Out There #1 (July, 2001)
Writer - Brian Augustyn
Pencils - Humberto Ramos
Inks - Sandra Hope
Colors - Studio F
Letters - Ryan Cline
Edits - Scott Dunbier
Cover Price: $2.50
Got an interesting one today... a bit strange too. Dare I say, it's a little bit "out there".
I apologize, that was horribly lazy (it's Sunday, please forgive me)... let's just pop into the spoilery synopsis!
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We open with a young woman walking down an empty street. Crying and confused, she calls out to her parents... or anyone who might hear her... but the streets appear to be completely abandoned. Suddenly, she is overcome with little beasties... and before she knows it, she's whisked away to a demonic landscape where she is met by something calling itself Draedalus. Upon getting a closer look, the girl sees her parents (and a lot of other ordinary folks) just floating in the ether, and being dumped to the ground by the Big D.
Turns out... this was all a dream! The young woman, who we learn is named Jess, gets up and gets ready for school.
Speaking of school, that's our next stop. It's here we meet a young genius named Mark Wexler, as he goes about his usual morning torment at the hands of some jock bullies. After having his glasses swiped and being shoved to the ground, the Zach the Quarterback rolls in to tell his teammates to leave the kid alone.
Though he doesn't seem to really care all that much for young Master Wexler, Zach tells the team that they're not going to act as bullies. Ya see, if they wind up getting suspended, they'll be off the team! Just then a... bearded girl runs up and starts hugging on Zach! Okay, I think this is just a coloring/shading snafu, but tell me it doesn't look like she has a beard! Zach looks up to the top of the building, and could swear he saw one'a dem li'l beasties.
We jump across town to the Mayor's Mansion, where a big ol' real estate deal is in the works some of the VIPs of El Dorado City including Zach's father. After signing on the dotted-line, the Mayor retreats to a side room to tell some beasties that the can inform their Master that she's got things well at hand.
Back at school, Jess has a contentious run-in with Zach's no-longer bearded girlfriend, Casey. Tonight's the night of the Harvest Dance, and the mean girls are making fun of Jess because ain't nobody wants her there, or some such. Jess promises to be a dark cloud at that dance... and declares that she'll rain all over the "bimbo parade". Let's... choose not to take that remark literally, okay?
Later, we rejoin li'l Markie at his father's CPA offices. Papa Wexler insists his son looks "dashing" and that he will have a great time at the Harvest Fling-Ding-Thing. Naturally, Mark is wearing one of those stereotypical baby blue "bad tuxes"... which is also like three sizes too large.
We shift scenes to a small church. A woman is sweeping the porch, and notes that it's gotten a little windy today. She wonders aloud if this might be due to "them".
Later into the evening, a pair of drug-dealers enter El Dorado City. Their dialogue here is... woof. They talk about franchising their enterprise... with a website. Double-You, Double-You, Double-You... dot... Smack... dot... com (which is something I just now typed into my browser... but it didn't take me anywhere. These guys might still have a shot at the domain!). Anyhoo, they're pulled over by the po-lice, where they're met with a vulgar abuse of authority by an Officer. Vulgar, in that... he calls forth a bunch'a beasties to feastie on the fellas.
Finally, it's time for the Harvest Dance, and Jess has in fact decided to show up... lookin' only as she can look. Total style shift from her usual school attire... which catches some of her classmates off-guard. Li'l Markie watches as she shoves some goofball to the ground, and realizes... he's quite smitten. He also, uh, sees one'a the beasties... he refers to this as his "Friendly Neighborhood Hallucination", which tells us seein' these things is a usual occurrence for the kid.
Inside, Jess bumps into Casey... and they... compliment each other's dresses! How 'bout that? The Harvest Dance bringin' people together! Zach the Quarterback also feasts his eyes on Jess... and gets all homina-homina-homina... which sets Casey off somethin' fierce. She storms out, and Zach follows.
Once in the hallway, Casey and Zach start making out against the lockers... hard. Maybe they've got some sort of reverse-cuckold fetish or something. I ain't gonna judge... whatever works for 'em! Anyhoo, while they're bumping and grinding, they spy... say it with me... one'a dem beasties out the window!
Li'l Markie, proving himself to be rather a perv, might be watching these two making out? It isn't terribly clear if this is happening in exactly the same place. He wonders aloud where Jess is at... and it just so happens, she was standing behind him... watching him perv out? As Jess goes to confront the kid, they both see... dem beasties!
