Black And Blue And Green All Over
Since my last post, I read a couple more of those Blauwbloezen (Blueshirts) books I bought, alongside this week’s new comic book releases (a whopping 10 issues, it would’ve been 11 if the store had had a copy of Robin, but not a week goes by without Diamond “forgetting” to ship them something, so no luck for me, which benefited DC, since I picked up the first issue of the new Flash series in its stead, like the total dope I am). What’s meant to follow is some quick thoughts on my reads, but odds on me being concise are rather against me, I fear!
In “Black Face”, Blutch and Chesterfield are saddled with a sticky assignment: as the only able cavalry soldiers, they are to escort one of the black men of the Northern army (a gravedigger, because “that’s all they’re good for”, or so he feels) behind the southern lines, where the so-called Black Face (named thus when he registered in the army) is to incite riots among his fellow blacks, to undermine the opposing troops. It’s a nasty scheme, which is only underscored by the bleak gallows humour used throughout the issue. There is a real sense of menace and doom when Black Face, instead of following orders, decides that it’d be much better for American blacks to not only raise arms against the southerners, but against all whites, because they are being used as cheap labourers on either side of the border anyway. Posing as doctors in the enemy camp, Blutch and Chesterfield are witness to the rage of the oppressed slaves, which burns with a fire much brighter than they had anticipated, both figuratively and quite literally.
When Black Face crosses the border to start his mayhem anew, general Alexander orders a bunch of soldiers who had been imprisoned for murdering some of their own men (particularly black men) to cut down the rioters before they can cause any real damage. To make matters worse, they are dressed in grey uniforms so that the chiefs of staff don’t have to deal with riots in their own camp when the gravediggers have to go bury the bodies. Chesterfield, prodded by the ever-conscientious Blutch, attempts to prevent the coming bloodbath, but Black Face will not listen and decides to take the killer troops to hell with him when he shoots a crate of gun powder, with explosive results. Our two leads are able to thwart the general’s twisted plot though, by removing all the uniforms from the dead, which puts them in a tight spot when they are found out. Luckily, they receive aid from an unexpected corner, resulting in everything being back as it used to be, with the corporal and sergeant as part of Stark’s cavalry, but with much heavier consciences.
As far as I’m concerned, this is one of the most serious issues they’ve ever done, without the quirkiness that permeates other stories. The pacing is rapid and the art is fluid and action-packed as ever. Despite his generic name, Black Face is a complex character who makes one think about the role of black men and women during not only the “barbaric” times of the Civil War, but during the many decades to follow as well. The notion of such blatant inequality in a country where “all men are created equal” remains a fascinating one, no matter what the time period. Cauvin’s ability to infuse humour in a plot that’s so genuinely dark is testament to his highly developed skills. That same talent can be found in “Rumberley”, which deals with the heavily wounded cavalry troops being left in the small town of Rumberley, which unfortunately turns out to be on the side of the South. Even though the town is inhabited only by the old men, women and children—as all able-bodied men are at the frontlines—Blutch (who is not amongst the wounded, having stayed out of the battle like he always does) has to deal with a large number of angry civilians who revile the soldiers abruptly left in their care. Unwilling as they are to share their water with the cavalry troops, the inhabitants of Rumberley are consigning them to a gloomy fate. Even worse, they have alerted the Southern Army, and imprisonment can only lead to a painful demise.
Blutch and Chesterfield are unwilling to give up without a fight though, even if they have to fight the southern cavalry troops all by their lonesome, with results that are both riveting and hilarious. Help arrives in the form of an ailing cavalry, the wounded barely keeping themselves together, followed by a mêlée which begins to endanger the continued survival of the town. Cooler heads prevail and a stop is put to the fires that are erupting everywhere, but alas, the cruelty of war knows no boundaries when a nearby battle spills over into Rumberley, which ends up being destroyed by stray mortar shells. No matter the often amusing interaction between Blutch, Chesterfield and their superiors or opponents, Cauvin and Lambil do not hide from their audience that war is a truly ugly affair, both unforgiving and unforgivable, without having to resort to blood and gore like certain superhero comic book writers are wont to do. It’s a genuine shame these aren’t being produced in English, as far as I know.
