“Ursula” was my first exposure to the work of Brazilian twins and artists Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba.
I still don’t get how they are twin brothers and have different last names, but I don’t particularly care as much as I like their art. Moon and Ba often collaborate on single projects (at least up until “Smoke and Guns” which I intend to review soon); and on Ursula they actually alternate pages, each doing a couple at a time.
While the styles page-to-page aren’t identical (and you can often find an Easter Egg signature by the brother who did a particular page), the art blends together; if not seamlessly, so well that the differences don’t bother you. I know that 1) not only have I read “Ursula” at least a dozen times and I still don’t know who did which page most of the time, but 2) I became so addicted to Moon and Ba after reading “Ursula” that I will basically buy any project that either brother does, almost unconditionally.
It started with “Smoke and Guns” but I have “Casanova” (which I didn’t like as much, honestly), but “The Umbrella Academy” and its sequel by My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way.
I don’t want to say it’s a “Latin American” sensibility, even though the most obvious comparison to the twins would be Eisner Award winner Eduardo Risso of “100 Bullets” … Risso is Argentine and whereas Moon and Ba are Brazilian. However it is probably accurate to say that they are all cartoonists rather than what we would think of as mainstream “comic book” artists. All of them are superb storytellers that utilize exaggerated expression, heavily stylized figures, and heavy — but slick — ink work.
It’s hard to describe just what makes the art by Moon and Ba so addictive, so I thought that I would show it to you; please forgive the image quality… I took the pics with my dumb Palm Pre, and they really don’t do the brothers’ art justice.
One of the things I love about this book is how varied the art is. Here is a “typical” — yet anything but typical, in terms of skill level — page, I think by Ba. Notice how he uses “mere” black ink so many different ways on one page: Loose lines suggesting the weathered face of Miro’s father; slick shadows across Miro’s face or even the stone railing behind the conversing King and Prince; solid, shaped, black space for hair; and more than any of these, incredible brush work telling us so much — using so little — for the pair’s fur coats:
And from Moon:
This page, existing in the dreamscape of Ursula’s magical imagination, is reminiscent of Bill Watterson on a Sunday.
In the context of “Ursula”, it all makes sense, all works together, without a drop of red, green, or blue.
So what is “Ursula” about?
Well, the A+ grade from Variety so proudly boasted on the cover says it is…
A strange and beautiful emotional journey into the heart of love, A+
My translation: Fuck if I know.
“Ursula” is a mix of fairy tale, magical realism, and window into the minds — quite literally — of the creative twins. I don’t know if I “get it” get it, but I have still read the tiny graphic novel three times this week alone. To me it is mostly about the awesome art; which, I have tried to make clear to you, is awesome.
Like I said, after reading this the first time, I became completely addicted to Moon and Ba, buy everything they draw, &c.
The cover price on “Ursula” is $9.95, but Amazon has new copies at less than $6 the last I checked. Per any ads from here to there, I may earn like $.24 if you make a purchase. Honestly I’d rather you support your local comic book store; regardless Moon & Ba receive my highest possible recommendation.
Ironic note: Yes, I know this is actually being published on a Saturday
Concerning:
Star City Games Questions :: Top Chef Draft :: The Cape
Young Justice, episode 2 :: P!nk’s new video :: … you know, “everything”
ONE – Star City Games Questions
Most of you probably know that I started writing for Star City Premium [again] last week. Now I am going to answer all the questions you asked around this possibly (?) surprising (?) return.
frm yes, i have a question: why did you take so long to come back?
Unfortunately, I am not sure how to answer this question. I mean, what is “so long” in this context? If you want to submit a follow up question, I will try harder?
Err… I do everything my wife says.
themandotcom Though I understand your motivations, but this marks the end of Michael J Free-ness!
It absolutely does not mark the end of Michael J Free-ness. I still write Top Decks every week on DailyMTG; and I think I’ve updated this blog more this week than I have in certain months!
MinnesotaMatt
They better have backed up a truck.
Can you give us an idea of how long the contract lasts so that we can know which subscription to sign up for.
I left premium with you and now will sign up as they got you back.
There is no specific termination date to my writing at Star City, so I can’t tell you to only buy such-and-such package if your interest in Premium tracks only to my being there. I can tell you that I have planned about 20 pieces over the next two months, as well as another as-yet unannounced large-scale project (um… oops?)