Outside in the parking lot, one of the football players is waiting... presumably for those drug dealers we just saw get eaten. He's confronted instead by Principal Hodges, who informs him that his "package" ain't never gonna arrive. Hodges then... shoots the kid dead! Two of "dem beasties" pop outta the Principal's chest... leaving him one bewildered child murderer!
We wrap up with the revelation that Jess, Mark, Casey, and Zach all watched this scene play out... but, what are they gonna do about it?!
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This was a lot of fun. It's been in my collection... jeez, nearly twenty-years... and I've never taken a look a look at it til now.
Now, I can't say that I've seen all that many 80's horror movies, but I'm familiar enough with the conceits and themes... which, this book seems to have in spades. That's not a knock, or a bad thing in any way. This really takes care in pulling together many of those tropes/cliches, and delivers a really fun (and intriguing) story.
We've got the high school setting, which is pretty perfect, and gives Augustyn plenty of opportunity to play into some of the stereotypical/archetypal personalities. We've got the "Mean Girl" clique, who are at odds with the sorta-gothy loner. We have a football team full of meatheads and bullies, who defer to their only member who appears to have a "heart of gold"... or, at the very least, a conscience. We have the little nerdy kid with attitude. It's really nothing we haven't seen before (or since), but it's done with such charm and earnestness, that I can't help but to love it.
El Dorado City definitely has a big secret, as evidenced by the hoi-polois gathering at the Mayor's Mansion. The beasties have gotten in... and we're left wondering how many of the VIPs 'round town are willingly in cahoots with them. Their presence, at the very least, is acknowledged a few times here... the kids seem haunted by these "in the corner of their eye" demons on a regular basis... the woman at the church seems to know... and, perhaps the Officer who pulled over the drug dealers as well. It's clear that the Mayor is aware... and is cooperating.
We get a lot of questions here... and, I'm actually wanting to know more. That doesn't happen too often for me these days!
Let's talk art. I know Humberto Ramos can be a bit divisive... but, I've always enjoyed his work. This semi-early work is probably some of my favorite Ramos stuff. The characters (outside of the weird-beard coloring goof on Casey), are all really great looking, and stand out from the rest of the crowd. That's something that usually trips me up when reading a book full of "normal" people. It's hard to make them look distinct... with maybe a little bit in the way of "cartoonish" identifiers, without making them look like costume shop models. Ya know what I mean? Does that make sense?
Being the horrible pack-rat you know me to be, it may not come as a surprise that I actually still have the Out There Promotional Preview. It's not much of a Preview, only the first two pages. When I thought about covering book on the site, it was actually the Preview that came to mind first! I figured it would be a quickie article, wherein I'd have to synopsize less than ten pages. When I saw it was only two, I felt like that would'a been a massive cop-out (and, honestly, a disservice to the property).
Here's a look at the Preview Edition... same cover, with some promo-blurbs:
Inside, it's the first two pages, featuring Jess's nightmare (which is why I didn't include these pages in the main synopsis).
This promo was actually a WildStorm/Cliffhanger! "flip book"... turn this sucker over, and we see Ninja Boy!
We get a two-page preview of this one as well...
Overall... I had much more fun with this than I ever imagined... and, although my WildStorm offerings at the site are some of my least-viewed, I'm tempted to come back and cover the next issue or two. I'd say, if you're a fan of 80's horror movies, or light high school drama, this book might be right up your alley. Looks like if you have Comixology Unlimited, this entire series is just waiting to be read!
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(Not the) Letters Page:
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Battle Chasers #1 (April, 1998)
"The Most Dangerous Game"
Story - Joe Madureira & Munier Sharrieff
Pencils - Joe Madureira
Inks - Tom McWeeney
Colors - Liquid!'s Christian Lichtner & Aron Lusen
Letters - Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Letterer - Dave Lanphear
Editor in Chief - Scott Dunbier
Publisher - Jim Lee
Cover Price: $2.50
Welcome to our 750th Daily Discussion!
Was in the mood for something a little different today... and so, I turned to our pals at Wildstorm. It's been awhile since we chatted up pre-DC-owned Wildstorm... so we're long overdue.
Today we're going to discuss the first issue of Battle Chasers... or as I knew it, the "dead cat bounce" of the comics speculator market.