Out of the comics I bought, I’m picking just the one, the Giant-Size Hulk special, which wasn’t so special because of its two original stories by former writer Peter David and current Planet Hulk scribe Greg Pak, although both these tales had their moments and were helped by artists who were firing on all cilinders (Juan Santacruz and Aaron Lopresti, respectively). What made it my best buy this week was the reprint of PAD and Dale Keown’s “Hulk: The End” story, a one-shot published a few years ago which chronicled, as billed, the final Hulk story. Peter David was the very best choice for such a story due to his long attachment to the character, having written him for over a decade until internal politics forced him to leave the series (which is a true shame because those politics ended up fizzling out soon afterwards, depriving us from a wild ride towards the never-seen #500). Dale Keown was one of the most popular artists ever to grace the pages of the Hulk, but he had left many moons before to do some creator-owned stuff (which amounted to virtually nothing, so it’s a shame Keown left before doing #400, although on the plus side, that did give us an early glimpse of what Chris Bachalo would have in store for us soon after). Put them both together and you get a classic creative team for a blockbuster story, showing us a Bruce Banner struggling to live life as the last human on Earth after nuclear war broke out. Most men would’ve been driven mad by the sheer loneliness, not to mention being hunted down by the long-foretold inheritors of Earth, but the Hulk’s continued desire to walk the planet despite Banner’s protests is what makes for the most interesting conflict, despite the visual gross-out treat we get when the Hulk is torn to pieces time and again by mutates cockroaches, having to reassemble himself with his accelerated healing factor.
It’s a simple, straightforward story: after all these years of being trapped inside him, the Hulk truly hates “puny Banner”, while Banner will do anything to stop the Hulk from gaining control. I was unlucky enough to miss out on this psychodrama back when it was first published, so I am very grateful that Marvel reprinted it in an affordable format which throws us some extra bones in the form of the Planet Hulk tie-in and the charming little Champions vs. Hulk story. I may complain on and on about them in certain respects (you would not believe the disdain I feel for them having the temerity to write Peter Parker like an absolute dope, bowing to peer pressure as if he’s a skinny shy teenager all over again), but they do some nice things on regular occasion, and this is one of those nice things. Whether it makes up for an unending string of bad JMS-penned melodrama over in Amazing Spider-Man, is another matter entirely! “The Last Titan” is not only a can’t-miss for any Hulk fan, but might also be of note to anyone with even a passing interest in the character due to the impressive, evocative art (although Keown was much, much better when inked by Mark Farmer back in the day) and the chilling writing. After reading this though, it’s all the more disappointing, truth be told, that David’s return to the Hulk last year petered out so quickly, if you’ll pardon the horrible (if appropriate, all things considered) pun, because this story boldly stresses why PAD and the Hulk were a pretty perfect match. Much like the Hulk Flashback issue, this one-shot epic ends with a final page that is just perfect, making my spine tingle—and simply put, that’s some good comics writing right there, and well worth it for a mere five bucks!
In “Black Face”, Blutch and Chesterfield are saddled with a sticky assignment: as the only able cavalry soldiers, they are to escort one of the black men of the Northern army (a gravedigger, because “that’s all they’re good for”, or so he feels) behind the southern lines, where the so-called Black Face (named thus when he registered in the army) is to incite riots among his fellow blacks, to undermine the opposing troops. It’s a nasty scheme, which is only underscored by the bleak gallows humour used throughout the issue. There is a real sense of menace and doom when Black Face, instead of following orders, decides that it’d be much better for American blacks to not only raise arms against the southerners, but against all whites, because they are being used as cheap labourers on either side of the border anyway. Posing as doctors in the enemy camp, Blutch and Chesterfield are witness to the rage of the oppressed slaves, which burns with a fire much brighter than they had anticipated, both figuratively and quite literally.
When Black Face crosses the border to start his mayhem anew, general Alexander orders a bunch of soldiers who had been imprisoned for murdering some of their own men (particularly black men) to cut down the rioters before they can cause any real damage. To make matters worse, they are dressed in grey uniforms so that the chiefs of staff don’t have to deal with riots in their own camp when the gravediggers have to go bury the bodies. Chesterfield, prodded by the ever-conscientious Blutch, attempts to prevent the coming bloodbath, but Black Face will not listen and decides to take the killer troops to hell with him when he shoots a crate of gun powder, with explosive results. Our two leads are able to thwart the general’s twisted plot though, by removing all the uniforms from the dead, which puts them in a tight spot when they are found out. Luckily, they receive aid from an unexpected corner, resulting in everything being back as it used to be, with the corporal and sergeant as part of Stark’s cavalry, but with much heavier consciences.