Alfrebaut Damn, does this mean I have to start getting SCG Premium again? Also, what does this mean about TCGPlayer? Are you writing 2-3 articles per week plus making videos?
I am doing about 10 total pieces on Star City this month and next (articles and videos), plus Top Decks. I am not currently writing at TCGPlayer. We haven’t plotted out what I will be doing in March yet, but I would expect to still be at SCG then
Frelance It’s all a trick. Really it’s BELLA under contract to SCG now, not Mike
This isn’t a question. Think “Jeopardy”.
GRat I have a question, when are you sending me Blightning? :p
Um, you have my phone number.
ReeceP [From Twitter] I have a question. Why did you make me spend money again?! Damn yooou! Should @SteveSadin share some blame?
[Separately, here on the blog]I think I have a real question. In your explanation article, you talk about How to mashup. My question is – Why mashup (in the abstract)?
Also (there’s always more <_<) specific to the decks involved with the UW Mashup – What does mashing up the two decks in question gain rather than porting them to current extended? Did you prior/have you since tried extended versions of those decks, and if not do you have any gut feelings as to how they would go?
[Twitter question] – Yes, you have to. It is required. On the check you send, write “Michael J. Flores” on the “memo” line.
[Regular questions] – A couple of reasons… 1) Opponents are more likely to make mistakes when playing against mashups because they don’t anticipate the other awesome thing you are going to do when they put resources towards the first awesome thing, 2) different decks have different matchup advantages in the context of a metagame and mashup decks can often take advantage of multiple predator positions, and 3) the cost is relatively low in many cases, certainly in this one.
TWO – Top Chef Draft
Sick week for the home team on the Top Chef front. For those of you following at home, this is how the draft went:
This week my horse Carla took down the elimination challenge for (-2) points and I got an extra (-1) from Tre’s appearance in the winners’ circle.
It was a double elimination week, so double dagger for Luis (Tiffani) and Megan (Jamie… who was more than due to go).
Current standings:
YT: 2
Phil: 3
Luis: 20
Megan: 23
I am once again in the lead, but the long odds have to be on Phil right now… He has Angelo (one of the two favorites) and Filipino Dale (a surprise monster this season). Many pundits probably have Megan more likely to win than YT (she has Marcel, who can win) when I lost my first pick last week… But for now, I’ll enjoy my lead
THREE – The Cape
From BDM’s Twitter feed / Facebook:
The Cape was not good.
I don’t think it’s as bad as BDM apparently does, but I think his 140-character analysis is pretty hilarious.
The Cape is full of ludicrous comic book cliches. I would tell you some of them but you would never believe me. Okay, you twisted my arm / pulled my leg. The hero is an ex-cop on the run after being framed for being — you guessed it — a supervillain mastermind… by the actual supervillain mastermind (because, you know… cops are fierce fighters adjacent to hand-to-hand vigilantes on the metagame clock of “what to do on a Saturday night”).
He is recruited by a carnival of crime (btw there is such a thing in the Marvel universe as the Circus of Crime), who taps him (as a former police officer) to pull of some, you know crimes [I didn't really understand this part, but I was playing MTGO at the time]. Then, inexplicably they turn good, start risking their lives for his quest to redeem himself and unseat the supervillain mastermind, and, you know, train him to be a superhero.
Two paragraphs ago I said The Cape is full of comic book cliches; what I mean was just cliches. The supervillain mastermind is the boss of a security firm that is privatizing the police force. So it is also a diatribe against privatization. Because, you know, companies are bad. Or something.
Did I mention the show isn’t good?
Yeah, I’ll probably watch the show until it gets canceled around ep four or whatever; but don’t expect me to like it.
FOUR – Young Justice, episode 2
I liked it!
The first episode ended with our heroes being decked by a then-enslaved Superboy. Predictably (if only from the promo art), Superboy turns face, frees Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad, and the four go on to found the as-yet-unnamed [on-screen] squad of Young Justice.
At the end of the episode they are joined by the uber-cute Miss Martian, shape-shifting “niece” of the Justice League’s Oreo-addicted JJ. So at this point they are just missing the female archer shown in much of the promo art. I don’t consider any of this spoiler-iffic as the first two eps are just a “gathering of eagles” and that you could imagine into place by watching a commercial.
Dissatisfying plot points:
Speaking of archers… I would have liked to see some on-screen attention to getting Speedy / Red Arrow [back]. What? Does Robin not have his cell phone number?
