Tag Archives: DC Vertigo

BOOKS: “Sweet Tooth, Vol. 5: Unnatural Habitats” by Jeff Lemire

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Sweet Tooth, Vol. 5: Unnatural HabitatsSweet Tooth, Vol. 5: Unnatural Habitats by Jeff Lemire
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site

This volume carries out two story arcs. The first is a self-contained flashback that offers the reader new insight into the central strangeness of this series (i.e. a plague on humanity and the development of various human-animal hybrids.) The second is the conclusion of the Volume 4 storyline in which Gus, Jepperd, and their human and hybrid traveling companions find an apparent safe haven that splits the group between those who wish to stay and those who want to continue on their original path to Alaska.

Both arcs are visceral and engaging. This is a very satisfying volume. It’s a pity that publishers are so constrained by page count because Volumes 4 and 5 combined together would be a phenomenal book (whereas Vol. 4 – as it stands – is kind of a lackluster read.) Anyone whose been to a movie in India and is familiar with the random intermission placed right in the middle of the runtime (regardless of what is going on in the story at the time) can grasp what I’m saying. It’s a little mean to break the momentum of a good story in progress. However, this volume offers all the satisfaction of resolution and conclusion — while leaving open clear routes for advancing the story overall.

I’d highly recommend this volume and that one read it closely back-to-back with Volume 4.

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BOOKS: “Sweet Tooth, Vol. 4: Endangered Species” by Jeff Lemire

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Sweet Tooth, Vol. 4: Endangered SpeciesSweet Tooth, Vol. 4: Endangered Species by Jeff Lemire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Site: DC Vertigo

Heading north to solve the mystery of Gus (the titular deer-boy “hybrid” that some call Sweet Tooth, the first-known hybrid child and one who Dr. Singh believes may be integral to understanding the disease that swept through humanity at the same time hybrids started being born,) the ragtag group of hybrid kids and human chaperones runs into its first snag. The group stumbles upon a place that may offer the security and resources needed to live comfortably (i.e. for a post mega-pandemic wasteland.) This threatens to split up the group, most of which longs for the safety and sustainability that this place appears to provide. But the reader is presented crumbs of unease about this place. It feels like this sanctuary might harbor a dirty secret.

I continue to enjoy this series. I didn’t find the arc as satisfying as some of the volumes. It is a thriller, and we are given crucial new information by the book’s end, but the central question of the story arc remains unanswered. That said, the story does a fantastic job of building up internal tension as well as creating unease in the reader. If you’ve enjoyed the story so far, you will want to continue onward.

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BOOKS: “The Sandman, Vol. 3: Dream Country” by Neil Gaiman

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The Sandman, Vol. 3: Dream CountryThe Sandman, Vol. 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

DC Site

If you love a good story, you really can’t go wrong with Gaiman. This volume consists of four standalone pieces of short fiction set in the Sandman universe.

“Calliope,” like Greek Mythology, envisions an anthropomorphized muse, but takes the idea into a dark and modern twist as said muse is held captive and violated.

“A Dream of a Thousand Cats” imagines dreams do shape the real world and asks what if animals dreamt as big as humans.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is built around the premise that Shakespeare had a patron, none other than Morpheus, a.k.a. Dream, himself.

“Facade” is about a supernatural woman who can only go out in public by taking risky measures to look “normal,” and explores her lonely existence.

All of these stories are clever and compelling, and I’d highly recommend this collection for readers of speculative fiction.

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BOOKS: “American Vampire, Vol. 3” by Scott Snyder

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American Vampire, Vol. 3American Vampire, Vol. 3 by Scott Snyder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher site

The third volume of the American Vampire series advances the story into the 1940’s — World War II to be precise. The book contains two distinct storylines, both involving missions behind enemy lines. The first, “Strange Frontier,” is set in the Pacific theater and centers on the character of Henry Preston (the non-vampire husband of benevolent American Vampire, Pearl Jones.) In it, Preston is assigned to an elite fighting squad dispatched to investigate an island that turns out to be infested with a new strain of vampire.

The second story, “Survival of the Fittest,” takes vampiric vampire-hunter Felicia Book as its lead as she is dispatched (in partnership with agent “Cash” McCogan) to Nazi-occupied Romania to investigate claims of a “mad” scientist’s vampire-related research, only to find herself in a completely unexpected and daunting scenario.

I’m enjoying this series. The stories are satisfying and well-crafted, and the books somehow manage to not be just another set of vampire stories. Moving through time allows the stories to be self-contained while making it possible to continue with ever fresh material. (A tactic that works owing to the long lifespans of vampires.) The books also use genre mixing brilliantly, be it detective noir or — in the case of this volume — the war story. Snyder has breathed new life into the vampire story, and I’d highly recommend this series for comic book readers.

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BOOKS: “Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book One” by Alan Moore

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Saga of the Swamp Thing, Book OneSaga of the Swamp Thing, Book One by Alan Moore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

This volume presents two separate and complete story arcs. The first features the Floronic Man (Jason Woodrue) as the main villain, and it deals heavily in the origins of Swamp Thing and the creature’s struggles to come to grips with who it is and why it experiences the world as it does. The second story makes a shift to a more supernatural threat and shows a Swamp Thing who is more comfortable in its… roots? twigs? foliage? — whatever Swamp Thing has in lieu of skin.

Alan Moore does his usual superb job of creating a clever and satisfying set of tales. Swamp Thing was groundbreaking in its cross-genre mélange of horror, supernatural, eco-fiction, and sci-fi. There is also a certain smartness about the comic. One is led to consider questions of consciousness and humanity’s role in nature through these stories. And solutions are rarely achieved by punching the villain into a stupor. This won’t be for everyone. In some ways, the comic elevates the wise old mentor to the role of hero.

