Swan Songs #1 Review

Posted on by Alan Taylor

(W) W. Maxwell Prince (A) Martin Simmonds

Swan Songs is the new anthology series from W. Maxwell Prince.  The anthology format is clearly something he specialises in.  From Ice Cream Man to Haha, his work primarily exists in one shot form and often with different artists along for the ride.  With Swan Songs, the basic idea is that every issue is to do with an ending of sorts.  Whether it’s the end of a marriage, the end of the day, or in this case, the end of the world itself.

Now if this is the subject matter you’re going to be dealing with then there are few artists out there better equipped to bring this hellish landscape to life than The Department of Truth co-creator and series artist Martin Simmonds.  I’d said it before regarding The Ribbon Queen, and Swan Songs is also in the conversation for the best #1 this year.  Where Swan Songs maybe has the edge, is that this is a one shot.  And that is the strength of a series like this.  You can dip in and out, pick up issues if you like the sound of the story, or it’s with an artist you particularly like.  A perfect series for new readers or the non committal types!

With the theme of this issue being the end of the world itself, it may perhaps be rather surprising that we focus on a very small story within the apocalypse itself, that of Brian who is caring for his sick mother, as the ‘Atomic Clock’ counts down to zero.  The story is very sincere rather than a cynical end of the world story, as Brian is determined to get one last issue of his mother’s favourite gardening magazine before everything ends.

This allows the scale of the end of the world to be briefly glimpsed as Brian makes his way through the war torn streets as society collapses in the face of its demise.  We are constantly reminded throughout the book with a countdown on every other page, further highlighting the tension and hope that Brian will complete this last task for his mother.

His noble quest for the magazine introduces a broad range of eccentric and volatile characters, but his internal monologue emphasises his approach to doomsday based upon work with his therapist and frames all of the external threats with greater significance. A complete focus on caring for one person combined with an inability to confront the massive problems surrounding them both makes Brian a deeply sympathetic figure for readers standing amidst rising tides of literal climate change.

Simmonds is the perfect artist for this territory, given his experience with The Department of Truth. Large splash panels, including a very impressive first and final page, provide readers with a sense of enormity. Towers loom, fires rage, and entropy consumes all as layers of Simmonds’ various technical effects morph appearances within each page. There’s so much dread emanating from his city on the brink that makes Brian’s 24-page journey much easier to access.

Swan Songs #1 invites readers to explore finality in a medium that seemingly never ends, after all there’s always next weeks releases to pick up! Yet Prince’s career is a testament to “less is more” and what is achieved in this first issue affirms that few creators working today can write a single issue story better in 2023. Combined with the consistently stunning work and perfectly suited style of Simmonds, it makes for an outstanding debut that seriously addresses the anxiety of feeling like one is living in the end times.

Now about issue 2, and the end of a marriage…

Night Fever HC Review

Posted on by Alan Taylor

(W) Ed Brubaker (a) Sean Phillips

The most consistently brilliant creative team in comics are back.

And again, they continue to break new ground, eschewing the traditional single issue format of release, and they serve us up a fully formed, original graphic novel.  And it may be a break from their excellent Reckless series, but it is every bit as engrossing and atmospheric as the adventures of Ethan Reckless.

I should also state, that I’m a big fan of listening to movie scores while reading books, and this just screamed the Blue Velvet soundtrack to me from the one and only Angelo Badalamenti.  Suffice to say, it was a marriage made in heaven.

In Europe on a business trip, Jonathan Webb can’t sleep. Instead, he finds himself wandering the night in a strange foreign city with his new friend, the mysterious and violent Rainer, as his guide. Rainer shows Jonathan the hidden world of the night, a world without rules or limits.

If I were to compare Night Fever to any of Brubaker & Phillips other work, it would be Fatale.  The reason being is that Night Fever doesn’t conform to any one genre.  It’s a voyeuristic thriller.  It has hints of the Supernatural.  It’s a mid life crisis story.  It’s a detective story.  It’s a murder mystery.  It’s a journey into the unknown.

And it’s utterly compelling.  Brubaker has always been a master of pacing, and keeping you turning the pages. There’s great character work here, with our point of view character (I hesitate to call him a protagonist given everything he gets up to in the book) perhaps the most flawed of all, and there’s an intriguing mystery that you just want to get to the bottom of.  You want to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes that Webb has fallen down, and you’re also unsure the whole way through if he will make it out.

Phillips art (that’s both Sean on pencils and Jacob on colours) is up there with the best work these guys have produced.  There are brilliant panel layouts, detailed characters, lush colours and dread and atmosphere dripping off of every page.

They paint a world beyond our own.  Not quite otherworldly, but definitely layers that only the rich and beautiful can access.  It evokes comparisons with Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, another tale where we follow the woefully unprepared into the darkness, where their curiosity may just destroy them.

Given Reckless is Brubaker and Phillips current odyssey, Night Fever could easily be viewed as a lesser work.  A palate cleanser in between the arcs of Reckless, to reset and recharge the creative juices.  But it is absolutely nothing of the sort, and is arguably up there with the best work they have ever produced.  The sense of dread and tension falls off every page, and this is the type of book delivered by absolute masters of their craft.

The Magic Order 2 #1 Review

Posted on by Alan Taylor

(W) Mark Millar (A) Stuart Immonen

The Magic Order was a cracking series that lived up to its premise of Goodfellas meets Harry Potter, with some great storytelling, brutal, beautiful art and great world building.  Coming from the team of Mark Millar and Olivier Coipel, I was always hoping for a sequel.  It has now arrived, and although there was a little disappointment that Coipel is no longer on art, the series barely misses a step with Stuart Immonen.

A new threat is rising against Cordelia and her family, the established top family in the world of magic.  It’s almost as if they’ve gotten a little too comfortable, an early scene at a children’s birthday party, and a one night stand establishing that things are all a little too under control in their world.  Or so they think.

Before too long we are introduced to the Korne family, from Bucharest, who are powerful magicians, and they are not afraid to show that power or to wield it in despicable ways.

This is an excellent first issue setting the tone for another great magic romp from the mind of Mr Millar.