Read up on the bits I’ve missed on both the Losers and Sleeper.

The Losers first I think. Read the Double Down trade, and I think Shawn Martinbrough is both really competent and wrong for this title. He would work so much better on something a bit more mellow and laidback. His art simply doesn’t have the tension that Jock produces, or for that matter, Alé Garza. His Aisha comes out wrong too. Other than that, I liked it.

Sleeper then. Read issue #7-12, and then season 2 #1-5 in one go and holy damn. This is good. Really good. So good that if I had to pick one comic book writer to follow, then that would still be Grant Morrison, but if I could pick two, the second would be Ed Brubaker without any doubt. (Can you tell I Like it?) Ed is my number two guy and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

I’ve not read much things set in the Wildstorm U except things penned by Warren Ellis and and issue or two here and there of other things. But None of it is as good as this. It’s dark, gritty and no clear areas of morality in sight.

Sean Phillips must also be the most underrated artist in the business. Drawing this much in shadows is tough and it’s hard to get it to work. When I read things by Frank Miller I occasionaly get bored by the artwork. This could be because Miller tries too hard and doesn’t seem to really know when and what to show as well as the too limiting palette of only pitch black and crisp white he likes to work with. At times you need colour or at least halftones or everything just looks flat and boring. Sean has found the perfect balance, his palette is dark and disturbing so that when he does use warm colours it has a shocking effect.

Sleeper is my favorite so far of the things Brubaker has written, and then I’ve liked pretty much everything and I adored Deadenders to death. (Not many seem to do that though, so I might get a beating for admitting it.)

Comments

1. Hey, it dawned on me: I´m a loser who can´t get any sleep. Maybe I should read those?
   — Ola    (@ 30. November 2004, 13:55)
2. The big problem I have with Losers is that the paperbacks are to thin. Despite Andy Diggle being a great writer who can do good action there is not enough goodness in the TPBs.
   — Pelle Sten    (@ 7. December 2004, 18:28)
3. Pelle: at least they’re cheap—the first TPB was almost free. But as I’ve catched up on the whole series, “too little” is something that really applies to the single issues. Especially with the flashback story right now. (I miss Aisha.)
   — Nicklas    (@ 8. December 2004, 15:38)
4. Nicklas: Who do you miss, now?
   — Boo    (@ 9. December 2004, 09:20)
5. Boo: Richard Nixon?
   — Nicklas    (@ 9. December 2004, 13:17)
6. Tricky Dick. Yes indeed. He was a tricky on. And someties called Dick. That’s how he got the nickname you know. Tricky Dick. What a character.
   — Boo    (@ 10. December 2004, 01:24)

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