A Rundown of Minor Things

I’m looking at my “To Review” pile and there’s a variety of things in it.  There are things that I’m saving for potential podcasts.  There are things I think deserve to be written about, but have let sit for whatever reason.  There are things that you’ll likely be reading reviews of next week.  There’s also one title that I don’t want to write about…  Then there are several titles that wound up in this pile simply because I finished reading them and have let sit because I wanted to write about other things more.  That doesn’t mean they’re bad, but they are what you’ll get my thoughts on after the break.

Erik Dieter is a music teacher who had greater ambitions than to wind up as that.  It isn’t until his mother passes away that he learns of the incredible skill that his grandfather had as a saxophone player in the mid-60’s, and the demonic cost that came with his skill.  Blue in Green is the story of Erik trying to uncover his grandfather’s history while being faced with the same choice that man had.  In writer Ram V’s hands, this winds up being a pretty straightforward metaphor for the human wreckage left behind by those with incredible talent.  This leads to a fairly ordinary story whose supernatural bent is better realized in Anand RK’s art.  He’s a clear disciple of Sienkiewicz, which leads to art that’s always interesting, a little unclear at points, and damn creepy at others.  Stay away if you’re triggered by the sight of fleshy tentacles, however.

Harry Vanderspeigle is an alien who has been living under a human identity, and working as a doctor in the small town of Patience, Washington.  This setup has offered some low-key delights over the course of five volumes, and with Resident Alien vol. 6:  Your Ride’s Here, writer Peter Hogan and artist Steve Parkhouse look to bring some closure to his story.  That’s because his fellow aliens are coming to Earth to pick him up and Harry has to deal with the assortment of loose ends presented here, which include a very nosy federal agent.  The charms of the previous volumes are intact here, with Hogan’s character work and Parkhouse’s art being as solid as ever.  We also get a solid wrap-up for this series, which satisfies even as the creators leave the door open a little for future stories.

The Japanese army has brought dinosaurs back and is training them to fight the Allies in WWII!  That’s the premise behind Operation Dragon from co-writers Bill Groshelle and Brendan Cahill, and artist German Peralta and I was expecting the creators to lean into the ridiculous B-movie thrills that it promised.  I didn’t get that as the graphic novel takes its sweet time getting to the first bit of dinosaur-based war combat, and doles it out sparsely after that.  This wouldn’t be a problem if the rest of the time was spent with interesting characters, but they mainly deliver a lot of macho bickering.  Perlata’s art is generally strong where it counts, even when he’s trying to do his best impression of Eduardo Risso at certain points.

Crimson Flower comes to us from a couple of Matts.  Writer Kindt and artist Lesniewski.  Matt the writer can usually be counted on to deliver an interesting read, if not a wholly satisfying one.  That’s the case here as we have an unnamed woman posing as a pharmaceutical salesperson as she tracks the person who killed her father through the backwaters of Russia.  That’s pretty much all there is to this story as the woman’s use of Russian folk tales (that part of me wonders if Kindt just made up) doesn’t really add much to the narrative.  It does give Lesniewski some interesting things to draw as his very stylized and exaggerated art is the highlight of this volume.  The man’s work definitely won’t be to everyone’s taste, but I liked it.

Last and definitely not least is Old Head by Kyle Starks.  It’s about Nash Gliven, a former basketball player more known for his fighting skills than his baller skills.   His mother has just passed away and the creepy definitely-not-vampire-like people in the castle up on the hill have just bought her house.  Shenanigans ensue.  Starks wrote the (I’ll say it again) unjustly ignored “Assassin Nation,” and this isn’t quite on the same level because it doesn’t quite hit the comedic heights that a story about a former basketball player fighting the forces of darkness should.  Starks still delivers some solid laughs, quality action, and a finale that actually does manage to deliver on the comedic-yet-heartwarming vibe that he tries to nail throughout the volume.  What I’m saying is that if you only decide to pick up one of the volumes mentioned here, make it this one.