It was 1998... and the worm had turned. We no longer had to pay comic shops for the service of holding books for us... in fact, many of the remaining "boom" shops had turned to giving decent discounts for the privilege! It was during this time that I figured I'd never have to actually "track down" a comic book ever again.
Then Battle Chasers happened. This book vanished from the shelves just as quickly (and mysteriously) as it arrived! The first time I actually read Battle Chasers was in trade paperback format... and, a trade I found in the 25-cent bin at that! Didn't manage to find a copy of my own until... well, not too long ago.
Lucky for us (or, me) that I did... so, we can talk about it here today!
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We open with an old man waking from a dream. It seems to be of the recurring variety involving a condemned man in mystic armor... feeling searing heat. This time, however, he couldn't see the faces of the (maybe) baddies. He calls out for Calibretto... whoever that might be. Elsewhere, at the same time... a young blonde girl is fleeing from something... while protectively clutching a small wooden box.
She looks behind her... and we can see just what she's been running from, lumbering red-eyed werewolves... or wolfmen, not sure if they transform or anything... let's just say lupine humanoids that walk on two legs. Anyhoo, they want the box!
The girl refuses to hand over the loot, and so the wolves-men let decide to play a little cat-and-mouse with her... allowing her to run into the deserted city of Granok. She rushes off into the flood-ruined town, and takes refuge in an abandoned house. Doesn't take long for one of the beasties to discover her.
In attempt to defend herself, she grabs a nearby mattock. The tool proves to be too heavy for her to lift... well, perhaps too heavy for anybody to lift, because the handle snaps in two! Before the beastie can nab her, she jabs the broken off handle into its shoulder! This gives her just enough time to git.
She runs right into a giant man wrapped in a mask and cloak... dropping the box right into his giant left mitt. Fearing him a threat, she lashes out...
... and so, he takes aim... and fires! At a wolf-man, that is. He's one of the good guys.
The rest of wolves-men surround our new friend... and he is then struck by lightning. Wow, this just isn't his day, is it? Anyhoo... the bolt fries his coverings, revealing him to be... well, a steampunk robot... a steambot (well, a Wargolem actually)! Turns out he absorbed the lightning... and at this point, really needs to release it!
We shift scenes to the appropriately-named Vandalheim, a town swarming with ne'er-do-wells. It's here that we meet a man named Garrison... as well as a woman named Monika... and her boobs. Not a complaint, I don't claim to have any kind of moral high-ground when it comes to art, but it's definitely worth mentioning. Anyhoo, she has an offer for Garrison, involving breaking a man called Ryon Del Soya out of the Skyhold Prison.
Gary refuses, preferring to sit and drink s'more. She slaps the flagon out of his hand... and suggests he kill himself. Wow, she don't mess around!
Back to the little blonde and her robot buddy. They're hiding out in an abandoned wood shed... I guess we can assume they got away from the wolves-men. We learn here that the girl's name is Gully... and she is the daughter of Aramus... a warrior believed to be dead. The robot is Calibretto... the selfsame fella the old man called out for at the open! They talk about planting flowers... and try to open the wooden box, without avail.
Gully also shares her secret origin... Trackers (hired to find Aramus) showed up at her home, and after transforming into beasts, murdered her Nanny. She's been on the run ever since.
Elsewhere, we rejoin one of the surviving wolf-men... who checks in with a mysterious benefactor. The wolf-man cites the Wargolem for their failure. The shadowy man doesn't have time for excuses, and suggests he get back on the hunt... and not screw up again.
After she falls asleep, Calibretto brings Gully to the home of the old man, Knolan. She wakes up, and shares her story. We learn here that Knolan is a wizard... who is easily able to open that little wooden box.
We wrap up with the reveal of its contents... the Gauntlets of Aramus!
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Well, this was a lot of fun! Just the trick for a fella who might be facing a little bit of burn-out (don't tell nobody though!).
These days I often find myself too wrapped up in only reading things that "matter" as it pertains to an overall narrative of a shared universe, giving myself little opportunity to broaden my horizons... even if, by broadening, I mean revisiting something I'd already read. I'm glad I took the day "off" from our regular superhero fare.
