On the face of it, the concept of Deadman: Dark Mansion Of Forbidden Love (DC Comics) seems faintly absurd, right down to the title. Sure, Deadman’s a ghost, but putting him in a gothic romance? How does he fit? Quite well, it turns out, in what’s shaping up to be one of the best of DC’s many recent experiments.
Deadman is trapped in an elaborate mansion, Glencourt Manor, with Adelia, a ghost with a dark secret she can’t remember, and is stripped of his powers. He needs antiquarian Berenice to piece together the mystery, but Berenice has troubles of her own, and the mystery may actively not want to be solved. Sarah Vaughn’s script is unabashedly a classic gothic in its limbs, at least at first, but this second issue moves beyond that and throws in some surprising twists, helped not least by everyone, Deadman included, turning out to be more complex than you’d think they should be.
Meanwhile, Lan Medina’s art is probably the most appropriately lush art imaginable for a story like this. Every page feels like a more dynamic romance cover, albeit one rendered with far more skill and no cheesy tropes. Medina’s best work is really in the small moments; while a nightmarish monster is no problem, he can execute a small, intimate moment with just as much skill. This book may not fit in with the usual tights-and-fists that’s DC’s stock in trade, but that makes it stand out all the more as a book worth picking up.
Motor Crush #1, Image
The Batgirl team of Cameron Stewart, Brendan Fletcher, and Babs Tarr step away from superheroes for a cheeky take on a future dystopia where it’s all about the motorcycle racing, and the most important drug in the world is Crush. Domino Swift, an up-and-coming racer, competes in legit circuits by day and no-holds-barred races by night for Crush, but, of course, a lot’s about to go wrong in her world. Stewart and Fletcher write an agreeable-enough ’80s action movie where everything goes so fast and nobody asks questions like just what, precisely, Crush is even supposed to do. But it’s clear they’re just setting the stage for Tarr to compose and draw some excellent, dynamic action scenes. As it keeps going, it’ll need more depth, but this first issue is a thrilling ride.
Violent Love #1, Image
Frank Barbiere and Victor Santos have, amazingly, found a lot fresh in the American crime story of an outlaw couple running wild in the ’60s Southwest. This has always been an odd sort of legend: Bonnie and Clyde, Charlie Starkweather, and the pop cultural children they spawned are monsters, after all. Barbiere, though, adds to it in part because this is really just the story of the Bonnie of the book, a deeply scarred woman, emotionally and physically, who wants revenge, and you’re not entirely sure she shouldn’t have it. Santos puts a spin on his usual slick style by giving it a sketchy, rough-hewn line that lets the book feel gritty without forsaking its sense of place, making it some of his best work and this book a crime comic you won’t want to leave on the shelf.
The Unworthy Thor #2, Marvel
Jason Aaron and Oliver Coipel continue their look at the Odinson, who’s no longer worthy to lift Mjolnir. Or, at least, not worthy to lift the Mjolnir of his universe, but those from other universes might not be quite so picky. This book at its best reinventing a longtime Marvel foe that we won’t ruin here from sorta goofy legacy to genuine, even unnerving, threat. And we also get to see Beta Ray Bill, who doesn’t appear often enough, and who opens the book with a scene that proves while Odinson may no longer be worthy of Mjolnir, he’s not as terrible as he thinks himself to be.
Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Giants #1, BOOM! Studios
The Storyteller series has been very committed to finding and retelling the kinds of fairy tales that will never get a Disney movie with some of the best artist/writers in comics, and Conor Nolan picks up where many left off with a retelling of the Japanese legend of Momotaro. It’s tricky, translating fables from other cultures to foreign audiences, but Nolan handles the task with aplomb, keeping the legend clear while carefully avoiding erasing its Japanese roots. It’s an excellent all-ages comic, and a treat for folklore fans.
Faith #6, Valiant: Faith finds she’s a hero even without her powers in a surprisingly touching issue on the cost of fame.
Midnighter And Apollo #3, DC Comics: Steve Orlando and Fernando Blanco’s series keep the tone of the original Midnighter while exploring, a bit, the conscience of a “superhero” who may kill. He can tell himself it’s for “the greater good”… but is it?
Nova #1, Marvel: Richard Rider and Sam Alexander finally meet in a new direction with a lot of promise for this book.
Wonder Woman ’77 Meets The Bionic Woman #1, Dynamite/DC: This note-perfect mixture of the two classic ’70s genre series feels like the episode of both we never got.
World Of Tanks #3, Dark Horse: Garth Ennis’ taste for realistic, sometimes tragic war comics is in full flower with this unexpectedly serious take on the goofy video game.
This Week’s Best Collections
One Week In The Library, Image Comics (Softcover, $10): A fascinating experimental book, this mix of prose, comics, infographics, and other visuals tells the story of a Borges-esque library where every story ever written is collected… and for some reason, the books are rebelling.
The Legend Of Wonder Woman, DC Comics (Hardcover, $30): A smart, accessible updating of the origin story of everyone’s favorite Amazon, if you missed this on the stands, the hardcover is a great way to get reacquainted.
The Complete Frank Miller Robocop Omnibus, BOOM! Studios (Hardcover, $40): Frank Miller wrote several Robocop screenplays that were never produced, but they’ve been turned into comics, and they make fascinating reading for film scholars and ’80s pop culture fans.