.  They’re nicely isolated and ready for invasion from the deep.  Perfect for a Lovecraft type slaughter.

Higgins checks all the boxes for this type of film, but he also distinguishes the story through the presence of Aquaman and Mera.  They make everything better.  As well, he connects a plot element to their personal lives.  Furthermore, Lopresti creates some unusual variations on the Trench to make this issue of Aquaman well worth your coin.

Vampirella and Red Sonja focuses on the former.  It’s essentially a place holder.  Unusual in that unlike Aquaman, it’s written and illustrated by the current creative team.  Jordie Bellaire and Drew Moss.  The story opens with a celebration of Vampirella’s lesbian nature.

Traditionalists of course know that V originally became involved with Adam Van Helsing, but this is an alternate version of Vampirella, and the idea of V being bisexual isn’t new.  

I do not however know why Bellaire is emphasizing this now after not mentioning Vampirella’s orientation even in passing during her first story with Red Sonja.  Opting instead for a more Avengers feel.  Steed and Peel.  Not the superheroes.

Fair enough though.  Vampirella becomes involved with…um…name?  No?  All right then.  

V delves into the mystery of her lover, who goes missing.  She quickly uncovers a human trafficking ring.  Bad news for them.

Honestly, I never tire of the hero-breaks up-human-trafficking plot.  There’s enough variation in Vampirella’s method to differentiate it from the most recent ones, and in one particularly violent and gory scene, your jaw drops.  Nope.  Never saw that before.  Drew Moss’ attention to sixties fashions adds an element of freshness to the visuals, and Bellaire employs V’s hypnotic abilities for great effect.

However, the lack of a name for the victim is unforgivable.  It just turns her into a number.  There’s plenty of room in the narrative for V to speak her name.  She becomes aware of her disappearance through a poster.  Even if she didn’t know it at the time, she would know her lover’s name by the time she narrates the story.  

According to the inset, the story unfolds in “1969, one year before Vampirella Meets Red Sonja.”  That’s however impossible since Vampirella refers to a genre of music that doesn’t yet exist.  This bugs me a lot since the period is so important to the story.  It affects the setting, the clothes, the dialogue.  So, why botch the illusion?  The latest issue of Vampirella and Red Sonja is decent but sloppy in places.  Nevertheless, it's a good stand-alone Vampirella story where we see her transform from hedonistic immortal to serious detective.