Annoying – Cadmus has Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash tied up. I am not sure Kid Flash even has a secret identity, but Dick Grayson’s real name would be at a premium… But Robin still has his domino mask on while shackled. Not only that, but they leave him his utility belt, lock picks, holographic iPads or whatever… Everything he would need to bust out (which he does).
What I loved: My favorite character is Aqualad. I talked about him in the last post, and I like him even more now. They haven’t explained his water manipulation or electric eel powers on-screen yet, but I like how he uses them in the battles!
Old buddy Marc Aquino pointed out that there is an all-new Aqualad in the DC Universe that was recently introduced in Brightest Day (I obviously wasn’t aware). The Young Justice Aqualad seems to be based on that cat, instead of the original:
The new DC Universe Aqualad character.
Overall, loved Young Justice and plan on watching every ep ever… With Clark and Bella of course.
FIVE – P!nk’s New Video
A lot of you cats know who Bella Flores is. For example you have seen this video:
Now because Bella loves Batman more than some of her own family members, wants to major in “fighting badguys” in school, and has deep interests that include karate, chess, and Sorin Markov, lots of peeps on the outside think that I have exerted some kind of undue influence on her young opinions.
The truth is, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Bella has a strong affinity with… understanding things. About three years ago, we let her use the computer to look at like Mickey Mouse Club videos on a Disney website. Despite being three and (at least as far as we knew) incapable of reading, Bella successfully navigated to the [more interesting] Batman- and Power Rangers-themed action video games that were also present on Disney properties.
Power Rangers was her gateway drug, but now Bella likes heroes the max.
So in terms of my being an undue influence on her… not true. In fact, she is more of an influence on me than you might expect. P!nk is Bella’s favorite artist (primarily due to hit “So What”), and because she tends to like stuff I like, I decided to try stuff she likes…
… which is how we are concluding with P!nk’s new vid. It is my early pick for video of the year (last year’s nod would have gone to “Telephone” by Lada Gaga + Beyonce). Enjoy!
“Raise Your Glass” by P!nk
This is a video of memorable, somewhat shocking, and generally effed-up visual images; my personal fave (I don’t know if the word “fave” actually applies here) is at about 1:11.
Click this image to buy this graphic novel from Amazon.com and I will make millionsthousandsdollars pennies.
A few years ago Brian Vaughan told me he thought Garth Ennis was the best writer in comics. The reason was that only Ennis could write a tearjerking scene about the loyalty between a boy and his dog, or the connection of true love… and then follow it up with a page of a one-eyed yokel being accidentally peed on just prior to being brutally murdered for witnessing the wrong chickenfucking.
… with essentially no warning.
That’s right: Garth Ennis — at least at his best — at least on Preacher was the Survival of the Fittest of tier one comic book writers. Versatile.
Despite being a fan of Ennis’s work since the first Preacher recommendation I ever got from — admittedly — Vaughan, I have always been an Alan Moore zombie (that is, since being turned on to Watchmen by, um, Vaughan). But like anyone with even an ounce of taste, I have appreciated Ennis at his best.
The problem is, Ennis hasn’t been on Preacher for like ten years.
Where has that utterly versatile / heartwarming / ultra-violent writer been hiding?
I read the first two runs on Punisher. I liked Garth’s Punisher, but Punisher — even with Steve Dillion on the art chores — is no Preacher. I’ve followed most of his work, including the first six editions of The Boys.
But not until this edition have we seen a glimmer of Ennis at his best (at least not on The Boys).
Maybe I should take a step back. What is The Boys?
The Boys is kind of a twisted Dark Mirror of Astro City (did I mention “twisted”?) … Super heroes are real and regular people see and interact with them. But unlike Astro City, for the most part, they only look super heroic. Super heroes in the world of The Boys are mostly corporate puppets who get paid millions of dollars to make appearance fees and sell product.
You know, how the world would probably be if it were ruled by mega corporations (with super heroes).
And for the most part, the super heroes are worthless at actual heroics. They go to Rescue someone, mis-judge the level of their super speed… Tear her arms off. They have all the physical super powers but none of the discipline. They all have vast wealth… Do the math. Most of the so-called super heroes are super hedonists, indulging in a nonstop roller coaster of drug use and sexual acrobatics with essentially no consequences.
Enter The Boys.
