Showing posts with label Ghosts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ghosts. Show all posts

April 18, 2020

Lot 13 # 2 & 3 - Steve Niles & Glenn Fabry

8 years ago the first issue of Lot 13 came out from DC Comics. Originally planned to appear within the Wildstorm imprint, it ended up as part of regular DC offerings since Wildstorm had been eliminated from the publisher, much in the same way that a few years later Vertigo would disappear. At the time I reviewed the first issue, promising to do the same with the next ones, however I never got around it until now. So if you’ve been following this blog since 2012 then you’ll particularly enjoy this post.

We all know that Steve Niles loves the horror genre, and he has produced many horror-themed titles in the past. And Lot 13 had started as the quintessential haunted house story. However, in issue # 2 (originally published in January 2013) we are made privy to the terrible past surrounding the infamous lot 13, and the house built upon it. In a shocking scene, we see two drunk men taking turns and raping a woman. Although it is a violent scene, artist Glenn Fabry manages to depict the moment without making it more explicit than it needs to be. As readers we all understand what’s going on, and we also understand that the ghost of this woman will be forever trapped in the house now visited by the protagonists, along with the people executed during the Fairfax trials.  

In issue # 2 (published in February 2013), we see the family desperately fighting to save their lives. Against an unending horde of mutilated and disfigured bodies, it looks as if all hope is lost. Fabry not only provides magnificent covers but also extraordinary and beautiful interior pages; his art shines in every sequence, and makes solid the ethereal concept of ghosts; furthermore, the amount of details, the careful design and the unique balance of every page turn this comic into the kind of work that deserves to be appreciated with our full attention.

A miniseries by such a famous creative team should have been successful but perhaps it didn’t reach its audience due to a series of reason. First of all, it’s a miniseries that would’ve fit well in Wildstorm but that seems slightly out of place under the DC Comics label. But the second reason, and perhaps the most important one, is that around the time the miniseries was published, a number of comic book writers openly complained about the use of rape and promised never to include such scenes in their works. This was one of the many situations in which the division between fiction and reality was forgotten. We can read or write a work of fiction about rape and that doesn’t mean that we condone rape. 

However, the premise of some writers was that talking or even mentioning sexual abuse in the pages of a comic book would be an insult to victims of rape, however, this attempt of erasure feeds into the trauma, because in order to heal it’s necessary to remember and to accept what has happened, something which is extremely difficult to victims of sexual abuse who as a psychological defense mechanism deny what happened to them. 
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Hace 8 años, el primer número de Lot 13 fue publicado por DC Comics. Originalmente iba a aparecer dentro del sello Wildstorm, pero terminó como parte de las ofertas regulares de DC ya que Wildstorm había sido eliminado poco tiempo antes, de la misma manera que unos años más tarde Vertigo desaparecería. En el momento en que revisé el primer número, prometí reseñar los siguientes, sin embargo, recién lo estoy haciendo ahora. Entonces, si habéis estado siguiendo este blog desde el 2012, disfrutaréis especialmente de esta publicación.

Todos sabemos que Steve Niles ama el género de terror, y ha producido muchos títulos de terror en el pasado. Lot 13 había comenzado como la típica historia de la casa encantada. Sin embargo, en el número 2 (publicado originalmente en enero de 2013) estamos al tanto del terrible pasado que rodea el infame lote 13, y la casa construida sobre él. En una escena impactante, vemos a dos hombres borrachos turnándose y violando a una mujer. Aunque es una escena violenta, el artista Glenn Fabry logra representar el momento sin hacerlo más explícito de lo que debe ser. Como lectores, todos entendemos lo que está sucediendo y también entendemos que el fantasma de esta mujer quedará atrapado para siempre en la casa que ahora visitan los protagonistas, junto con las personas ejecutadas durante los juicios de Fairfax.

En el número 3 (publicado en febrero de 2013), vemos a la familia luchando desesperadamente por salvar sus vidas. Contra una horda interminable de cuerpos mutilados y desfigurados, parece que se ha perdido toda esperanza. Fabry no solo ofrece portadas magníficas sino también páginas interiores extraordinarias y hermosas; su arte brilla en cada secuencia y hace sólido el concepto etéreo del fantasma; Además, la cantidad de detalles, el diseño cuidadoso y el equilibrio único de cada página convierten este cómic en el tipo de trabajo que merece ser apreciado con toda nuestra atención.

