I'm Just Like All These Other Collector Losers, I

Thought I'd diversify the listing of things a little bit by adding some of the better comics I've been reading.

Hell - (preview available) Gorgeously drawn and colored. Hell of the title is actually an island of genetic experimentation (Eden) gone horribly awry. The coloring is lush; there is probably no better word for how well its details and pallettes work. And the drawing... Done in a graffiti-ish style, with sharp, jagged emphasis along curving and twisting forms, captures action and motion as well as (if not better than) anything I've seen. I'm only through issue 1 (there are four on stands), but if the story holds up, Hell could assert itself as one of the best action comics in production.

B.P.R.D. - (preview) With the Hellboy movie coming out, it seems providential that I discover B.P.R.D., a Hellboy spin-off as sure as they come. This comic makes me very curious about the film. Yeah, the first issue ends with a lot of screaming and shooting and punching and monster noises. But you gotta have some of that when you've compiled a task force of tortured superfreaks. There's an air of "League of Extraordinairy Gentlemen", but I get the feeling that much more has been invested into the story than with that book. We will see when the second issue comes out in April.

The Pogostick - Our hero is a mixture of Milton from Office Space and Jimmy Corrigan of Smartest Kid on Earth fame. As such, Pogostick is a dark comedy of office interrelation hijinx and tragedy. Al Columbia is an amazing comics artist, yet (like many underground comix) his work is difficult to come by when it's out of its run. It's good to be reading it during the cycle.

Some quick notes as well... Dead@17 is essentially Buffy the Zombie Slayer and a little disappointing because of it... The Clockmaker folds out to tabloid size and wins some art points because of it, but the story itself is plodding (I'm on issue 3) especially for a short-run comic... the new Optic Nerve is on par for Adrian Tomine; I'd reccommend the previous issue (#8) if you'd like to read an exemplary story of his.