This week has already been a full week and I feel like it has barely started.
After getting back into my groove last week, this week has already seen me burn through a serious number of comics (or certainly the single issue equivalent). Of course, most of these have been comics I have read before but one of them is something I'd intended to review for Pipedream Comics. However, upon realising that this comic had already been reviewed, I figured I'd use my notes and talk about it anyway.
So, this week a read Bigger Fish, an oversized crime one-shot (at least I think it was a one-shot) by Ed Whiting, Hakan Aydin, J. Francis Totti and Robin Jones, where some different players within the drugs trade work in Nixon-era America against the backdrop of the War on Drugs announcement in 1971. However, while loyal soldier Mike, having recently served both time and his country is brought into a drug deal by friend Danny that is behind the back of 'Uncle Joe', dirty cop Dolan and his partner are informed of this deal and begin making plans to turn it to their advantage.
I found this to be a rather enjoyable comic, with Ed Whiting seemingly written something which genuinely imbues a classic feel of the gangster's/organised crime world, making it feel like a cross between Goodfellas and Miami Vice. I really enjoyed how dense it felt and the vast array of characters it contained who come across as very compelling, all of whom seemed to inhabit a real gray area between right and wrong. That said, while the characters are interesting, I did think there were too many of them as some players who could be interesting, like 'Uncle Joe', got very little chance to impress while others, like Dolan's unnamed partner, barely got a name. It's this which I think also causes a sense of sluggishness in the pacing as it simply too dense to flow consistently.
Meanwhile, I liked Hakan Aydin art work as it felt like a style which looked gorgeous but also grimy in equal measure. I did think that the pencils were rather rough but this helped sell the comic to me, giving me the impression that we were looking at the seedy underbelly of regular life, something that J. Francis Totti's colours, which seemed a tad garish with the bright skylines contrasted against dull foregrounds) seemed to help sell. As a result, I really felt that the look of this book had been influenced by GTA Vice City, though with a grittier take.
By the end, I really thought that Bigger Fish was a captivating one shot and, overall a good read, one that wasn't perfect and had it's flaws but still intrigued me with a final cliffhanger/revelation making me wish there was a follow up issue. That said, the finality in the last panel makes me skeptical thare'll be any follow up, although I can help because if there isn't then I think it'll be just criminal!
Oh, and Before I Forget ...
Now, when I said that this week had definitely been a reading heavy one, the predominant reason for this was mainly thanks to re-reading Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino's Green Arrow run, which I had first checked out nearly two years back. The reason for the desire to return was simply that the 80th anniversary issue had me pining to read more and I really wanted to make sure I had 'filled the gap' and got the necessary info for my eventual Rebirth read.
Funnily enough. I've now realised how weird it is that, while I remembered that this series was good, I had forgotten just how good it was as well as, specifically, what had happened during it. However, reading it again during this past weekend reminded me that Lemire and Sorrentino had created a truly phenomenal journey for the Emerald Archer, one with seriously unforgettable characters (though how I did is beyond me) and truly gorgeous visuals. Reading this (re-)explained why both of these creators are so highly lauded.
Now, whether I picked up on it the first time or not, I did realise that the run wasn't perfect, as the Futures End tie in didn't grab me like the rest of the series. However, that one blip didn't change the fact that this Green Arrow is an absolutely phenomenal read and it has me pumped to get around to Green Arrow Rebirth, Year One and Hard Travelling Heroes (which all sit in my 'to read' pile).
I really loved the story, which was so quintessentially noir in it's execution and look thanks to Messrs King and Weeks. Of course, Lee Weeks work outshone the writing in my opinion as it was so gorgeously rendered, it made me think of Nicola Scott's work in Black Magick or that recent Green Arrow 80th.
Of course, King did wonderfully here too, making the whole stable of Looney Toons characters feel so incredible real while still maintaining their ... 'idiosyncrasies'. That, along with the back up which read so much better than I remember first time round just solidifies how much I really like this title. It does make tempted to pick up others, although my fear they won't live up to this one makes me think I'll just stick with this issue only.
And that's my long weekend in a nutshell (or a very long piece of text). Unfortunately, very little else got done, although given the amount I've read in four days, this is not really surprising.
However, I'm going to try my luck at getting another blog post this week (as I have a comic I mind), so with a bit more reading, I'll try to take a crack at getting some more pages done for my current project, as well as an actual review.
I just hope I don't burn myself put with all this writing.
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