Una miniserie de un equipo creativo tan famoso debería haber tenido éxito, pero tal vez no llegó a su audiencia debido a una serie de razones. En primer lugar, es una miniserie que encajaría bien en Wildstorm pero que parece un poco fuera de lugar bajo la etiqueta de DC Comics. Pero la segunda razón, y quizás la más importante, es que cuando se publicó la miniserie, varios escritores de cómics se quejaron abiertamente sobre el uso de la violación y prometieron nunca incluir tales escenas en sus obras. Esta fue una de las muchas situaciones en las que se olvidó la división entre ficción y realidad. Podemos leer o escribir una obra de ficción sobre la violación y eso no significa que seamos insensibles. 

Sin embargo, la premisa de algunos escritores era que hablar o incluso mencionar el abuso sexual en las páginas de un cómic sería un insulto a las víctimas de una violación, sin embargo, este intento de eliminación alimenta el trauma, porque para sanar es necesario recordar y aceptar lo sucedido, algo extremadamente difícil para las víctimas de abuso sexual que, como mecanismo de defensa psicológico, niegan lo que les sucedió.

January 10, 2014

December comic books / cómics de diciembre

The year has just begun and I’m celebrating with a quadruple overdose of Gillen! Two issues of Young Avengers, Three and Uber (that’s the good stuff). I didn’t think much of Inhumanity till I reached the final pages, what a surprising ending! My favorite issues of the month come from Dark Horse & Icon. I’m talking about the first issue of Shaolin Cowboy; it sure deserves a special award: great story and splendid art, I’ve always been a Geof Darrow fan and his Shaolin’s pages are unbelievably fantastic. Kick Ass 3 # 5 was brilliant. And now, without further ado, here are December 2013 comics as per solicitations.

ASTONISHING X-MEN #52 
(W) Marjorie M. Liu (A) Mike Perkins (CA) Dustin Weaver • The explosive aftermath to the year's most talked about event! 

DC COMICS ESSENTIALS WATCHMEN #1 
(W) Alan Moore (A/CA) Dave Gibbons. The unforgettable debut chapter that began the best-selling and most talked-about graphic novel of all time is back in a new, promotionally priced reprint! The saga of The Minutemen begins with a bang as the Comedian is brutally murdered - but who could have killed him? 

GHOSTS #1 (MR) 
(W) Al Ewing & Various (A) Rufus Dayglo, Phil Jimenez & Various (CA) Dave Johnson. Check out this all-new anthology from some of the biggest talents in the industry! Stories spotlight a space heist on a ghost ship, a spirit who wants to play synthesizer in a techno band, a ghost-for-hire haunting agency and others dark, twisted tales. With stories and art by some of comics' greatest talents, this special features a cover by Dave Johnson, and a variant cover by Brendan McCarthy!

INHUMANITY #1 
(W) Matt Fraction (A/CA) Olivier Coipel • After INFINITY, the Marvel Universe has changed. • The Avengers find themselves face to face with Karnak who has discovered the secret of the Inhumans that will shake the Marvel U to its core. 

JUDGE DREDD CLASSICS #6 
(W) John Wagner, Alan Grant (A) Carlos Ezquerra (CA) Jim Fern
East-Meg One's 'Mad Dog' Kazan introduces the Diktatorat to a new order of command, while Chief Justice Griffin has been kidnapped and brainwashed by the Sovs! Will Dredd administer justice on Griffin as swiftly as he does with East-Meg's soldiers? 

KICK-ASS 3 #5 (OF 8) (MR) 
(W) Mark Millar (A/CA) John Romita. At long last, the earth-shattering event destined to tear apart the Kick-Ass universe forever: Dave gets a girlfriend! Also, a new vigilante team known only by their Skull and Bones masks makes its presence known.  

