The Ettatorial for the Week of 1-20-10
A huge week of releases this week, with a ton of great reads. With all that said, one book really stood out, and deserves some extra attention.
Your pick for the week is Joe the Barbarian #1. Continuing Vertigo’s commitment to bringing you 1st issues at the low price of just $1, this series from the mind of Grant Morrison and with art from Sean Murphy is a certifiable hit. With quite a bit of pre-release hype behind it, I was both intrigued and skeptical. Morrison of late has been hit or miss with me, putting out either works of absolute genius (WE3, Absolute Superman) or totally missing the mark (Batman RIP and the last 3 issues of Batman and Robin). I knew little to nothing of Mr. Murphy’s work, but preview images from the series gave me a good impression of his art. Now having been able to read the first issue, I can safely say that Morrison’s work here is in classic form, and Murphy’s art is truly magical. The series was described in the press as a mix of Lord of the Rings and a Never Ending Story for the modern set. I find that’s an adequate description, though it doesn’t really get the total beauty of the series across. Joe is set to be the prototypical every-kid, feeling like a bit of an outcast in school, and dealing with issues that today’s kids’ deal with. He’s diabetic (a major plot point that some reviewers seem to have missed), and it’s this illness that sets the story in motion. Joe is transported to a magical land populated by residents that any child will find familiar (especially children of the 80′s who loved cool toys, something Murphy himself admitted to using as his reference) and that’s where we leave off. But is this a magical land, or just his own home transformed by the fever dream from low blood sugar? Morrison deftly lets his dialogue tell the story, and let Murphy’s pencil work bring the world to life. Murphy himself deserves a ton of credit here, as I found his art to really shine at both clarity of storytelling, and his ability to put detail and the little touches into the story. A great first issue, and definitely a series to watch, and at only $1 for this first issue, you have no excuse to not check this all-ages tale out.
There you have it folks, your pick for the week. I’ll see you back here next week, same time, same channel.
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grant morrison, joe the barbarianRelated posts
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