Five, count'em, FIVE graphic novels for your consideration.

SCOTT PILGRIM, volumes 1-5, by Bryan Lee O’Malley: If someone were to ask me “Hey Brett, what do you think are the greatest examples of the comicbook as its own medium?”, which no one would do, my answer would be simple: Watchmen and Hellboy. And now, having read all five volumes, I think I’d like to add Scott Pilgrim to that list. Scott Pilgrim tells the story of its titular hero as he lives his crazy life in Toronto, dating the girl of his dreams (literally) named Ramona Flowers and defeating her seven evil ex-boyfriends while playing in a lousy band called Sex Bo-Bomb. The entire series is loaded with references to old-school videogames, and even makes Scott’s life out to be a videogame. One example is the fact that, when defeated, a number of Ramona’s evil ex-boyfriends explode into a shower of coins, and a couple of them have even left behind treasure chests. There was even once a save point!

The story itself is six levels of hilarious, but it can get pretty dramatic as well, with Scott dealing with ex-girlfriends and just getting his life together in general. The guy’s a mess, scatter-brained, and I somewhat identify with him, and that’s part of what makes the series so endearing. The pacing, dialogue, it’s all perfect. And look, Edgar Wright, the director of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, is turning it into a movie! So you’d better go read all five volumes now (only one more volume will be released before the series is ended) so that when the movie comes out, you won’t be another poseur like all those people who were at the Watchmen premiere!

Crécy, written by Warren Ellis, illustrated by Raulo Caceres: Ever had one of those teachers or professors that you just loved listening to when they lectured? Maybe it was their sense of humor, maybe it’s because they seemed like they were never really sober. This is kind of like that. Crécy is, essentially, a book about the battle in 1346 between the English and the French that took place in yes, you guessed it, Crécy, France. Our guide through the battle is a soldier in the English army, an archer, who speaks directly to the reader, explaining what’s going on, quite hilariously. “I am, of course, a complete bloody xenophobe who comes from a time when it was acceptable to treat people in the next village like they were subhumans. On the other hand, the French make sausages out of horse’s arseholes and have a history of using England as their toilet.”

Did you know the English liked leaving their arrows lying around in feces in order to cause infected wounds in anyone unlucky enough to survive getting shot? Or how many different arrowheads were used? Do you know how Edward the Second died? It’s all in this book, educating and yet totally hilarious. And the art is exceptional, very much like old woodblock prints from the medieval days, clean black and white and extremely detailed. It’s a short, quick read, and one that I promise you’ll come back to read again.

HELLSPAWN: The Ashley Wood Collection, written by Brian Michael Bendis and Steve Niles, illustrated by Ashley Wood: I don’t really get Spawn. I’m not a huge fan. I had some issues of the comic when I was little, but I didn’t really care much for them. I also think Brian Michael Bendis is a hack writer (except for Powers and his Daredevil run) and have never liked Steve Niles works very much, so why am I reviewing this? Because I love Ashley Wood’s artwork. This comic was one of his earlier gigs, but it still oozes with style and awesomesauce. The story and the writing? Eh, I dunno. People are talking about a war, some government agents capture and reprogram Cygor to go after Spawn or something, it’s all too damn vague and not a very good read. But the art is oh so fantastic! Err, well, for the most part. Wood does seem to have a hard time here and there grasping the whole “sequential art” idea, and something tells me the scripts he had to work from were a bit foggy as well, so meh. It’s not worth the full price, but then I got my copy for half off. Maybe Spawn fans will enjoy it. Not that I know any.

SKY DOLL, volume 1, written and illustrated by Barbara Canepa and Alessandro Barbucci: I picked this up on a whim. Or, well, asked for it for Christmas on a whim. It’s a French sci fi comic, brought here to us filthy heathen Americans courtesy of Marvel Comics, hardcover-only, and actually kind of short. It revolves around a “Sky Doll” named Noa. See, Sky Dolls are basically sex robots, but Noa, she’s special. How so? Well, it’s only the first volume, so I have no real clue, but it has to do with some crazy controversial stuff with the religion that the two missionaries she hooks up with are supposed to be trying to spread. She joins them on a mission to spread the word of Papess Lodovica to the planet Aqua, but things turn grim as the true mission is revealed. It’s rather heavy stuff, which you wouldn’t expect when looking at the very cartoony, expressive art. We’re not dealing with humans here, no. I have no idea what race these guys are, but that’s not really the point. Regardless, it’s a very interesting read, and I wonder what volume 2 will bring to the table. Get on the ball with that, Marvel!

THE WALKING DEAD, Books 1-4 (volumes 1-8), written by Robert Kirkman, illustrated by Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard: “Oh look, another zombie comic,” some of you might say. And you know, I’d be in that camp too, I’m personally tired of this oversaturation of zombies in my comics, videogames, and movies. But the Walking Dead is endearing. For one thing, it’s ongoing. It refuses to freaking stop, no matter how many characters die. For another thing, this is NOT a book about zombies. It’s entirely about the human survivors and the challenges they face which rarely have much to do with the actual zombies themselves. It’s grim stuff, a real page-turner. I mean hell, I read all eight volumes pretty much back to back in the four hardcover books, rarely stopping for breath. My thought process as I read through it all was along the lines of something like, “oh shit, holy shit, no way, did they just, there’s no way they would OH SHIT fuck fuck fuck oh no shit NO THEY KILLED _______ DAMMIT FUCK NO oh shit oh shit!”

Trust me: No one in this book is safe. And the Governor, who gets introduced later into the series? He is a fucking bastard and one of the most evil characters I’ve ever encountered in a comic. So, whether you’re a fan of zombies, survival horror, or whatever, or even if you think zombies suck hardcore, you need to read this thing. You can thank me later.

[Brett]