ONE FOR $1 ABE SAPIEN #1 
(W) Mike Mignola, Scott Allie (A) Sebastian Fiumara (CA) Mike Mignola, Dave Stewart. To celebrate the release of the new trade paperback collection, Dark Horse is offering Abe Sapien #1 again-for $1! On the run from the B.P.R.D., a mutated Abe Sapien traverses a devastated America, with monster corpses scattered around and cities in ruin. 

SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING TP BOOK 05 (MR) 
(W) Alan Moore (A) Rick Veitch & Various (CA) Rick Veitch, John Totleben This volume continues Alan Moore's award-winning run on SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING with issues #51-56! Swamp Thing returns from hell only to learn that Abby has fled Gotham City, where he runs afoul of Batman, Lex Luthor and the Gotham City Police Department. 

SHAOLIN COWBOY #1
(W/A) Geof Darrow (CA) Geof Darrow, Peter Doherty. The Shaolin Cowboy returns, but nowhere in sight is there a dead Robin, any infinity gauntlets, or a single conquering Ultron-just flat-out action, intrigue, and plenty of roadkill. Geof Darrow's slow-talkin', kung-fu-gripping hero proves once again, in this brand-new new series, that the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a chainsaw! 

SIDEKICK #4 CVR A MANDRAKE & HIFI (MR) 
(W) J. Michael Straczynski (A/CA) Tom Mandrake,  HiFi. Barry Chase, a.k.a. Flyboy, returns in shame to Sol City after his failed attempt to start a new career elsewhere under a different name. He finds himself a man without a home, ridiculed by the press and abandoned by those he thought were his friends. Alone... until the notorious female villain Moonglow makes him an offer he may find too good to refuse. Will Flyboy cross the line from hero to villain, and is he prepared to pay the ultimate price for that decision?  

THREE #3 
(W) Kieron Gillen (A) Ryan Kelly, Jordie Bellaire (CA) Jordie Bellaire, Ryan Kelly
Curse the Spartan who is a Trembler. Shave his beard. Rip his cloak. Beat or spit on him if you will. If you found yourself condemned in such a fashion, a few short years after all of Sparta's men ran, the hypocrisy could bite. Discover why it's not just the helots who suffer under Spartan Law, and discover what a Trembler plans for the three slaves responsible for his shame... 

UBER #2 (MR) 
(W) Kieron Gillen (A/CA) Caanan White. KIERON GILLEN has created a frightening alternate timeline where the Nazi war machine introduced super powered soldiers into the dying days of World War II. As one spy flees Germany with the secrets of the Ubers, the world around her falls to pieces under the onslaught of these living weapons and the Allies struggle to contend with the destruction left in their wake. The last days of Hitler's reign of terror are coming but the monsters of the master race are determined to make their enemies pay to the last. Available with Regular or Wraparound cover by Caanan White , Propaganda Poster cover by Michael Dipascale, and a special Blitzkrieg Incentive cover by Caanan White 

VERTIGO ESSENTIALS Y THE LAST MAN #1 (MR) 
(W) Brian K. Vaughan (A) Pia Guerra, José Marzan (CA) J. G. Jones. A science-fiction epic begins in the first issue of the hit series Y: THE LAST MAN, as a mysterious plague wipes out every male on Earth-with the exception of escape artist Yorick Brown and his pet monkey, Ampersand.  

YOUNG AVENGERS #13 
(W) Kieron Gillen (A/CA) Jamie McKelvie • This periodical plans to include an above-industry average amount and standard of drama, conflict (both internal and external), action set-pieces. It will include 20 pages of comic art. It prominently features heroic attempts to save the world and kissing. • 'The best comic I've ever written. Called Young Avengers #13.' - Kieron Gillen.

YOUNG AVENGERS #14 
(W) Kieron Gillen (A)  Various (CA) Jamie McKelvie. RESOLUTION (1 of 2) • We gather in a night club, and have a string of connected and overlapping stories starring our cast. It's a completely and unprecedented approach to a story in comics history. There are no parallels. We refuse to accept it. •Team Young Avengers are joined by an all-start cast of some people we really like. Each individual section gets one individual artist. It's a metaphor, probably. • It's been one hell of a year. In two episodes, one before and one after the new year, the Young Avengers get resolution. You guys do as well.  
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¡El año acaba de empezar y yo estoy celebrando con una sobredosis cuádruple de Gillen! Dos ejemplares de Young Avengers, Three y Uber (esto sí que es bueno). Aunque el inicio es lento, las últimas páginas de Inhumanity me sorprendieron ¡vaya final! Mis cómics favoritos del mes son de Dark Horse & Icon. Me refiero al primer número de Shaolin Cowboy; sin duda merece un premio especial: gran historia y espléndido arte, siempre he sido un fan de Geof Darrow y sus páginas de Shaolin son increíblemente fantásticas. Kick Ass 3 # 5 fue brillante. Y ahora, sin más preámbulos, aquí están los cómics de diciembre de 2013.