The story... well, it's an opening chapter, and as an opening chapter, it's a pretty good one! We meet several members of our cast... and get just enough backstory and mystery to keep us (or me) engaged. Our cast of characters is likable enough... and, perhaps more importantly, instantly recognizable. I don't think I'll forget these folks anytime soon.
This brings us to the designs. I love 'em! I'm sure there'll be some folks (probably the ones who use the phrase "present year" without irony) who'll have a problem with Monika's... assets... but whattayagonnado? It's a striking character design... and, in the Battle Chasers universe doesn't stand out as being too outrageous (that's not to say it isn't outrageous... it's just not too outrageous, ya dig?). Most of the designs here are just archetypes ratcheted up "to eleven". I think they're pretty great regardless!
I guess design brings us to art. And, I mean... what can I say besides "Wow!"? This is a gorgeous book. Pencils, inks, colors... the entire package, it's just amazing! An absolute treat... the production quality here makes my head hurt... it's just so top-notch.
I feel like when people think back to Battle Chasers, one of the things that stands out is... the delays! This book was very delayed... which only added to the excitement for every release. At least, at first. I remember Wizard Magazine making a lot of jokes that Joe Mad was too busy playing whichever Final Fantasy game was currently out for him to work on his next issue. Whether that's true or not... well, twenty years later (jeeeeeez), I suppose it doesn't really matter. Worth mentioning (and sort of on that note)... the most recent Battle Chasers bit is... there's a video game?! That's unexpected, right? Well, maybe not entirely if what Wizard kept saying was true, right?
Overall... this was a real treat... and oddly enough, just what I needed today. Well worth tracking down any way you can... for your convenience, it is available digitally. Before we go... you might have noticed, the cover doesn't have the Battle Chasers logo on it... that's because it was a wrap-around... and the BC logo wound up on the back. Here it is in all its glory:
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(Not the) Letters Page:
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750
Danger Girl #1 (March, 1998)
"Dangerously Yours"
Pencils/Plot/Creator - J. Scott Campbell
Script/Plot/Creator - Andy Hartnell
Inks - Alex Garner
Computer Coloring - Ben Dimagmaliw, Guy Major & Justin Ponsor
Color Guides - Joe Chiodo & Martin Jimenez
Lettering - Comicraft's Dave Laphear
Editor-in-Chief - Scott Dunbier
Special Thanks - Sandra Hope
Cover Price: $2.95
Whattaya call an imprint of an imprint? Today we're going to be taking a look at a comic from the Cliffhanger! line of the WildStorm imprint... of Image Comics (shortly before it was owned by DC Comics, natch). Ay yai yai.
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We open with a bit of a recap from the goings on in Danger Girl #0. Abbey Chase loses the (elusive) Golden-Skull of Koo-Koo Diego to Donavin Conrad, noted scoundrel, as the Danger Girls are (unbeknownst to her) trying to track her down. The last issue apparently ended with Abbey driving a Jeep of a cliff. Hey, a real... ahem, Cliffhanger! Caught up? Good.
Our real open features a chubby man called Duncan on a beach talking to a fella by the name of Deuce via a pineapple video-phone thing. He assures Deuce that everything's cool... and Abbey will be fine... just as we shift scenes to her plummeting off a cliff in that Jeep!
She bails out before it lands with a kersploosh as we see Donavin celebrating his believed-to-be clean getaway with the Golden Skull. Abbey goes underwater and just happens across a harpoon gun! She fires it at Donavin's boat and hitches a ride. Hovering above, the Danger Girls look on and comment on what a mess Abbey has made.
Abbey climbs up onto the boat as Donavin continues to gloat... he's really quite a character. She socks the creep, as some fellas with Jamaican accents watch on. They open fire on the boat... fillin' that sucker full of holes. Abbey is afraid they're about to go under, so Donavin does what any man fearing for his life would do... makes a boob-joke.
Abbey and Donavin fight as the boat takes on water. Abbey kayos him (and his toupe) with a helluva kick. Just then a blonde on a rope ladder enters the scene offering our lady a hand... which she accepts, with reservations. Abbey, this mystery woman, and the Golden Skull fly off as the boat goes over a waterfall... and explodes!
Later, we meet a couple more members of the Danger Girls. One is a tall brunette in a catsuit, the other is a short-haired red head with glasses and freckles... clearly, the "accessible" or "approachable" member of this troupe. The pair are arguing over what to watch on television when Abbey and the blonde enter the room. The manner of dress for these characters is... ya know, gratuitous. Abbey's clothes are barely even hanging onto her body.
