Meanwhile

Meanwhile’s opening panels seem fairly underwhelming when you first read them. They show a young boy, Jimmy, buying some ice cream. As beginnings go it’s fair to say this is not particularly dynamic. Things get interesting when you arrive at the fourth panel or, to put it more accurately, when you choose which fourth panel you want to go with.

Meanwhile features branched storylines in the fine tradition of choose-your-own-adventure stories. Panels are linked by lines that send you careening around pages of the book, occasionally deciding which branch of the narrative you wish to pursue next. The first choice you’re given is which flavour ice cream you want. Will you take chocolate or vanilla? As you continue your choices become progressively more intricate with more elaborate ramifications than what Jimmy’s taste buds experience.  

The book’s plot is not something that can be experienced in one reading. Or two. Nor a dozen. Each time you read Meanwhile you will make another discovery about the book’s world. Well, you will if you play along and make different choices. Repetition is a necessary evil that you’ll need to come to terms with early on if you wish to get the most out of the title. If you can manage that you’ll have an entertaining and playful book on your hands.

On the majority of your read-throughs you’ll find Jimmy at the factory of an inventor (who has over 150 patents to his name!) being introduced to three of his inventions. The bulk of the tale will hinge on which item you decide to examine: the Killitron 2000 (which kills every human on the planet with the exception of anyone sealed inside the Killitron), the SQUID (a mind-reading device), and a time travel machine (which… um… travels in time).

As your readings mount up you’ll realise that there’s an intricate tale to be found that requires you to tinker with each available trinket. You’ll discover activation codes for extra settings on the machines, allowing you to open up extra paths of the comic. If that sounds complicated or dull well… it’s not. It makes far more sense once you’ve dabbled in Meanwhile’s brilliant simplicity.

Jason Shiga, the author and artist, has released various iterations of his creation. There’s a free online version available at his website (see this link for that), an iOS app, and a print edition. Shiga has added colour, alternate endings and different codes with each edition released. The physical copy has, we are told, 3,586 possible routes from the start to the finish. That’s an impressive number of options on offer.

Meanwhile’s artwork is not the best. Nor is its writing. To raise either issue as a genuine complaint misses the point of the book entirely. The art and writing suit the style well and are charming in their own way but the joy of the title lies in its ingenuity and the unique way it reveals its plot and history.

Super-Villain Team-Up

Back in the 70s Marvel was happy to unleash experimental titles on the world. Unlike today not everything had to be a continuity heavy crossover providing in-depth analysis of a superhero with a film coming out. The company was happy to have writers write things that were fun.

One such title was Super-Villain Team-Up. Instead of focusing on the latern-jawed do-gooders of the Marvel U it put their iniquitous counterparts centre stage. Bad deeds were the order of the day in SVTU, not world saving. Failed attempts at world domination reigned supreme.

The natural choice for the starring role was Doctor Doom. The arch enemy of the Fantastic Four has been one of Marvel’s most well-rounded ne’er-do-wells since his first appearance, part of the reason he is still used frequently to this day and enjoys such popularity with fans. His over the top personality and access to wide range of gadgets and gizmos meant he was a perfect choice to carry such a title and also keep sales high. He referred to himself in the third person far more back then, another bonus.

The Team-Up part was the downside of the book, at least at the start. Doom is such a great character that having him share pages with the likes of Namor and Kazar feels like a wasted opportunity. Things do improve during the Doom and Namor saga (some of which features them battling rather than teaming up), and they really heat up when Magneto becomes a part of the series, playing the party of the hero to save the world from another of Doom’s plots.

The art by Wally Wood, Gene Colan, Herb Trimpe, Jim Shooter and others is textbook mid-70s Marvel. Everyone makes sure that the running gag of Doom’s mask showing emotions is kept alive and well. The lack of colour in the collected edition doesn’t matter a bit such is the care and attention paid to the pencils and inks.

Red Skull pops up too. He starts off being pitted against Doom and ends up becoming the central character of the final team-up of the series, paired with the equally hateful… erm… Hate-Monger. While they’re not the stars the good guys do make appearances, with the Avengers, the Shroud (a Batman take-off that’s fallen by the wayside in recent years), and the Fantastic Four all cropping up for a spot of thwarting.

Doctor Doom is the undeniable star though. Any fans of his have to read this. Practically every issue contains a classic Doom line, be it “Serve me, woman!”, “Doom will be revenged, cur!”, or “Doom needs no one!”, bellowed as the character is flying through the air. The story’s all over the place, thanks mainly to the large number of writers coming and going over a relatively small number of issues, but ultimately it’s a great read. Good fun a fine example of Marvel at their best.

Tom Strong

Alan Moore titles are not known for their sense of fun. As highly regarded as they may be nobody would describe Watchmen, V For Vendetta, or The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as joyful. Generally speaking the closest he comes to fun is a gritty title that has a sense of humour and cracks the occasional joke.