As far as I’m concerned, this is one of the most serious issues they’ve ever done, without the quirkiness that permeates other stories. The pacing is rapid and the art is fluid and action-packed as ever. Despite his generic name, Black Face is a complex character who makes one think about the role of black men and women during not only the “barbaric” times of the Civil War, but during the many decades to follow as well. The notion of such blatant inequality in a country where “all men are created equal” remains a fascinating one, no matter what the time period. Cauvin’s ability to infuse humour in a plot that’s so genuinely dark is testament to his highly developed skills. That same talent can be found in “Rumberley”, which deals with the heavily wounded cavalry troops being left in the small town of Rumberley, which unfortunately turns out to be on the side of the South. Even though the town is inhabited only by the old men, women and children—as all able-bodied men are at the frontlines—Blutch (who is not amongst the wounded, having stayed out of the battle like he always does) has to deal with a large number of angry civilians who revile the soldiers abruptly left in their care. Unwilling as they are to share their water with the cavalry troops, the inhabitants of Rumberley are consigning them to a gloomy fate. Even worse, they have alerted the Southern Army, and imprisonment can only lead to a painful demise.
Blutch and Chesterfield are unwilling to give up without a fight though, even if they have to fight the southern cavalry troops all by their lonesome, with results that are both riveting and hilarious. Help arrives in the form of an ailing cavalry, the wounded barely keeping themselves together, followed by a mêlée which begins to endanger the continued survival of the town. Cooler heads prevail and a stop is put to the fires that are erupting everywhere, but alas, the cruelty of war knows no boundaries when a nearby battle spills over into Rumberley, which ends up being destroyed by stray mortar shells. No matter the often amusing interaction between Blutch, Chesterfield and their superiors or opponents, Cauvin and Lambil do not hide from their audience that war is a truly ugly affair, both unforgiving and unforgivable, without having to resort to blood and gore like certain superhero comic book writers are wont to do. It’s a genuine shame these aren’t being produced in English, as far as I know.
Out of the comics I bought, I’m picking just the one, the Giant-Size Hulk special, which wasn’t so special because of its two original stories by former writer Peter David and current Planet Hulk scribe Greg Pak, although both these tales had their moments and were helped by artists who were firing on all cilinders (Juan Santacruz and Aaron Lopresti, respectively). What made it my best buy this week was the reprint of PAD and Dale Keown’s “Hulk: The End” story, a one-shot published a few years ago which chronicled, as billed, the final Hulk story. Peter David was the very best choice for such a story due to his long attachment to the character, having written him for over a decade until internal politics forced him to leave the series (which is a true shame because those politics ended up fizzling out soon afterwards, depriving us from a wild ride towards the never-seen #500). Dale Keown was one of the most popular artists ever to grace the pages of the Hulk, but he had left many moons before to do some creator-owned stuff (which amounted to virtually nothing, so it’s a shame Keown left before doing #400, although on the plus side, that did give us an early glimpse of what Chris Bachalo would have in store for us soon after). Put them both together and you get a classic creative team for a blockbuster story, showing us a Bruce Banner struggling to live life as the last human on Earth after nuclear war broke out. Most men would’ve been driven mad by the sheer loneliness, not to mention being hunted down by the long-foretold inheritors of Earth, but the Hulk’s continued desire to walk the planet despite Banner’s protests is what makes for the most interesting conflict, despite the visual gross-out treat we get when the Hulk is torn to pieces time and again by mutates cockroaches, having to reassemble himself with his accelerated healing factor.
It’s a simple, straightforward story: after all these years of being trapped inside him, the Hulk truly hates “puny Banner”, while Banner will do anything to stop the Hulk from gaining control. I was unlucky enough to miss out on this psychodrama back when it was first published, so I am very grateful that Marvel reprinted it in an affordable format which throws us some extra bones in the form of the Planet Hulk tie-in and the charming little Champions vs. Hulk story. I may complain on and on about them in certain respects (you would not believe the disdain I feel for them having the temerity to write Peter Parker like an absolute dope, bowing to peer pressure as if he’s a skinny shy teenager all over again), but they do some nice things on regular occasion, and this is one of those nice things. Whether it makes up for an unending string of bad JMS-penned melodrama over in Amazing Spider-Man, is another matter entirely! “The Last Titan” is not only a can’t-miss for any Hulk fan, but might also be of note to anyone with even a passing interest in the character due to the impressive, evocative art (although Keown was much, much better when inked by Mark Farmer back in the day) and the chilling writing. After reading this though, it’s all the more disappointing, truth be told, that David’s return to the Hulk last year petered out so quickly, if you’ll pardon the horrible (if appropriate, all things considered) pun, because this story boldly stresses why PAD and the Hulk were a pretty perfect match. Much like the Hulk Flashback issue, this one-shot epic ends with a final page that is just perfect, making my spine tingle—and simply put, that’s some good comics writing right there, and well worth it for a mere five bucks!
posted by Peter at 9:54 PM
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