The Boys are a group of CIA-backed black jackets who observe — and oppose — the so-called super heroes (and the corporations that back them). Now don’t get me wrong… The Boys can be petty and cruel – and certainly violent — but at least they are not the undisciplined and omni-destructive bastards in the four-color flapping capes.
So what about number seven?
Unbeknownst to everyone, the most innocent and green member of The Boys has been seeing the youngest and (at least previously) most innocent member of essentially the Justice League of Ennis’s The Boys universe. Somehow, neither one of them knows who the other is.
At least until this volume.
The Boys has been entertaining for the entirety of its run. But “entertaining” in this context has mostly been the gratuitous boob shot, laughing at a supernatural level of frat boy-ness, harsh language, and watching the bad guys run in Terror of The Boys.
But volume seven — as much as it has the same Ennis edge — reminds us of the incredible emotional arsenal that this writer can bring to bear if he wants to. Like Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell *, this book will break your heart.
I’ve probably already said enough. I don’t actually want to spoil it!
By popular demand… The long awaited review of Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, Volume 3)!
A lot of people have been asking me about “that Buffy the Vampire Slayer graphic novel [I] talked about on the Top 8 Magic Podcast.” Most of them were pretty nice about it (even if I didn’t answer them in anything resembling a timely fashion). Some of them, though, like Tim Gillam…
Let’s be honest. I had it coming from Tim after that Consuming Vortex slow roll (though to be honest it never registered to me that I was slow rolling him… I just didn’t want to screw up). Well here it is!
Wolves at the Gate is actually the third “Season Eight” tale (the show concluded after seven seasons, but the story continues!); the first arc was written by Buffy creator Joss Whedon, number two focused on Faith and was written by my old pal Brian K. Vaughan, and Wolves at the Gate comes to us from Lost / Alias / Cloverfield / Angel / and of course Buffy writer Drew Goddard.
As I said in the podcast, Wolves at the Gate is one of the ten best graphic novels I have ever read. No, you don’t need to know very much about Buffy’s universe to enjoy this story. All you really need to know is that there is a super powered girl named Buffy who, you know, slays vampires and that she is currently training a stack of other super powered girls to fight the good fight.
The other major character in this story is Dracula, the vampire of legend, who opposed Buffy at one point on her television program but fights on the side of the slayers in Wolves at the Gate thanks to his friendship with Buffy’s lieutenant Xander.
Dracula is scary and capable… and hilariously racist in this volume.
I think that one of the things that I really liked about Wolves at the Gate is how successfully Drew Goddard maintained the witty banter of the television Buffy in his storytelling. Here is an example of racist Dracula meeting up with his “manservant” Xander before the good guys go to war:
<Dracula> You’ve lost weight.
<Xander> Can you tell? I’ve been trying to exercise more.
<Dracula> Yes. It suits you.
<Xander> Thanks you look good too
<Dracula> Oh, you’re just saying that because I complimented you.
<Xander> No — I’m not! I promise.
<Dracula> I can’t see myself in mirrors. I fear my best days are behind me.
<Xander> No — you’re more handsome than ever.
I can’t see myself in mirrors. Are you kidding me? The writing is great.
One of the principles that I have adopted into my literature analysis algorithm over about the last two or three years (since reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell) is whether or not a writer breaks your heart at any point. So books like Anathem, Zodiac, and countless others that successfully break your heart (which, remember, requires you to fall in love with one of the characters) all get points under the new system.
Drew crushes your poor heart like an ant underneat a toddler’s filthy sneaker about 4/5 of the way into the story. The moment is perfectly perfect, appropriate, all of it. Just great.
Oh yeah. There is one more thing that makes this book really Really REALLY worth buying, but I am not going to tell you unless you scroll way down.
Trust me you probably want to buy Wolves at the Gate without my telling you this crowd pleasing crowd pleaser. Here let me interrupt you with a cleverly disguised affiliate link so that you don’t spoil it for yourself.
I wasn’t kidding.
…
…
Okay!
Buffy joins the friends of Sappho and hooks up with a fine young Japanese slayer!
I warned you!
Now are you convinced?
Wolves at the Gate really is one of the ten best graphic stories I’ve ever read. I don’t think you need to be a fan of Miss Vampire Slayer to love this story, just great dialogue, wonderful storytelling, Slayer-on-Slayer shenanigans, and, you know, racist Dracula.
“Ursula” was my first exposure to the work of Brazilian twins and artists Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba.
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