ASTONISHING X-MEN #52
El explosivo desenlace del evento más hablado del año. 

DC COMICS ESSENTIALS WATCHMEN #1
Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons.

GHOSTS #1 (MR)
Al Ewing, Rufus Dayglo, Phil Jimenez et al. 

INHUMANITY #1
El universo ha cambiado. Los Vengadores se encuentran cara a cara con KARNAK, quien ha descubierto el secreto de los Inhumanos. 

JUDGE DREDD CLASSICS #6
La guerra del apocalipsis continúa.

KICK-ASS 3 #5 (OF 8) (MR)
El impactante evento destinado a cambiar el universo de KICK-ASS: ¡Dave consigue novia! Y un nuevo vigilante enmascarado aparece. 

ONE FOR $1 ABE SAPIEN #1
Huyendo del BPRD, Abe viaja a lo largo de un Estados Unidos devastado, lleno de cadáveres de monstruos y ciudades en ruinas.

SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING TP BOOK 05 (MR)
Alan Moore, Rick Veitch et al.

SHAOLIN COWBOY #1
El cowboy regresa, pero por ningún lado hay un Robin muerto, un guantelete del infinito o un conquistador cósmico. Sólo acción a raudales, intriga y muchos asesinatos de carretera. El héroe del habla lenta demuestra una vez más que para detener a los malos hace falta una sierra eléctrica.
I drew this in 2011 (page 2 of 7) / dibujé esto en el 2011 (página 2 de 7)

SIDEKICK #4 CVR A MANDRAKE & HIFI (MR)
FLYBOY regresa avergonzado a Ciudad Sol después de su fallido intento de iniciar una nueva carrera bajo un nombre distinto. Ahora es un hombre sin hogar, ridiculizado por la prensa y abandonado por aquellos que eran sus amigos. Está solo… hasta que encuentra a una notoria villana que le hace una oferta demasiada buena como para rehusarla. 

THREE #3
Maldigan al espartano temeroso. Quitadle la barba. Arrancadle el manto. Escupid sobre él. Si esta fuese tu condena, pocos años después de que los espartanos huyeran, la hipocresía sería ardiente. 

UBER #2
La maquinaria de guerra nazi introdujo soldados súper-poderosos en los últimos días de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Cuando un espía huye de Alemania, el mundo a su alrededor se desmorona bajo la matanza de estas armas vivientes, y los aliados luchan con contener la destrucción que dejan a su paso. Estos son los últimos días de terror de Hitler pero los monstruos de la raza suprema están determinados a hacer que sus enemigos padezcan.

VERTIGO ESSENTIALS Y THE LAST MAN #1 (MR)
Una misteriosa plaga ha eliminado a todos los hombres del planeta, a excepción de YORICK y su mono mascota.

YOUNG AVENGERS #13
Este cómic planea incluir una cantidad por encima del promedio de drama, conflictos (internos y externos) y acción. Tendrá 20 páginas. Y exhibirá de manera prominente intentos heroicos de salvar el mundo y besos.

YOUNG AVENGERS #14
Nos reunimos en un club nocturno, con historias conectadas que se superponen. Es un enfoque completamente sin precedentes en la historia del cómic. No hay paralelos. Nos rehusamos a aceptarlos. El equipo de Jóvenes Vengadores es acompañado por un elenco de gente que realmente nos gusta. Cada parte individual tiene un artista individual. Es una metáfora, probablemente. Ha sido un año del demonio. En dos episodios, uno antes y otros después de año nuevo, los Jóvenes Vengadores llegan a una conclusión.