expatNERD

Author: Franka

  • Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon

    As you may have noticed, our Curt storyline is also a Garth Ennis tribute. And we cannot mention Garth Ennis without also mentioning the late legendary artist that will never be forgotten, Steve Dillon. So with that I thought I would give some recommendations from their work.

    Now I could do the obvious like Preacher, John Constantine Hellblazer, the Boys, Demon, and Hitman. I think if you know your way around comics you probably already know of these. So I thought I would go off the beaten track and focus my recs on things that you may have missed, especially if you are an American audience, and some of Ennis’ most recent stuff. Because yes, the magician is still producing magic.

    First off, is Ennis’ run on Judge Dredd that also features a lot of Steve Dillon. This run cannot be understated because he basically followed in the footsteps of both John Wagner and Alan Grant who were writing ole stoney face as a team. And he was young, and that took some Eier. He also collaborated with the likes of Judge Dredd co-creator Carlos Ezquerra. So one could say these stories are ‘the beginnings.’

    Interestingly, Ennis doesn’t seem to be too fond of his writing of Dredd, at least he said as much during his conversation with Mark Millar on Millar’s YouTube video series, Millar Time. I included the embeded video below and the whole thing is definitely worth a watch.

    But I, for one, loved Ennis’ run on Dredd. In particular, his and Steve Dillon’s Emerald Isle storyline. Now if you are a Judge Dredd fan and are reading this, you are going to either love or hate me from now on. But I just cannot help it. It introduces Judge Joyce, created by Ennis and Dillon, who has to accommodate the hard-ass Judge Dredd, and Joyce is just charming as hell. Plus, it’s just full of comedy and Irish stereotypes. And because Ennis is Irish, he nails the little accents and what not.

    Emerald Isle can be found in 2000 AD Progs #727–734 and is also collected in Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files – Volume 15. It’s worth hunting down, especially if you want a glimpse of Ennis and Dillon before they became Ennis and Dillon. Which is not entirely true because if you look at Dillon’s Dredd, he seems to always have been good.

    Next week I’ll have another recommendation. Is this Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon month? It doesn’t exist. But it damn well should.

    Tschüss,

    -Franka

  • Nightwing

    I hope you all managed to grab a screening of Fantastic Four last week. I sure did, and I loved it. I won’t get into any spoilers but the highlight for me was definitely Michael Giacchino’s soundtrack. The theme is an instant classic, and would I dare to say it stands next to John William’s Superman theme? I think I just might say that. Doch? Doch!

    So switching gears to the other side, this week’s recommendation is Nightwing from Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. The Eisner winning series I might add. I’m scratching my head as I write this and I am trying to pinpoint a series that really challenged the medium of comics or at least tried to innovate its storytelling…and I can’t think of anything. Not only did Taylor and Redondo produce some really strong and solid storytelling, but they did it in interesting ways. Whether it was an issue complete with one page splashers, depicting Nightwing literally moving through buildings and scenes, or a story drawn in the first person from Nightwing’s perspective, it was hella-entertaining (voll cool in Denglish but the English just works better.)

    Plus, Redondo’s depiction of Barbara Gordon is probably my favorite and not because she shares the name of my girlfriend. Redondo instilled that charm in her smile and her face and body language just makes you want to be her best friend.

    Finally, Redondo must have had a ton of fun doing some gesture drawings of Nightwing because what really makes this stand out is how free he looks while jumping and launching himself in the air and off buildings. Which makes the last storyline an achievement. Redondo does jump off for a bit during the run but thankfully he jumps back on at the end.

    The issues are Nightwing (2017) #’s 78-118 and are very affordable. DC will release a big fat Omnibus but I personally have the collected storyline versions in hardback, which are just waiting for Tom and Bruno to sign. And they have beautiful jackets and colorful prints of the big moments in each story.

    I hope you enjoyed this week’s recommendation and if you want these first thing in your inbox on Mondays along with the comic for the week, be sure to sign up to the weekly newsletter!

    Bis bald,

    -Franka