Next we meet Deuce. He's basically Sean Connery as James Bond. He details his prior exploits as... well, more or less James Bond. He had to leave Her Majesty's Secret Service due to the worst thing to ever happen... World Peace. Well, not really... but at this point there weren't many Communists or Nazis to fight, so he got laid off.
Now we get our proper introduction to Team Danger Girl as Deuce attempts to get Abbey to join up... Former Russian Intelligence Agent Natalia Kassle, Australian bullwhip artist Sydney Savage, Techie (heh) Silicon Valerie... and finally, our Lara Croft/Nathan Drake/Indiana Jones-ish Abbey Chase... well, if she decides to become a "Danger Girl", that is.
Later that night, we get... for lack of a better term, a Danger Girl pajama party. Valerie is in her jammies, and the other two are in various forms of undress. Outside, Abbey is chatting with Deuce... expressing reservations about becoming a spy for him. It doesn't take all that much coercing for her to change her mind... and so, she is given her first mission. She is to check in on a fella going by the name "The Peach" who is into stealing stuff from museums. Here we go from PJ party to dress-up, as Abbey changes into the naturally too-small costume of a French waitress. She heads in to plant a bug (in the form of an olive) at his table, and gets whapped on her fanny for her trouble.
Next... The Peach, well... eats the olive-bug, and murders the man he is dining with.
A shootout commences... which leads to a high-speed chase. Abbey hops into Sydney's car and they are now in hot pursuit. Syd is able to hop from their car onto the baddies' truck. One of the Peach's men hop onto the Danger-1... but gets ejector-seated (and subsequently run over by a truck) pretty quick. Abbey exits a tunnel and finds herself right in the cross-hairs for a pair of helicopters.
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Well, that was some ridiculous fun, wunnit?
Sure, it's silly... maybe a bit shallow, but damned if I didn't enjoy it. The concept in and of itself is pure nutty action movie fun. It embraces the gratuitous nature of both it's high-octane pace and the... ya know, attractiveness of the protagonists. I appreciate how it walked that line between taking itself seriously and embracing its exaggerated bits.
Before we get into the story... we gotta talk about the art. J. Scott Campbell is just... an amazing artist. I can understand if folks have reservations about his style, or his subject matter, but I think most of us can agree that this book looks phenomenal. Everything here looks great... the pencils, inks, and color. It really is a beautiful book in an era where too many comics were experimenting with computer colors and glossy paper to worry about making an actual "nice looking" comic book.
I first experienced J. Scott Campbell's art in, of all places, an issue of Nintendo Power. It was the second issue of my first subscription wayyyy back in 1989 (Issue #6, May/June, 1989 to be exact... I received my Nintendo for Christmas 1988). In the back of the issue, there was some concept art for a would-be (ultimate) video game called Lockarm... which was drawn by a... (15 year-old!) Jeffrey Scott Campbell! Pretty crazy, right? I came across my old trove of Nintendo Power back issues a few years back, and that's when I discovered/realized this. The internet, however, already seemed to know. In case you weren't aware, here is that page from the issue:
So yeah, big fan of Campbell's art. Whether it be here, Gen13, covers for Amazing Spider-Man, or wherever... it's always quite impressive, at least to me.
The story? Well, it's crazy over-the-top action... and, as I've said a few too many times already, it's a lot of fun. We don't really get to "meet" the cast just yet, outside of their specialties... besides the unfortunately named "Deuce"... who is pretty much a semi-retired 007. I'm not much of an action-movie kinda guy... or any movie, for that matter... I can't sit still long enough for any of that... so, I couldn't say if any scenes here are cribbing from famous flicks... I'll bet there was some inspiration taken though. Not a bad thing... or even a good thing. I suppose if you pick up on it, it's great... and if you/I don't, it doesn't really matter.
Overall, this is a neat little read... doesn't require all that much thought (and that's not meant as a slight in any way... we all need a bit of "mindless" entertainment every now and again)... the art is absolutely gorgeous... definitely worth snagging if you find it at a decent price. Issue #1 is available to purchase digitally at Comixology. If you're on the fence, Danger Girl #0 is also available digitally... and is completely FREE. I'd say it's definitely worth a few minutes of your time.
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