This is not the case with Tom Strong. From its opening issue it’s very clear that this is a far more light-hearted affair than we’re use to from Moore.

We also get a different storytelling approach from the writer. Moore usually works in multi-issue arcs and takes his time with storytelling. Here he focuses on stories contained within a single issue, which adds to the feeling of Tom Strong being a more fun affair than we’re used to. It lessens the reliance on continuity so prominent in comics and shifts the focus to the ideas and stories on display.

And what ideas they are! An empire of technological Aztecs that spans across several alternate universes, Nazis that have access to S.H.I.E.L.D.-esque airships and time travel, a sentient landmass, a race of volcano people, and cowboys from space (sporting third eyes) are among the creations on offer. None of the stories are predictable thanks to Moore’s invention and ability to surprise his audience.

The selection of artists help matters too. It’s not uncommon for a single issue to feature the work of three or four different artists as the plot jumps between past, present and future or flits into a parallel world. Regular pencil man Chris Sprouse is joined by Art Adams, Dave Gibbons, and Gary Frank, among others, who create a sense of carefree fun and give us some wonderful visuals. It lends Tom Strong a varied feel.

The quality doesn’t dip after Moore makes his final regular contribution with issue 22 (he would return to pen the final issue of the original run). He goes out with a bang by giving us a story that ties together many elements of his run on the book, eerily similar to DC’s love of multi-universe tales. Following that we get stories about creatures that are the wind of Millennium City, magical desert cities, space travel, and ghost women.

Tom Strong is a tremendously inventive book and one that perfectly captures the spirit of what comic books can be. They should be like this far more often. Too much continuity gets boring very quickly. Moore has his faults, but falling into the trap of meta-reference is not among them.

Preacher

Usually when I read something (a comic, a book, the back of a cereal packet) I’m reading it for the ideas on display. That’s what attracts me to a title. Plots and characters are important but I can cope with bad ones if there’s enough invention on offer elsewhere.

Preacher is an exception to this. That’s not to say there aren’t any worthwhile ideas in the title. It’s that the characters in it are so memorable and well-developed that they are the highlight of the series. The ideas take a back seat.

The general plot of the series is that Jesse Custer, a disgraced, borderline alcoholic reverend, must locate God and find out why he has abandoned his position. Pretty much all of the plot developments are linked to the series’ central cast or its supporting characters, giving it a slightly slower paced feel than some other Vertigo titles.

Custer (same initials as Jesus Christ, you may have noticed) is a compelling enough central figure. As with all good protagonists he has his own set of morals that he sticks to throughout the book and has a nice selection of problems to overcome. He’s also gifted with a pretty impressive power: The Voice of God. It means that anybody will obey any command given to them by Custer. One amusing example of its use is when a man is instructed to count every grain of sand on a beach.

Custer is also a fan of Westerns. At various points in the title a figure looking very much like John Wayne appears as a sort of spirit guide to give Custer advice. To be honest it can feel a little jarring as it never quite fits with the feel of the rest of the book though. It can make sense, but you have to want it to.

Accompanying Jesse on his search are his on-off girlfriend Tulip O’Hare and new pal Cassidy. Tulip’s good with a gun and Cassidy’s a vampire who likes a drink. The dynamic between the three is one of the driving forces of the series.

Opposing Jesses, because he has obtained The Voice, are The Grail, sort of like an FBI for Christianity. The group is led by Herr Starr, one of the greatest comic book creations ever. Starr’s bad luck and misfortune are one of the series’ many running gags. During the course of the 75 issues he has an ear ripped off, receives a rather unfortunate scar on top of his head, and loses his genitals in a particularly unpleasant manner. His zeal and anger make him a wonderfully over the top character and a highlight of Preacher. The one page scenes that see him trying on various hats and wigs are priceless.

In more ambiguous territory is The Saint of Killers. The patron saint of murderers and assassins is tasked with tracking down Custer by the supposed forces of good. He starts out as a walking weapon but it’s slowly revealed that he was once a good man with his own set of principles, much like Jesse.

Garth Ennis borrows liberally from Western films as well as his own Catholic upbringing for much of the book. They’re not things that you’d immediately affiliate with one another but he manages to make them blend very nicely. Steve Dillon’s artwork is a perfect fit for the author’s vision. His strength is facial expressions as opposed to action set pieces, and it’s the art that really helps to make the relationships between all the main players work.

There are plenty of things that I could mention that people who have read Preacher would agree make the title wonderful. Arseface, for example. A character surviving a tank blast is another. There’s a joke about a sexy cake too. They don’t mean that much out of context, sadly, but do give you an idea of the sort of book Preacher is. It’s not the most mature or subtle Vertigo series ever put out but it is an inventive, quirky book packed with memorable characters, snappy dialogue and clever ideas. It’s regarded as one of the Vertigo imprint’s greatest titles for a reason.