I enjoyed reading this book and would highly recommend it for readers of comic books and graphic novels.

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BOOK REVIEW: The Dreaming, Vol. 1: Pathways & Emanations by Simon Spurrier

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Pathways and Emanations (The Dreaming, #1)Pathways and Emanations by Simon Spurrier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

This title is part of the “Sandman extended universe” that was spurred by the success of Neil Gaiman’s comic about the lord of dream realm –“the Dreaming” being said realm of dreams and nightmares. The Dreaming is usually presided over by Dream of the Endless, one of seven siblings commanding various domains. In this story, Dream is gone, no one knows where. Readers of Sandman will remember that in the original run Dream is kidnapped and imprisoned for 70 years. This isn’t the same disappearance (it’s not even the same “Dream,” but as he’s not a major figure in this book, there’s no need to elaborate.) While this may seem like a rehash, the Sandman story was focused on the character of Dream and mostly took place in our world, occasionally visiting the Dreaming as relevant to Dream’s story. This story is all about what happens within the Dreaming when the master is away, allowing decay, internal treachery, and the potential for invasion.

The story heavily focuses on three characters: Lucien, Mervyn, and Dora. One of the things this story does well is to build a tension between Lucien and Mervyn, a tension that is relatable and contributes substantially to the turmoil within the story. Lucien is ordinarily the librarian, and he’s a scholarly fellow who is an excellent librarian but is in over his head running the Dreaming (especially as he’s trying to keep it a secret that Dream has vanished so as to avoid panic or invite attacks.) Mervyn (Pumpkin-head) is like the head of maintenance, a blue-collar stiff who doesn’t know Dream is gone and thinks Lucien is making a powerplay and has bitten off more than he can chew. Dora is a mysterious rogue of a character who we don’t know much about other than that she’s not from the Dreaming (but lives there with Dream’s permission,) she’s quite powerful, and she does her own thing — which often runs her afoul of the staff of the Dreaming.

I felt this volume offered an entertaining story and resolved it nicely, while setting up for continued chaos in additional volumes. If you enjoyed the Sandman comics, this book is definitely worth a read.


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BOOK REVIEW: Swamp Thing, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

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Swamp Thing by Brian K. Vaughan, Vol. 1Swamp Thing by Brian K. Vaughan, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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The first thing to be aware of is that the protagonist of this book is Tefé Holland, daughter of Swamp Thing, and the titular character is only in the book for a few frames of flashback. This has the advantage of making for a confused and tormented lead character, a sort of coming-of-age element. Tefé struggles with who she is, and this leads to some wonky behavior. At times, she doesn’t do what would be expected of a superhero, but at other times she does, and this makes her character feel constantly off-kilter. One doesn’t straight away develop an affinity for the character, or – if one does – it comes and goes as she responds to varied situations in various ways. However, this seems to be intentional, a reflection of the fact that she doesn’t know if she’s the protector of the plant world, of humanity, of both, or of neither. She’s at once a pretty and sweet young woman and a terrifying god-like Elemental. She has a couple of “sidekick” characters, Barnabas and Pilate that help lend humanity and provide contrast (given the hardcore nature of these two men, they tend to make Tefé seem even more extreme as they are the ones to talk her down.)

While the Swamp Thing and its extended character-verse is heavy with environmental message, the book is not written to bludgeon the reader with rebukes or preach to the choir. It keeps the lessons subtle enough that I didn’t feel the book swerving into preachy mode, and it remains entertaining throughout.

I enjoyed this volume. It can feel a little disjointed and might read more smoothly for someone who’d read previous Swamp Thing series, but with attentive reading, one can certainly follow the action. (Another potential advantage of it focusing on the daughter character.) [FYI- This is the third of seven series.]

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BOOK REVIEW: Lucifer: Book One by Mike Carey

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Lucifer, Book One (Lucifer, #1)Lucifer, Book One by Mike Carey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

This sixteen-issue collection consists of three issues of “The Sandman Presents: Lucifer” in addition to the first thirteen issues of “Lucifer.” As the former title suggests, this is based on a character from the vast cast of “The Sandman” comics, and this volume does occasionally touch upon the broader Sandman universe, though it largely sticks to the Abrahamic mythology bits.

Each of the five story arcs in the volume standalone, but the last three (i.e. “Born with the Dead,” [1 issue,] “The House of Windowless Rooms,” [4 issues,] and “Children and Monsters,” [5 issues]) form an epic arc with a young girl Elaine and a portal to an alternate dimension at its heart. This larger arc impressively works to biblical proportions, involving grandiose stakes. I will say the first arc [from “The Sandman Presents…] was harder to follow the motives driving the story, but I can imagine it would be much easier for those who’d followed The Sandman comics from the outset. [Also, it’s only fair to have some challenges in finding a direction when dealing with such a massive cast and sprawling over-universe.]


If you’re wondering how this Lucifer compares to the television version, this one is less neurotic (though flawed in many of the same ways) and is more serious and a tad more wrathful. The TV version is lighthearted and comedic to a larger extent, while the comic book version bumps up against horror a bit more, but that’s not to say the comics have no comedy or the television version lacks all intensity. From a broader perspective, the Lucifer comic also not only more frequently touches on the Sandman universe, but also on mythologies outside that of Abrahamic religion – e.g. Lucifer ventures into the realm of Japan’s Izanami / Izanagi in “The House of Windowless Rooms.” It’s always nice to see a show can diverge from the source material and still be good, and I think that’s very much the case here.


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